The answer, June 26 -- Georgia Oakley's second feature does not start from where her first did. Blue Jean, her 2022 debut about a PE teacher hiding her sexuality in 1980s England, was acquired out of Venice by Picturehouse and played the specialty circuit to sustained critical attention, earning Oakley a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. It was the kind of film the British industry makes well and that rarely travels far beyond its intended audience. The trailer for Focus Features' "Sense and Sensibility," released Thursday, answers a different question: what Oakley does with a star-studded cast, a Working Title budget, and Jane Austen.

women in Georgian England who cannot afford to be hones...