Sense and Sensibility is a 1995 British-American period drama film directed by Taiwanese-American director Ang Lee and based on Jane Austen's 1811 novel of the same name. Emma Thompson wrote the script and stars as Elinor Dashwood, while Kate Winslet plays Elinor's sister Marianne. Actors Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman play their respective suitors.
Producer Lindsay Doran, a longtime admirer of Austen's novel, hired Thompson to write the screenplay. The actress spent four years penning numerous revisions, working on the script between other films as well as into production of the film itself. Doran found studios nervous that Thompson was the credited writer, but Columbia Pictures eventually agreed to act as the film's producer. Though initially intending for another actress to portray Elinor, Thompson was persuaded to undertake the part herself, despite the disparity with her character's age.