Diana Reid

They're both supremely relaxed performances, relaxed in their own company.

There's good sort of... uh sort of relationship between the two but also uh in the scenes that they're not together they're they're particularly good daisy edgar jones is is terrific in this and you can sort of read so much uh that's going on uh in with her uh and and her character and so i was like okay if both of these actors who i've not normally very fond of have pulled out really good performances that probably comes down to the director doesn't it george oakley it's only her second feature film The screenplay is by Diana Reid, and this is only her first produced screenplay.

So there's not a huge sort of track record to work on, although it's produced by working title films out of the UK, Tim Bevan and Eric Felner.

Their track record is absolutely outstanding.

The film is starring Daisy Edgar Jones, Esme Creed-Miles, Katrina Balf, George Mackay, Frank Dillane, Herbert Nordrum, and Fiona Shaw.

It is directed by Georgia Oakley, and it is written by Diana Reid.

And here to join me today for this spoiler-filled podcast review of the new version of Sense and Sensibility, I have Nadia Dalimonte.

Hello.

I think I loved her previous film, Blue Jean, and I think she has a very distinctive voice that lends really well to this story, and there's a lot of kind of reading between the lines and a focus on, um, expression just through how the characters, through their temperaments and how, how much they reveal and not reveal about their emotions.

I think she brings nature into focus with this story in a really interesting and engaging way, and it really feels like the characters here are alive and real and not simply kind of, I guess, an extension of, um, the period setting.

And I think they're in great hands with Diana Reid's screenplay, which is really engaging and funny.

I like that the version focuses more on Marianne's perspective more so, and I think as you mentioned before, having a predominantly younger cast across the board, I do think there's a dose of more kind of coming-of-age energy that comes from that.

How did you become attached to the project?

So I was approached by Working Title who had already been working on a script with Diana Reid for, I don't know, maybe six months or something.

They had a couple of drafts and they asked me if I, no, they sent me a letter and I remember it really well because I thought I was being offered the job, but actually my agents were like, no, no, you have to like fly over there and like tell them your ideas.

Yeah.

So I'm so glad that the humor from the book is really able to shine through.

Diana Reid, who was the screenwriter, is actually an Australian author, and I really [laughs] loved how her screenplay just brought up so many bubbles of laughter within me, and in particular, Mrs. Jennings.

So Fiona Shaw, who is an actor who the, who plays Mrs. Jennings, every time she was on screen, the entire cinema was just bursting out in laughter, just her physical acting, her facial expressions, and even the laugh that she has for Mrs. Jennings was absolutely fantastic.

And I even found Edward to be much funnier and more playful than previous adaptations.

And I think you can really see that when you look at the women who worked on this film.

Georgia Oakley, the director.

Diana Reid, the screenwriter.

Grace Snell, the costume designer.

I'm Georgia Oakley, and I'm the director of Sense and Sensibility.

My name is Diana Reid, and I am the writer.

When I read Diana's script, I was like, "This is amazing." [laughs]

How do you keep it fresh in terms of the way you approach a role?