Tag Archives: Bodhi Rae Breathnach

Sense and Sensibility (2026) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A delightfully charming film, filled with camaraderie, humour, and exquisite performances

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

The Dashwood family arrive in Devon.

Sense and Sensibility Review Introduction

One of the bonuses of this job is that you experience a full range of classic literature that you missed growing up because your school picked different titles, such as One Flew Over a Cuckoo’s Nest, or there was one English teacher who made the thought of doing literature a non-starter. This is how I have discovered the joys of such classics as Emma, Little Women, Murder on the Orient Express, and Wuthering Heights. Okay, some more than others. However, today, I get to add to this as we dive back to the era of Jane Austen with all its pomp and circumstance.

So, to set the scene, tragedy has struck the Dashwood family as their father Henry has passed away, and after some prodding from his wife Fanny (Stacy Martin), John (Tom Brooke), Henry’s son, has decided not to financially support his stepmother (Caitríona Balfe), or half-sisters Elinor (Daisy Edgar-Jones), Marianne (Esmé Creed-Miles), or Margaret (Bodhi Rae Breathnach). Thankfully, a distant relative, Mrs Jennings (Fiona Shaw), has announced that  Sir John Middleton (Turlough Convery) has heard of their plight and offered them a cottage in Devon that they could move into for a low rent. This is a big change for all the girls, but with all change, there is frustration and opportunities. Some of those opportunities may be potential suitors, including the shy Edward Ferrars (George MacKay), the distant Colonel Brandon (Herbert Nordrum), and the far too forward John Willoughby (Frank Dillane). This could be a source of much relief for the family, or possibly much pain.

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Hamnet – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This film emotionally wrecked me. It’s raw to the bone and yet also one of the most cathartic works of cinema I have ever witnessed. Full of unbelievable pain and yet also moments of absolute joy. It exists as both a stunningly beautiful work of art and a profoundly haunting treatise on trauma.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

The Globe Theatre.

Hamnet Review Introduction –

Okay … phew … deep breath … I can do this. In my time, I have watched a lot of films that have made me emotional in the cinema. Indeed, including at least one time when I ugly cried so much the old lady sitting next to me asked if I was okay, oh, and that time when Pixar made us think they were going to kill all the toys in the furnace, I have still not forgiven you for that, Pixar. However, I have never experienced emotions quite the same way as I sat down to watch Hamnet, a film steeped in both beauty and trauma.  

So, to set the scene, we are in a small town in Elizabethan England, where, while tutoring some boys in Latin, a young William (Paul Mescal) sees an enigma walk out of the forest. Agnes (Jessie Buckley) is nothing like any of the other women he has met, understanding the ways of bees, knowing the curative power of herbs, and being the master of birds of prey. It is the combination of traits that makes the town whisper unseemly things behind your back. But when an expedited wedding is needed, a new complicated family is born. But life can be hard in this era, and you never know when it will sneak up on you, no matter how well you prepare.

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