Rating: 
Summary: Romance at its best!
Review: "Most faithful" doesn't always equal "best" for film adaptations: often you want to see a new angle to the material if you loved the book that formed the basis for the screenplay. Yet Roger Michell's adaptation of "Persuasion" for the BBC is perhaps the most faithful of the many Austen adaptations that followed, and is still simultaneously the best. Like Patricia Rozema in :"Mansfield Park," he brings great intelligence and brings forth certain latent ideas in the text that speak to the era in which he filmed it: he shows the grubbiness of the Regency era, and emphasizes the differences in class relations. But unlike Rozema, Michell has the good sense to trust Austen and allow his heroine to be as quiet and as patient as the author wrote her to be. Amanda Root, with her beautiful undertsanding eyes that speak volumes, is as faithful to Austen's conception of the role as could be imagined. The rest of the cast is terrific: Corin Redgrave enjoyed some well deserved praise later in his career for his snobbish and empty headed Sir Walter Elliot, and Phoebe Nicholls is just as good as his eldest daughter (given to fits of pique against her sister Anne). The compositions are also marvelous, with tremendous innovative use being made of the actual Bath and Lyme Regis locations.
Rating:
Summary: ''Wentworth, he's a nobody''
Review: 'Persuasion' as a novel is flawless and to adapt it onto film, that was undoubtedly going to be a colossal task. The reason for this being that story is about love lost and the fear that it might never be able to be regained, two subjects that are difficult to portray without great acting, scenery and music. Luckily for the viewer, this adaptation of 'Persuasion' has all of that.
It really resonates with you from how it just captures each character perfectly and displays how aggravating the unbearably suffocating social etiquette of Regency England truly was. This might have seemed 'romantic' and 'emotional' in some overly sentimental Hollywood period films but in this adaptation, you see how heartbreaking it is. It is a raw and unflinching portrayal of how Regency England would have been like for the debt-ridden landed gentry yet it is a subtle and almost repressed tale of the choices we make.
The acting is sublime, I cannot applaud it more and other reviewers agree with me so it just can't be dissed! The music was beautiful and I loved the attention to detail that the camera gave - it just shows that the BBC weren't trying to make an adaptation that would make loads of money, they did it to fulfill what Austen wanted us to see.
I can see why some enthusiasts of the novel would feel that better looking people should have played the two main characters because that is Austen describes it in the book but don't be put off! The choice of actors actually works better because it is just about pure emotion, not how fit they are in the book.
Last Thought: This adaptation won't be for everyone but if you just want to appreciate matters of the soul without having image or superficiality in the middle of things, don't be dissuaded - watch 'Persuasion'.
Rating:
Summary: As memorable as the book
Review: As a lifelong fan of the works of Austen I am always leary of film adaptations, for fear they are glorified costume pieces. This film was so remarkably well done, the characterizations complete and fleshed out, it was as "clinging" as the book. It truly stays with you. Cirian Hinds and Amanda Root are wonderful of course, but the rest of the cast is just as ideal. I would recommend it to all but the most cynical non romantics.
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: I do not like Jane Austin books. I read several and was bored out of my mind. Now, having said that I absolutely adore the movies that are based on her books. I guess I just like the stories but not her style of writing. This is a great love story and since I like Ciaran Hinds this was very enjoyable. However, if you don't like long movies and english accents, I advise against it.
Rating:
Summary: perfect regency drama...
Review: I happened across this movie in, of all places, a bargain bin several years ago. This is one of my all time favorite movies. Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root give knock out proformances, the supporting cast is just as high caliber, the sets are accurate and visually stimulating and the film, IMO, is on par with A&E's Pride and Prejudice.
I recently began switching my VHS over to DVD. While this DVD has no special features, it was great getting a more accurate cover than the old VHS had (an embarrasing "clutch" shot of two models who aren't ever in the movie!). If you love the Regency period or an "Austenite"-you cannot pass this film up:)
Rating:
Summary: "-Loving Longest When All Hope Is Gone-"
Review: Jane Austen wrote PERSUASION towards the end of her life, while in her final illness. Thus an atmosphere of bending weariness and quiet resignation pervades this tender romance, infused within provincial life in Regency England, swaying against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. I could not help but love this BBC film version unconditionally, so deftly are the gentle qualities of the novel brought forth. As with her earlier novel, MANSFIELD PARK, Austen filled this story with subdued satire - intertwining a comedy of genteel manners with the unassailable decrees of the human heart. This is the story of Anne Elliot (Amanda Root): a single woman in her late 20's who, eight years previous, on the counsel of her patroness and late mother's friend, Lady Russell (Susan Fleetwood-who sadly died of cancer shortly after this film was made), had refused an offer of marriage from her true love, Captain Frederick Wentworth (Ciaran Hinds) on the grounds of his poor financial prospects. Captain Wentworth returns to Anne's rather confined realm of society when his sister, Mrs. Croft, and her husband, an Admiral in the Navy (John Woodvine, of 1992's WUTHERING HEIGHTS) lease Anne's baronet father's estate, Kellynch Hall. Before she can join her father and elder sister Elizabeth (Phoebe Nicholls) in Bath, she must first spend a few weeks with her hypochondriac younger sister Mary, whose husband Charles' family, the Musgroves - parents Mr. and Mrs. Musgrove, and two younger sisters, Henrietta and Louisa - reside nearby. It is here that Anne becomes re-acquainted with her long-lost love, who's by now an advantageous match for any young woman, having made his prize fortune during the war. Wentworth initially fancies himself "a lost man" to the first attractive young lady who bestows upon him her "compliments to the Navy." To all appearances, Louisa Musgrove is that very lady... Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds, even though they lack the physical beauty distinctive in other Austen adaptations, express the gamut of suppressed emotions most flawlessly here. Ms. Root conjures all the feelings of empathy and affection with every delicate expression she makes. Mr. Hinds, whom I've seen in a number of other roles -including that of an overwrought Mr. Rochester in a 1997 adaptation of JANE EYRE - gives here what's quite likely the best performance of his career. His Wentworth's subtle yet barely suppressed anger hits Anne like a bombshell. The emotion is slow paced and very flowing - but it's nonetheless quite palpable. The entire cast, in fact, gives every cause for high praise -- most notably Corin Redgrave (brother of Lynn and Vanessa) as Anne's vain and spendthrift father, Sir Walter Elliot, Sophie Thompson (sister of Emma Thompson) as Anne's self-centered younger sister Mary Musgrove, and Fiona Shaw (Mrs. Reed in 1996's JANE EYRE) as the indomitable Mrs. Croft - each are absolutely perfect in their respective roles.
