Sense & Sensibility (2008)

Jane Austen captures your heart again in this enchanting new PBS Masterpiece Classic adaptation by acclaimed screenwriter Andrew Davies (BBC's Pride and Prejudice and Bleak House). Sensible Elinor Dashwood wrestles with her attraction to the unavailable Edward Ferrars, while her impulsive sister, Marianne, falls passionately in love with an unsuitable admirer. Starring a brilliant young cast, including Hattie Morahan (The Golden Compass) as Elinor and Dan Stevens (The Line of Beauty) as Edward, plus Mark Williams (Harry Potter films) and Jean Marsh (Upstairs, Downstairs). Filmed on the breathtakingly beautiful Dorset coast. 

Episode 1 – Mrs. Dashwood is devastated when her beloved husband dies. The late Mr. Dashwood's estate and fortune are bequeathed by law to his son from a previous marriage, John Dashwood, to the delight of John's rapacious wife, Fanny. Mrs Dashwood and her daughters are forced to move to a tiny cottage on a cousin's estate in Devonshire, to start their lives again. It is perhaps Elinor, the eldest daughter, who is most upset to leave her childhood home. She has fallen in love with Fanny's brother, the kind and unassuming Edward Ferrars. However, Mrs Dashwood's cousin, Sir John Middleton, ensures that the family settles into life in Devonshire. Before long, Elinor's younger sister, Marianne, finds that she has an admirer in Sir John's friend, Colonel Brandon. However, a rival soon emerges in the form of the dashing young neighbour, Willoughby, who rescues Marianne after a fall. As Elinor eagerly awaits a visit from Edward, Marianne realises that she has two suitors to choose from…

Episode 2 – Colonel Brandon is called away on urgent business and Marianne and Brandon's rival, Willoughby, are left to fall blissfully in love. Elinor finally receives her visit from Edward, but his behaviour is so odd and distant that she is far from reassured. Sir John's nieces, the Miss Steeles, come to Devonshire and Elinor receives the shock of her life when Lucy Steele confides in her that she is secretly engaged to Edward. Elinor's heart is broken but she's true to her word and keeps Lucy's secret, even from her sister, Marianne. Marianne receives a horrible shock of her own when Willoughby suddenly takes off for London, declaring that he's unlikely to ever return. The girls however are invited to London themselves to stay with Sir John's mother-in-law, Mrs. Jennings. Marianne sets off for London full of hope of being reunited with Willoughby. Little does she know how much Willoughby's plans have changed since his happy days with her in Devonshire

Episode 3 - Marianne learns the full extent of Willoughby's betrayal and wrongdoing from Brandon, who reveals that Willoughby was disinherited by his aunt after getting a young girl (Brandon's own ward) pregnant then ran off to London to - successfully - find himself a rich heiress to marry. The shock of this news is severe for Marianne and her health begins to deteriorate. When Elinor learns that Edward intends to honour his engagement to Lucy Steele, even though this means being disinherited by his mother, she and Marianne decide to leave London. They are both heartbroken. They stay with Mrs Jennings's daughter, Charlotte Palmer, in Cleveland where Marianne falls gravely ill. Brandon helps Elinor to nurse Marianne back to health and they finally return, with great relief, to their mother's home in Devonshire. With Willoughby and Edward both seemingly gone, all looks lost for the Dashwood girls, until a surprising turn of events...

Written by Jane Austen
Screenplay by Andrew Davies
Directed by John Alexander
Produced by Anne Pivcevic
Executive Produced by Sally Woodward Gentle

Dan Stevens (Edward Ferrars):   "The male leads represent a threeway archetype.  Willoughby is one you might fall for in your teens - a wild, romantic figure who will break your heart and won't stick around to father your children.  Brandon is the father figure, the safe choice, and Edward is a kind of surrogate brother - down to earth, relatively risk-free, a good friend and a good listener. Three types of men that women might encounter."

