Another film version of a classic story suitable for our times.

Every now and then, I catch a surprise screening, which only gives us two hints: its PG rating and length (unless it’s a horror mystery screening, then it’s three). And I knew it would be the new version of Jane Austen’s classic romance “Sense and Sensibility.” So, I went back to watch Ang Lee’s 1995 version with Emma Thompson (who also wrote the screenplay), Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, and the late Alan Rickman to compare and contrast this new version. And while that version was brighter and more delightful, this one is still is suitable for any movie period. It’s the kind when women can move forward with their lives-with or without the complications of romance-and know the power of sisterhood.

You know the story of how the Dashwood women are deuced to poverty when Fanny (Stacy Martin), the snooty wife of their half-brother John (Tom Booke), tells her husband to reduce their inheritance to $500, following the death of their father. The Dashwood women consist of the eldest daughter Elinor (Daisy Edgar Jones), the middle daughter Marianne (Esme Creed-Miles), the youngest Margaret (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), and their mother Mrs. Dashwood (Caitriona Balfe). And despite their unfortunate circumstance, they’re capable of coping with their new home. Besides, they all have faith in true love. Certainly much more than the ancestor of the “Practical Magic” movies, who cursed that any man who would love a family member would die.

Elinor is in love with Fanny’s older brother Edward (George MacKay), despite the fact that they’re both too modest to admit their feelings for each other, especially when his inheritance is threatened if he marries a poor girl. And Margaret has two potential suitors: the kind-hearted but much older Colonel Brandon (Herbert Nordrum), who is the family friend of their lovable distant relative Mrs. Jennings (Fiona Shaw) and just returned home from serving in the East Indies, and the seemingly charming John Willoughby (Frank Dillane), who carries her home when she breaks her ankle on the beach. Although, we already know that she won’t end up with Willoughby.

This “Sense & Sensibility” was directed by Georgia Oakley, who also made the exhilarating independent LGBTQIA+ movie “Blue Jean,” and her background includes short films like “Hush” and “Callow & Sons.” And this is also the first screenplay for Diana Reid, the Australian author of “Love & Virtue,” “Seeing Other People,” and “Signs of Damage.” Their collaboration doesn’t top how Lee directed and Thompson wrote the screenplay for the 1995 version, but they do allow these women to resonate with the Austen characters. It’s a timely story that speaks to Austen fans about life and love without relying on assembly line cliches to warm their hearts up. They’re warmed by the characters and their personalities and hopes.

Jones and Creed-Miles both deliver as the two main sisters, because of how they both provide the youth and heart into their characters. And telling “Practical Magic 2” off, they don’t waste their time babbling away as an excuse to make the film longer. They talk to speak their thoughts out and to share their passions and tragedies about romance. I also admire the exuberance inside Shaw, the Hugh Grant reminders inside MacKay, and the charisma inside Dillane. A fresh “Sense and Sensibility” movie needs the right actors for these characters, and this one has them.

And the same deal applies for the costume designs, which are immaculate as any film adaptation, and the cinematography, which has a somber tone by Arnaud Potier (“Dead Man Walking,” Dreamin’ Wild”). The inside of the movie has to match the outside of it, and it’s gorgeous, emotional, and honest. All the qualities that would make the audience appreciate it.

I’m a 90s guy for thinking the 90s version is the better adaptation, but I’m also an optimistic guy for seeing the lovable nature of this 2020s version. And I think the audience will appreciate it for what it respects. The book, the period, and the women who aren’t such Fannys.