Many a time, upon a weekend afternoon, I've placed this tape into my VCR and played it while occupied with various household chores. As ever and as always, this film offers up its many beauties, and they never fail to enchant me: the long walks through the pristine and stately New Forest - the excursions with the Navel men striding proudly along jetties of the shores at Lyme - the atmospheric turns about the drizzly sidewalks, the pump rooms, and the concert halls of Bath. Such are the scenes that eternally soothe a spirit ~
Rating:
Summary: The Best Jane Austen Film
Review: My husband and I both love watching this film. In fact, he has watched it several times with me, very intently. The tension that is maintained throughout the story is tremendous. Then finally, when they make us think we will still have to wait a bit longer (until evening) for the happy reunion, he is waiting for her near the door when she comes flying out. Finally, we can breathe and bask in their happiness. This is the most amazing feel-good, romantic movie; and it is perfectly cast. I have read the book twice and these characters seemed to just jump from the pages for me. Of course, I also think Persuasion is Jane Austen's best work, so I am a bit partial to this story; but I think the job they did on this movie is so incredible, it deserves to win awards. I will be watching this on rainy days for the next fifty years.
Rating: 
Summary: True to the spirit of the book
Review: Out of the recent film adaptations of the Jane Austen's novellas, this one tops them all. It's not to be compared to BBC's Pride and Prejudice as that's not a film. But when compared to Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility, Gwenyth Paltrow's Emma and Francis O'Conner in Mansfield Park, this film adaptation of 'Persuasion' is my favourite.
I found it difficult to accept the actress as Anne at first, butshe does grow on you. I found this film exquisite and true to the spirit of the novel. This version delivers in quality above all the rest.
Rating:
Summary: Jane Austen done well
Review: Persuasion is a much quieter movie than either Pride & Prejudice or Sense & Sensibility. It begins slowly and requires careful attention initially to understand what is happening. It opens with the falling financial situation of the Elliots of Kellynch Hall and displays the great vanity of the Baronet and his eldest daughter. But it is the quiet middle daughter, Anne Elliot, that we are here to watch. Through early dialog we learn that she is scorned by her elder sister and forgotten by her father. Only their neighbor Lady Russell sees her value. But 10 years earlier it was Lady Russell who counseled her to give up an attachment to young sailor "who had only himself to recommend him". Now the young sailor is Captain Wentworth, wealthy from the Napoleonic war, and his sister and brother-in-law, an Admiral Croft, are to rent Kellynch Hall. Amanda Root plays Anne quietly and it is in the small gestures that we come to see her depths: a hand to her face when Wentworth's name is first mentioned, holding a old paper boat with great care as she cleans out Kellynch Hall; gripping a chair to hold herself steady the first time she unexpectedly sees Wentworth; and her expression when her sister cruelly repeats that Wentworth "hardly knew her, she was so changed." But we also see her quiet strength when she cares for her constantly complaining sister Mary Musgrove and then nurses her nephew after a fall. Anne is the quiet one that everyone depends upon. Ciarán Hinds (recently seen as the Russian president in Sum of All Fears) is likewise excellent as the man once scorned by the wealthy Elliots. He is determined in his coldness toward Anne and likable in his warmth toward the Musgroves. The dinner party scene when the Crofts and Wentworth dine with the Musgroves shines as it exposes each character in turn. When Mrs. Croft describes her adventures sailing with her husband, you can see in Anne's eyes how she yearns for this life that she gave up 10 years earlier. (I finally figured out where I had seen Fiona Shaw, the actress who places Sophie Croft - she also plays Harry Potter's aunt Petunia Dursley. What a great range this actress has!) The period costumes, location filming, and wonderful music give this movie an authentic feel like other recent Austen films. Unlike the magnificent 6-hour adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, much of the novel's details are missing from this 2-hour film. Nor does Persuasion have the spectacle of Sense & Sensibility. What makes Persuasion wonderful is the quiet drama of this film, the great Austen dialog, and the care given to develop each character from this wonderful novel.
Rating: 
Summary: irritatingly sucky
Review: Poorly directed and thoroughly uninteresting. I am at a loss to explain why so many people have rated this film so highly: I personally got nothing out of it.
The plot is convoluted and has many red herrings; the pace slogs in the middle; the main character is frigid and unreadable, and the climactic moment of passion is confusing and predictable.
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