Persuasion

Rating:
Summary: True to the spirit of Jane Austen. A gem!
Review: Jane Austen's wonderful novels have been adapted many times over and many recent adaptations have been excellent. "Persuasion" is one of those heartwarming and romantic love stories that you'll want to revisit again and again.

This is a story of Anne Eliott, second daughter to a debt-ridden baronet. She fell in love with the dashing and handsome Frederick Wentworth at age 19 but was persuaded to break the engagement because of his limited prospects. She is, after all, from a noble family while he has a far humbler background.

9 years later, Anne is still unmarried and considered a spinster at age 28. A visit to her younger sister Mary puts her in the path of Frederick - now a successful navy captain. She discovers that she is still in love with him but he appears civil but cold (not having forgiven her for breaking his heart).

You'll have to watch the movie to find out how it all turns out but I guarantee that you will find this a thoroughly romantic and enjoyable period piece. The acting is topnotch and it has the high production values that you would find in an A&E or BBC production. If you've read the book, you will find that this adaptation is very faithful to its source.

I would also recommend "Sense & Sensibility" (Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet), "Emma" (Gwyneth Paltrow) and the fantastic "Pride and Prejudice" (Jennifer Ehle, Colin Firth) to round out a great selection of Jane Austen films. Be sure to check out "Wives and Daughters" (Justine Waddell, Keely Hawes) for another splendid romantic adaptation (this time from Mrs. Gaskell's early Victorian novel).

Rating:
Summary: Fine piece of work
Review: Haven't read the novel yet, but this is awfully good--a dark, romantic examination of 19th century courtship. The acting is first-rate, thanks to the Royal Shakespeare Company. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely marvellous
Review: This movie is one of my Austen's favorite. I should say that, in fact, its completely different from other Austen adaptations but all the same it captures best the character's feelings in the book. Of course is not as so "dynamic" as other adaptations but we must understand that this novel is the last one that Jane Austen wrote and is entirely different from the others. Many critics say that this novel was written in a new style and much of the situation and places are highly connected with Austen's own life so involves much more mature emotions ,and if we consider that this is one of the oldest protagonists of Austen's novel and has suffer a vast deal more than any other character, it is absolutely rational to expect a much more serious movie with deep "hidden" feelings in which the audience can understand and connect with Anne's feelings.
I absolutely think that Amanda Root's performance is superior, it has credibility, and most of all she is capable of expressing the love, and passion that she feels for Cap. Wentworth, and at the same time the pain and suffering that she bestowed all those years , to me she fully represents my idea of Anne Elliot.
Ciaran Hinds its mostly the same, he is wonderful! Everything that a Cap. Wentworth should be. His performance really makes you suffer and love him through the movie with his looks, and at the same time with his indifferences towards Anne. Pitty that the movie does not shows Anne and Wentworth kissing for a longer time !!!!!
To me this movie is one of the greatest adaptations of Austen's novel with P&P, faithfully to the book and intense as the book itself.

Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: It took a few minutes to catch up to the plot - watched it BEFORE I read the Jane Austen book, but it's another Jane Austen collectable! Thanks A&E for preserving the true spirit of the author!

Rating:
Summary: A Disappointing Adaptation
Review: As a lifelong admirer of Jane Austen's novels, and one who also greatly enjoys the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice, I was looking forward to seeing this video. However Amanda Root's interpretation of Anne is so at odds with my reading of her that it spoiled the film for me. While her depressed and downtrodden demeanor may have been at least somewhat appropriate in the beginning, there was no sign of the remarkably improved features and color that Austen described during the Musgrove party's sojourn at Lyme, and there was nothing in Anne's looks, complexion or expression that would have caused the Walter Elliot character to look at her twice, as the novel demanded. The sprightly personality and sense of humor which is an integral part of the character that Austen created was missing entirely. The director also took too many liberties with Jane Austen's story, having the characters behave in a manner which seems foreign both to the times and to their personalities. I am particularly thinking of the way in which Wentworth announces his intention to marry Anne during the gathering in her father's salon. After seeing this movie I intend to check out the 1971 version, which several reviewers have felt was far more faithful to Jane Austen's. And after all, that's why most of us want to view it.

