19世紀初頭。イングランド南東部のサセックス州にある私園“ノーランド・パーク”を構えるダッシュウッド家の主ヘンリーを失った彼の妻と３人の娘。法律の定めるところにより私園を含め財産は先妻の息子ジョンに相続されるのを心配したヘンリーは、死の床でジョンに妻と娘の世話を頼んでいたが、ジョンの妻の反対にあいその約束は反故にされてしまう。彼女たちは悲しみにひたる間もなく、早速新しい家を探し始める。
製作費: $16,000,000 (24億円)
興行収入: $134,582,776 (202億円)
推定収支: $118,582,776 (178億円)
※製作費・興行収入はTMDBのデータを参照しています。収支は(興行収入 - 製作費)で算出したFindKey独自の推定値であり、広告宣伝費や諸経費は含まれません (1ドル=150円換算)。
監督: アン・リー
脚本: エマ・トンプソン / Jane Austen
音楽: Patrick Doyle
制作: シドニー・ポラック / Lindsay Doran
撮影監督: Michael Coulter
制作会社: Columbia Pictures / Mirage Enterprises / Good Machine
The briefest of cameos from Tim Wilkinson informs us that due to inheritance rules, the second “Mrs. Dashwood” (Gemma Jones) and her daughters are going to be at the mercy of his son upon his demise. That fellow (James Fleet) is actually quite a kindly soul, but his rather more mercenary wife “Fanny” (Harriet Walter) reckons they can be left to get by with just their annuity of £500. With daughters “Elinor” (Emma Thompson); “Marianne” (Kate Winslet) and “Margaret” (Emilie François) to keep, that’s going to be quite a task. Luckily, widower distant cousin “Sir John” (Robert Hardy) and his lively mother-in-law (Elizabeth Spriggs) invite them to lodge in a well-appointed cottage on their estate. That’s where the family settle and each of the girls gradually becomes embroiled in romance. For “Elinor” it’s the dashing but shy “Ferrars” (Hugh Grant) who takes her fancy. Talking of dashing, there’s also the charming “Col. Brandon” (Alan Rickman) who is keen on young “Marianne” - but her attentions are divided between him and the handsome doctor “Willoughby” (Greg Wise). Meantime, whilst all this courting and counter-courting is going on, the young “Margaret” is totally besotted on “Ferrars” too! I usually found Jane Austen stories tended to follow a fairly predictable pattern, but the potpourri of characters here are aided by some really quite witty dialogue and some glorious scenery and build together engagingly. There’s an amiable degree of charm, haplessness and political incorrectness on display too as the writer takes quite a swipe at the ridiculousness of so many aspects of life for and amidst the landed gentry and it’s middle class associates. The headline roles all deliver well enough, but it’s maybe the engaging dynamic between Hardy and Spriggs that raises most smiles for me. The costumiers and designers have crafted a classy looking production and the screen adaptation does wonders for a time when the mantra was definitely more “why use one word when you can use ten”.
