Persuasion
Anne Elliot is persuaded to break off an engagement to Capt. Wentworth, but tensions are resumed when they meet again eight years later.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG
Release Date: 5-JUN-2007
Media Type: DVD
Movie adaptations of Jane Austen's classic novels were all the rage (relatively speaking) in the mid-1990s. Clueless updated Austen's Emma, which was more conventionally adapted in another version (Emma) starring Gwyneth Paltrow. Emma was produced yet again, this time for British television, as were a celebrated miniseries of Pride and Prejudice and this splendid film of Austen's Persuasion. Persuasion is the story of a love that survives eight years of dormancy and the frustrating obstacles of class prejudice in 19th century England. Anne (Amanda Root) is captivated when she meets the dignified naval officer Capt. Wentworth (Ciarán Hinds), but she is advised to discourage his romantic overtures because he has no fortune. They meet again eight years later, but now Capt. Wentworth has become wealthy while Anne's father is in reduced circumstances in the wake of reckless extravagance. A series of circumstances ensue which prevent Anne and Wentworth from expressing their mutual and inevitable love. The film's success depends entirely on the subtle, superb performances of Root and Hinds. The film builds slowly, occasionally leaving you wondering if anything at all is going to happen. When it does, you realize how carefully crafted a film this is, and the final result is grandly rewarding. --Jeff Shannon
Persuasion Accessories
Persuasion Reviews
This is one of the greatest Austen adaptations ever. Filled with faithful depictions of the Austen scenes. And wonderful tension between the romantic leads.
I've watched this DVD twenty times, at least, and I do not grow tired of it. The scenes are delightful - the houses, landscapes, seascapes, the interior scenes, candlelit dinners - watching these is like walking through a gallery of fine art. The movie is very well cast. The characters in this novel are subtle and complex, and, while an hour and a half of film is too little to capture everything, the actors do a fine job in portraying nuance of feeling and understanding. It is said that we are to occupy ourselves with those things that are pure and noble and of good report. This DVD is certainly one of those things.
I love all these movies. I also love the fact that you don't have to leave your house to
rent a video.
I made the mistake of buying this movie without having seen it first. After forcing myself to sit through the first 30 minutes, I had to turn it off. Granted, I have not read the book so I cannot compare the two. However, this is an excruciatingly boring movie. I don't think even A-list actors could have saved this screenplay. This DVD went straight to the trash can.
I had just finished reading this novel by Jane Austen on my Kindle, and remembered seeing this on PBS a couple of years ago. I only caught the tail end of it, but decided to buy this. As with the book which was written towards the end of Jane Austen's life, the movie portrayed an older and more somber young woman, with less of the sense of humor that filled her earlier books. Perhaps life had 'beaten' Austen down...she had not had the opportunity to marry, nor had her sister after her fiance had died overseas. Austen most probably died of breast cancer which may have been giving her problems by the time she was writing this book. Whatever the reason, this story lacked the joy of the earlier ones, and this movie was not the best portrayal of the book in comparison to the many other portrayals of the other books. It seemed very choppy and didn't tie all the information in together that the book did such as the fact that the protagonist's male cousin and the woman who befriended her sister and father were in cahoots.
Maybe in a few years, someone else in England will see fit to produce this story again...they seem to like to redo Austen's stories on a regular basis. I hope they do. This isn't a bad movie, just not accurate and in keeping with the book.
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