Customer Rating: 
Summary: A luscious treat -- with a couple of flaws
Comment: This is one of my favorite films. I must have watched it a dozen times, and own the DVD.
The script and production are exceptional. You will feel you are in Regency England, the sets, costumes, and landscape -- every detail of the production is gorgeous. The score is also wonderful, and Ang Lee's direction is, well, I'm running out of superlatives. Let's just say every scene is beautiful, and the direction, scoring, script, photography -- all are done beautifully to convey a sense of underlying silence, a quieter more thoughtful time than our own, with a gentler pace.
The casting is brilliant. Kate Winslet is the perfect Marianne Dashwood, and gives a marvelous performance. As does Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon, and all the rest of the cast.
My only complaints are that Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant were miscast, and their acting was many notches below that of the rest of the cast.
Thompson, 36 at the time of this release, is far too old for the part of Elinor, 19. She is not believable as someone of marriagable age in that era. And Hugh Grant is miserably miscast as Edward. His youthfulness further accentuates Thompson's age.
They are not believable in the roles, and their performances are also not up to snuff. When they're on screen, I'm aware of acting and actors, not the characters and story. It's a glaring error, enough to be jarring each time I watch the film. This is a shame, because Thompson's amazing script, the casting, production, directing, and the rest of the cast make this film is a work of art in all other respects.
Even so, this film is a favorite and a wonderful treat each time I see it. I love it enough to give it 5 stars. It never gets old.