David Morrissey (Colonel Brandon):  "At first, the girls make a lot of wrong assumptions. Marianne thinks Willoughby isterribly dashing, and Brandon is too old and serious. We probably think that Brandon is more suited to Elinor. But it's not as simple as it appears. It's about the women finding men who complement them - they can't be too similar, or there's no chemistry. I love the way the story leads you up the garden path, and then works towards a resolution."

"In the book, you only find out about the men through what the women say. Andrew [Davis]'s version allows us to spend some time with the men, find out what makes them tick. It changes the balance. These aren't just cardboard cut-outs. They're real men, living at a time when horrific wars were being fought. Brandon has seen terrible misery. All this romantic business would seem like a bit of frippery.  The women may think the men are emotionally unavailable - but there's a reason for that."

Dominic Cooper (Willoughby):  "He wants to marry for love, but he's under pressure to marry for money.  He seems like a lot of ambitious young men who are aware of how attractive they are and abuse that power. I tried to see the good in him, but you can't deny he's irresponsible and cowardly."

An emerging star of the small screen, Charity Wakefield plays the impulsive Marianne Dashwood.
 
Appearing alongside an impressive cast, including David Morrissey, Janet McTeer and Mark Gatiss, the 26-year-old actress explains that she was delighted to land such a choice role.  "Marianne is the embodiment of youth and hope.  I was so excited to be offered the part because I felt that it was a role which I could really attack. I understand her character and feel that we have lots in common. She goes on such a tremendous journey and that is why she's exciting to play."
 
The Oxford School of Drama graduate plays one of the three Dashwood sisters, who struggle to build a new life when they find themselves penniless and uprooted on the death of their father.
 
"She's quite a wild thing," laughs Wakefield. "Certainly, in those days, Marianne would have been talked about as 'hot-headed'. She refuses to be bound by traditional codes of conduct. She's very honest and earnest, and she wants to tell the truth."
 
Wakefield's musical grounding in the piano and her trained soprano singing voice meant that she was able to learn the advanced pieces that the music-loving Marianne performs.
 
"In order to make sure that I knew what I was doing, I bought myself a keyboard and practised the pieces a lot.  It's not me playing on the soundtrack but I wanted to be familiar with the music in the scene. And I wanted to give the camera crew the freedom to shoot me from a variety of angles."
 
The romantic Marianne is forced to choose between the young and dashing Willoughby, played by Dominic Cooper, and the brooding war hero, Colonel Brandon, played by David Morrissey.
 
"I learnt so much from just watching David [Morrissey, of Viva Blackpool fame].   He is so experienced in filming and I felt very inexperienced when I arrived. I knew the heart of what I should be doing but I learnt a lot about the technical side from him."
 
The actress, whose previous small-screen roles include Miss Temple in the BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre, explains that her character's tempestuous nature was matched by some fearsome Devonshire weather with which cast and crew had to contend.
 
"While we were filming, we had almost constant rain storms.  It was a bit of an obstacle, really. Everybody, by the end of the day, was absolutely soaked and I had very frizzy hair. There is a great wet-shirt scene, where Dan Stevens, who plays Edward Ferrars, is chopping logs in the rain. He does look rather dashing!"
Wakefield is descended from good acting stock. As the granddaughter of British film actor James Hayter - who appeared in Afred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps  - she showed an interest in the stage from an early age. Encouraged to follow an academic path by her mother, it was on finishing her A Levels that she chose to attend drama school. The actress, whose career has blossomed since her 2003 graduation, has a great love for theatre and has appeared as Elaine Robinson in The Graduate at Staffordshire's New Vic Theatre and as Constance in The Three Musketeers at the Bristol Old Vic.
 
When given the opportunity to relax, Wakefield admits that she cherishes the freedom to explore London, the city in which she lives.   "I go and see as much film and theatre as I can," she says. "When I'm filming, it's a long day and, in the evening, I just learn my lines for the next day. But, when I've got some time out, there's so much to do in London. It makes me feel like a kid in a candy store!"