Persuasion

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: Broken Hearted Spinster Gets a Second Chance at Love
Review: "Persuasion" is not as flashy as the some of the other Jane Austen stories that have been made into movies, but it is so rich and fulfilling to watch that it ranks up there with the best. It is a definite must-have to round-out your Austen collection--not a waste of money by a long shot.

The overall mood of the film is hushed and a little brooding, but not boring in the least. A caveat--any Austen fan will certainly endure, but non-Austen companions may not have the patience. Try having a Jane Austen party with your most refined friends, as this one may not fly with a wood-chopping, motorcycle riding husband or boyfriend.

The camera angles and lighting are reminiscient of other British productions, markedly different from "American-made" films. For instance, the rooms are not always well-lit, but this is more realistic to the era of candle-lighting and actually enhances the viewers understanding of the setting. As well, the camera techniques appear a little distracting to the average viewer, such as remaining fixed upon the actors' faces a little longer than "American" films and, but this is useful because it helps the viewer to feel what the characters are feeling. I'd have to say that this film is shot in a method that is somewhere between a stage-play and a typical movie.

The costumes and settings are authentic and believable. Every attention has been paid to period details and never does one think that it is all a hoax, I promise. Nothing is worse than seeing a telephone pole in the background or asphalt roads when you're enjoying a period film!

Amanda Root, who plays the main character of Anne Elliot, is an excellent actress and is very convincing as the broken-hearted spinster whose undeserving family cruelly mistreats her. She has a unique brand of beauty and elegance and pulls off her performance impeccably.

As the story unfolds it seems that Anne is destined to live a lonely life forever, until someone from her past unexpectedly enters the picture.......there are some surprises, but ultimately a satisfying, semi-vengeful ending. This one makes you think a little more about some of the cruelties of old English noble life and makes you appreciate the freedom to make our own choices in matters of love.

Rating:
Summary: Hey, sailor, looking for a good time?
Review: PERSUASION is another in a series of film adaptations of Jane Austen novels that take place in the Regency England of the early 1800s, a world where landed gentleman bemoan the fact that they haven't sired sons to inherit the estate, and whose unmarried daughters moon about waiting for well-mannered, moneyed Hunks to come within striking distance.

The lovelorn protagonist in this particular story is Anne Elliot (Amanda Root), the middle daughter of Walter (Corin Redgrave). Anne's mother being dead, the dominant female of Elliot's Kellynch Estate is Elizabeth (Phoebe Nicholls), Anne's older sister, who is becoming a sour and malicious Old Maid. However, Walter is financially strapped and must move the household to Bath, while renting out the Big House to Admiral Croft, since returned to land after the end of the latest squabble with France. While Walter and Elizabeth carriage off to their new digs, Anne visits with her younger sister, the selfish and silly Mary (Sophie Thompson), who's married to the son of another country gentleman, Mr. Musgrove, who himself has two unmarried daughters waiting for Prince Charming. As it so happens, Mrs. Croft (Fiona Shaw) has a brother, Frederick Wentworth (Ciaran Hinds), also in the Royal Navy. Eight years previous, Wentworth, then a junior officer with no financial prospects, and 19-year old Anne had a secret infatuation that ended when the latter reluctantly rejected the former's marriage proposal on the advice of a meddling socialite, Lady Russell (Susan Fleetwood). Wentworth, now holding the rank of Captain and possessing considerable means from the prize ships his command captured in the latest war, is back in town. Will his love affair with Anne be resurrected, or will he be snared by one of the Musgrove sisters? In the meantime, Anne is taking hits from William Elliot, her handsome cousin and heir apparent to Kellynch Estate.

Whew! Have you got all of this written down?

PERSUASION is impeccably acted, costumed and photographed, and, as such, should rightfully be ranked as one of the best of Austen's Big Screen soaps. In my opinion, however, it's flawed as an entertainment vehicle when compared with the recent cinematic versions of EMMA, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, and MANSFIELD PARK. Anne failed to inspire in this viewer the admiration and affection engendered by the heroines of those others, who were individually more clever, more intelligent, more plucky, or more vivacious. Of single women in her position, Anne states, "We live at home - quiet, confined - and our feelings prey upon us." Stewing in one's own juice is more like it, and Anne raises this exercise to an art form. Jeez, go out and get a job at Starbuck's already! And, while none of the JA epics are action thrillers by the wildest imagination, PERSUASION moves at a pace akin to rock formation.

