Sense and Sensibility (2026) Review – Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles Make Austen New Again

Our Rating: ★★★★☆ 8/10

Jane Austen’s first published novel has been filmed before — most famously by Ang Lee in 1995, with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet — so a new Sense and Sensibility needs a reason to exist. Georgia Oakley’s 2026 version finds one: two superb young leads, a screenplay that trusts Austen’s wit without embalming it, and a visual approach that makes Regency England feel windswept and alive rather than museum-polished. It is a charming, funny and genuinely moving period drama, and one of the most satisfying literary adaptations of recent years.

This review is spoiler-free on the novel’s plot turns, though the broad shape of Austen’s story is widely known. Readers new to the novel can read on safely.

Quick Facts: Sense and Sensibility at a Glance

The Story: Two Sisters, Two Ways of Loving, One Unforgiving World (Spoiler-Free)

When Mr. Dashwood dies, his widow and three daughters — Elinor, Marianne and the young Margaret — are forced out of their family estate, Norland, by the inheritance laws of 18th-century England. The estate passes to Mr. Dashwood’s son from his first marriage, and the Dashwood women must make a new life with little money, little security, and the constant pressure to marry well.

The film’s heart is the contrast between the two elder sisters. Elinor (Daisy Edgar-Jones), the elder, is sense itself: pragmatic, self-controlled, quietly enduring her feelings for the reserved Edward Ferrars (George MacKay) while holding her family together. Marianne (Esmé Creed-Miles) is sensibility: passionate, open-hearted, and wholly surrendered to a volatile romance with the dashing John Willoughby (Frank Dillane). Around them circle the figures who will test both sisters’ philosophies — the steadfast Colonel Brandon (Herbert Nordrum), the garrulous Mrs. Jennings (Fiona Shaw), and their mother (Caitríona Balfe), trying to keep her daughters’ spirits up as their circumstances shrink.

Without spoiling Austen’s plot, it is fair to say the film follows both sisters through heartbreak, disillusionment and hard-won wisdom, and that its pleasures lie less in surprise than in execution: the wit of the dialogue, the precision of the social observation, and the slow revelation that sense and sensibility are not opposites to choose between but qualities both sisters must learn from each other.

Performances: Edgar-Jones and Creed-Miles Are a Superb Pair

Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor Dashwood — Edgar-Jones, whose breakthrough in Normal People proved her gift for restrained emotion, is ideally cast as Elinor. She plays the sister who suppresses her heartbreak with a quiet, watchful intelligence: every small reaction — a held glance, a carefully chosen word, a silence that says everything — registers. It is a performance of enormous discipline, and it makes Elinor’s rare moments of feeling land all the harder.

Esmé Creed-Miles as Marianne Dashwood — Creed-Miles is Elinor’s perfect counterpart: open, impulsive, radiant and vulnerable, playing Marianne’s passion without ever making her foolish. The two actresses previously worked together in the 2018 film Pond Life, and their real-life rapport shows: their sisterhood feels lived-in, teasing and fiercely loyal, which is what makes the film’s emotional stakes work. Marianne’s journey — from unguarded romanticism to a wiser, sadder understanding — is the film’s most moving arc, and Creed-Miles carries it beautifully.

The supporting cast — George MacKay brings a gentle, diffident charm to Edward Ferrars, and his scenes with Edgar-Jones have a lovely, hesitant chemistry. Frank Dillane is dashing and dangerous in exactly the right measure as Willoughby, Herbert Nordrum gives Colonel Brandon a quiet dignity that grows on the audience as it does on Marianne, and Fiona Shaw is a delight as Mrs. Jennings, the well-meaning gossip whose meddling is both comic and kind. Caitríona Balfe, as Mrs. Dashwood, and Bodhi Rae Breathnach, as young Margaret, complete a family that feels real.

Direction and Technical Craft

Oakley, whose 2022 debut Blue Jean earned strong acclaim, directs with a confidence that belies the scale of the challenge: following Ang Lee’s beloved 1995 film and making Austen feel new. Her most discussed choice is the film’s tight 1.66:1 aspect ratio, which some reviewers felt robbed the period landscapes of width — a fair criticism, though the ratio also gives the film an intimate, portrait-like quality that suits its focus on faces and feelings. Arnaud Potier’s cinematography favours windswept walks, grand houses shot without fuss, and the small, telling details of Regency life, while Roger Goula’s score underlines emotion without overwhelming it.

