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Jane Austen's fourth novel is still an A-level favourite in schools, but it's rarely a hit with students, who struggle with its turgid prose and oddly unlikeable characters. Arty Canadian director Patricia Rozema has done a good job of dragging Austen's most serious work into the 21st century while keeping its integrity intact. She has brought out the background of slavery from between the novel's lines and emphasised the youth and burgeoning sexuality of the main characters. Her adaptation ditches the book's self-righteous, drippy Fanny and makes her a writer forged from elements of Austen's own letters. It's well-researched, funny and profound stuff.
Cast-wise, instead of simpering Paltrows and girlie Winslets, we get a full set of sturdy performances from actors who look like real people. No one except the divinely puckish Alessandro Nivola (Henry Crawford) merits special praise, and the only real problem here is that O'Connor and Miller have little on-screen chemistry.
The most boring Austen novel gets a zippy new look for the cinema. It's smart, funny and occasionally poignant. But don't expect the joyful abandon of Sense And Sensibility: this is an altogether more complicated beast.
