What are people saying about Sense and Sensibility (2026)?

The Details

Sense and Sensibility (2026) is director Georgia Oakley's second feature film. It stars Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People and Twisters) and Esme Creed-Miles (The Doll Factory and Hanna) as Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. They are joined by an impressive supporting cast including George Mackay, Fiona Shaw, Caitríona Balfe and Frank Dillane. 

Shot on film, Sense and Sensibility has a warm, intimate feeling, and its settings are brought to life by ample use of shooting on location rather than on stages. Many of England's most picturesque locations feature in the movie, and you can learn more about these from British Vogue.

The Story (without spoilers.) 

Sense and Sensibility follows the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, as they, their mother, and younger sister are forced to downsize their life and lifestyle following the death of their father. When their older step-brother refuses to uphold his promise to provide for them, the Dashwoods relocate to Barton College, on the land of their cousin, Sir John Middleton. Family friend, Colonel Brandon, quickly forms an affectionate attachment to Marianne, though she sees their age gap as too large (true, we wouldn't approve of a relationship between a sixteen-year-old and a thirty-five-year-old either, but it was a different time). She is quickly swept away by the charming John Willoughby, but is he really the man he claims to be? Meanwhile, the more sensible Elinor is trying to get a read on Edward Ferrars - is he really attracted to her, or is it true that Edward's mother has loftier ambitions for him?

What are people saying?

Well, so far, so good. Most of the reviews are trending towards the positive end. At the time of writing, Sense and Sensibility currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 76% and a 7.3/10 on IMDb, so it's not glowing, but it's certainly not negative. 

The Guardian's 3-star review shoots straight down the middle, with some words of praise for the adaptation, though criticising some of the casting decisions. Comparing it to Ang Lee's adaptation, Peter Bradshaw describes the new version as 'a more downbeat, ruminative version' than its predecessor. Empire Magazine's Laura Venning also gave the film 3-stars, saying that although the films visuals are 'ravishing', but that the central relationship between the Dashwood sisters is 'underserved' by the choice to focus on the romantic relationships. Hadley Freeman in the Times is much more scathing, calling the new movie 'simply dull.'

It's not all middling, however, with Robbie Collin at the Telegraph giving it 5 stars.  He praises 'this wild and plangently beautiful successor [to Ang Lee's], astutely adapted and exquisitely directed by Blue Jean’s Georgia Oakley.' Variety's Beatrice Loayza has particular words of praise for Esme Creed-Myles's performance as Marianne, and for Frank Dillane for bringing 'unstudied lightness and humor' to his performance as the scoundrel Willoughby. 

It seems that the jury is still out on this new Sense and Sensibility? What do you think? Have you seen it yet? Let us know your reviews in the comments.

*in the UK.