Diana Reid’s screenplay is the film’s other great strength. It keeps Austen’s wit and social sharpness — the cruelty of the inheritance system, the economics of marriage, the comedy of manners — while letting the dialogue breathe in a modern register that never feels anachronistic. The film trusts its audience: it does not over-explain the period’s rules, and it lets the sisters’ choices speak for themselves. At 132 minutes it is a full, unhurried adaptation, and it earns its length.

One honest caveat: viewers coming to the film expecting the sweep of a big-budget costume epic may find Oakley’s approach more intimate than spectacular, and the 1.66:1 framing is a genuine divisive choice. But viewers who love Austen for her characters rather than her ballrooms will find this version deeply satisfying.

Music and Sound

Roger Goula’s score is elegant and restrained, favouring piano and strings that support the sisters’ emotional journeys without pushing them. The sound design favours the natural world — wind, rain, footsteps on country paths — over orchestral grandeur, which fits Oakley’s windswept, intimate approach. There is no showpiece musical number here, nor should there be; this is a score that knows its place, and stays there gracefully.

What Works and What Doesn’t

What we loved:

• Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles: a superb, believable sister pairing
• Diana Reid’s witty, faithful, un-stuffy screenplay
• A fresh, windswept visual approach to Regency England
• Strong supporting turns, especially Fiona Shaw and Herbert Nordrum
• Austen’s social satire kept sharp: the economics of marriage still bite

What could be better:

• The tight 1.66:1 aspect ratio divides opinion and narrows the landscapes
• The intimate approach may disappoint viewers wanting costume-epic sweep
• At 132 minutes, the middle stretch occasionally lingers
• Inevitably, comparisons to the 1995 film will colour some viewers’ response

Box Office: A Healthy Return on a Modest Budget

Sense and Sensibility was made for a reported $20–25 million, a modest budget for a period drama, and early reporting put its worldwide gross at around $31.4 million — already past its budget, with the film still in release in some territories at the time of writing. That figure should be read as a reported total rather than a final audited number. Critically, the film received generally positive reviews, with praise concentrated on its two leads and its fresh take on Austen. For a literary adaptation in a crowded market, that combination — modest cost, warm reception, profitable trajectory — is a genuine success, and it positions Oakley as a director to watch.

A note on release dates, since sources differ by territory: the film premiered in London on 15 September 2026, opened in the United Kingdom on 25 September, and in the United States on 16 October, with other territories (including Australia, 15 October) falling in between. Some listings for other markets give later October dates; the UK and US dates above are the primary ones.

Verdict: Should You Watch It?

Yes, wholeheartedly — especially if you love Jane Austen, period drama, or simply two wonderful performances at the centre of a wise, funny film. Sense and Sensibility (2026) does not replace the 1995 classic, and it does not try to: it offers a fresh, intimate, beautifully acted version of a story that has endured for over two centuries because it understands sisters, love and money with equal clarity. It is one of the year’s most satisfying adaptations.

Our rating: 8/10 — A witty, windswept, beautifully acted Austen adaptation that earns its place beside the 1995 classic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who directed Sense and Sensibility (2026)?
Georgia Oakley, from a screenplay by Diana Reid, based on Jane Austen’s 1811 novel. It was produced by Working Title Films and distributed by Focus Features in the United States and Universal Pictures internationally.

Who stars in Sense and Sensibility (2026)?
Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor Dashwood, Esmé Creed-Miles as Marianne Dashwood, with Caitríona Balfe, George MacKay, Frank Dillane, Herbert Nordrum and Fiona Shaw.

What is Sense and Sensibility about?
Two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, navigate love, loss and financial insecurity in 18th-century England after their father’s death forces them from their family estate.

When was Sense and Sensibility (2026) released?
25 September 2026 in the United Kingdom and 16 October 2026 in the United States, after a London premiere on 15 September 2026.

How much did Sense and Sensibility (2026) earn at the box office?
Around $31.4 million worldwide against a reported $20–25 million budget, according to early reporting; treat this as a reported total, not a final audited figure.

Is Sense and Sensibility (2026) suitable for family viewing?
Yes, broadly. It is a gentle period drama with mild themes of romance and heartbreak; it is suitable for family audiences with older children.