Georgia Oakley, the BAFTA-nominated filmmaker behind Blue Jean, has directed a new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor Dashwood and Esmé Creed-Miles as Marianne Dashwood.
Based on Austen’s 1811 novel and written for the screen by Diana Reid, the film follows the Dashwood sisters as they navigate love, family responsibilities and financial uncertainty after a change in their circumstances.
In this exclusive conversation, Oakley discusses what drew her to Creed-Miles for the role of Marianne and why Edgar-Jones was the right choice to play Elinor. For the director, casting was about finding actors who could bring their own sensibilities to characters that have been portrayed on screen before.
Oakley was particularly struck by Creed-Miles’ interpretation of Marianne during the auditions, noting how naturally the actor connected with both the character and Austen’s dialogue.
“She’s a very singular person, and she brought with it a very singular performance. There was nothing like any other interpretation of the character I’d seen. I also was completely in awe of her ability to say the lines in a way that felt completely natural to her, as if she was born 200 years ago. She could only be herself, and she could only therefore be Marianne saying the lines, which I thought was amazing.”
For Elinor, Oakley was drawn to a different combination of qualities. Edgar-Jones, who has earned recognition for her performances in projects such as Normal People and Where the Crawdads Sing, made a strong impression on the director when they met.
“I was really struck by her energy when I met her. I also was intrigued by the idea of casting somebody like Daisy, who is very much in the public eye these days. I wanted to try to portray her in a way that perhaps hadn’t been seen before.”
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