Perhaps the most interesting character is Mrs. Croft. At this point in history (1814), the Admiralty apparently had a policy of allowing its warship commanders to take their spouses along on deployments. Thus, the Admiral's wife has seen much of the world, much to the envy of the stay-at-home-and-be-wretched ladies. Unfortunately, Mrs. Croft has too little screen time and makes no effort to impart any wider perspective to sad sack Anne.

I enjoyed PERSUASION to a certain degree for no other reason than it's an excellent period piece, but am thankful that it's the last of the Austen flicks that I'd obligated myself to see.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: This is by far one of my favorite movies. It is slow paced, but it certainly pays off in the end. I did want to point out something raised by another reviewer, regarding the "unnecessary" insertion of the scene where Wentworth comes on behalf on the Crofts to Anne--Jane Austen actually wrote two endings to Persuasion. The alternate ending you can find in the appendix. One ending does feature Wentworth coming on behalf on Admiral & Mrs Croft, and the other ending has the letter. This movie has taken both endings and combined them. I personally love that they did that, as they took my favorite parts from both. So the movie didn't really deviate from the book in that regard. And I think that Anne certainly did have her "second bloom." She's prettier and more outgoing during the second half of the movie. My only small contention is Mrs Smith's story, they left out a large chunk which would have helped shed light on Mr. Elliott's character. That being said, there's nothing better than curling up in front of this movie and coming away smiling.

Rating:
Summary: Decent adaptation...ONLY SEE IF YOUVE READ THE BOOK
Review: First of all, if you haven't read this book, I strongly recommend that you DO NOT see this movie. I don't think it would give you a very good impression of what is one of my favorite books. The pacing is wrong, it manages to jump around and drag on seemingly without going anywhere at the same time. I also think that they expect you to infer quite a bit about the characters and events prior to the movie, but don't do a very good job of setting them up. Also, the sound quality of the dialogue isn't very good. Basically, if you don't already care about the characters, you still won't; if you don't already have some idea of the plot, it will be confusing and move incredibly slowly.

If you have already read the book, I would suggest seeing this movie, it is a decent adaptation (not as good as both recent Emmas and the most recent P&P, but to each their own). As far as I can remember, the two most major changes made were that the alternate ending (Wentworth speaking on the behalf of the Admiral regarding Kellynch) was added, and Mrs. Smith's story was changed to be much, much shorter and more straightforward. I think that both of these changes worked fairly well. What I couldn't stand about this version was its drab personality and horrible miscastings. Ciaran Hinds plays a dull (and unattractive) Capt. Wenworth. Amana Root is almost always too passive and serious as Anne (why is she such a good companion? why does everyone like her so much?) and spends half the movie staring sad and confused into the camera. She never gets her second "bloom" either. Mrs. Smith is laughably goofy. Elizabeth slouches and chews loudly and snorts and isn't at all elegant. Still, I think the Musgroves and Crofts are played well, as are Harville and Benwick. Also, the letter scene was completely ruined for me...they both read it aloud, but not perfectly in unison.

Overall, I gave this movie three stars because even though it's not done at all how I picture it, and is very unclear in parts, it still tells the story faithfully for those who have read it, and it's such a great story....for all of its shortcomings I've still seen this 3 times.

Rating:
Summary: Unspoken Emotion
Review: I loved this movie!! I am a huge Jane Austen fan and this movie perfectly captured her ability to show the inner turmoil of her characters through thier unspoken emotions. The last couple of scenes take my breath away every time I see it and those leading up to the climax make me yell at my TV each time. The cast is great and the costumes and scenes are wonderful. I highly reccomend this film to Austen lovers and anyone else who adores British flims. A great movie!

Rating:
Summary: One of the best Jane Austen adaptation.
Review: Really likes this adaptation of persuasion. The actors conveyed the sentiments of Anne & Captain Wentworth very well.

Rating:
Summary: Not convincing
Review: I am a true Jane Austen lover. Persuasion is one of her best novels, yet this movie failed to live up to the emotion and feeling of the book. Amanda Root's portrayal of Anne is insipid and she does little more move around the movie looking pained. There is no chemistry at all between Anne and Captain Wentworth, and I felt that the pieces where the movie deviated from the story were not only not needed, but poorly done. Really quite disappointing.

Rating:
Summary: Jane Eyre with Timothy Dalton
Review: I think this one of the best movies that I have ever seen! The acting was superb! It is a long movie, but when I finished the first video, I could hardly get the second one in fast enough. I just sat enrapt! I highly recommend.

Rating:
Summary: Persuasion
Review: Jane Austen is a wonderful writer. Her stories are just as true today as in her day. She has a great way of getting her ideas about family & relationship across to the reader with such tact & humor. In my 5 favorite books from Jane, love wins out in the best possible way!