Rating:
Summary: The eyes have it!
Review: Oh yes, this is my kind of movie!! It is a film that requires your complete attention to the actors on the screen; you've got to pay close attention to them because there is not any overt display of feelings/emotions until the very end of the movie. No chewing of the scenery--just superb acting! The eyes of Amanda Root and Ciarian Hinds (as Anne and Captain Wentworth) express a world of emotions--they simply speak volumes. There is not a great deal of "physical action" in this film. On the surface, everthing is sooooooo proper, refined and controlled; however, there's "loads" going on emotionally inside the characters and that is expressed completely through the actors' eyes and facial expressions. Amanda Root and Ciarian Hinds performances just blew me away! If you are not watching Root's eyes (as Anne) when she first sees Captain Wentworth, you will miss completely what he has meant to her, what he still means to her and what the movie is about--it's all portrayed in her eyes. Ciarian Hinds, as Captian Wentworth, at first keeps "his cool" doing the macho thing and not giving the audience a hint of what Anne has meant and stills means to him. But watch that facade start to crumble--again portrayed in his eyes. Some reviewers on this board find Hinds' portrayal of the captain as too distant and cold. I don't. Remember, he was the one rejected by Anne and, to me, he's putting on that "I'll show her" routine. But as I previously stated that soon changes and you really find out how much he still loves her.
I just love acting of this caliber. For me, you can forget the actors that chew up scenery. Give me the ones that can stun you with their depth of emotion and feeling through subtle means of expression--Amanda Root and Ciarian Hinds are such actors. In fact, everyone, in Persuasion, gives superb performances!
If you are into wonderful acting, buy this film!

Rating:
Summary: YUK!
Review: I love Jane Austen... read her books over and over. Appreciate almost every attempt to portray her genius on film. But this dark, wimpy, portrayal is an insult. The perfect Anne Elliott of the novel smiles only twice in this entire film, the rest of the time walks around with a 'deer-in-the-headlights'-with- depression look- this is not the admired, strong, smart, persevering Anne it should have been... the novel makes you want to copy Anne- this film makes you want to run! Yuk! The old BBC version is so much closer to the real story, and the characters perfect. This version is not worth borrowing for free from a friend!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful movie, love to watch over and over!!
Review: This is a wonderful movie for those who truely love historical romance and/ or Jane Austen! I recommend it whole heartedly.

Rating:
Summary: Can't quite warm to it.
Review: Evidently, to love this adaptation, it helps if you're a Hinds fan. I'm not, which partly explains why I'm not satisfied by it. I say this as someone who has read all six novels and who enjoys almost all of the adaptations, including the old BBC ones.

I picture Wentworth as a livelier, younger-seeming man, a smile never far away. Someone you'd enjoy being around. Hinds' portrayal is rather dour, even cold. In the scene at the Bath concert, where Anne's cousin is paying her attentions, Anne practically begs him to stay, but he is cold to the point of humiliation. Sorry, at that point I wouldn't care if he came back or not.

Amanda Root would not be my first choice for Anne. I pictured her as a bit more elegant and poised. However, I did like her better with repeated viewing.

It's a fairly small budget production, and for some reason they often shot in small, cramped, dark locations. I believe this was to give it a realistic feel, but it only succeeded in contributing to a dark, claustrophobic mood.

One other (small) criticism I had was the scene with Lady Dalrymple and her daughter. It was over the top. Lady Dalrymple especially looked like she belonged in an opium den. I guess it was supposed to be humorous, but it gave me the creeps. The point of those characters was to satirize wealth, connection and snobbery. It seemed pointless to make them so weird.

So, on the whole, I would watch other Austen adaptations before this one. I think the definitive Persuasion is still to be made. A note on the book: it is one of the most accessible of all the six novels, and I recommend reading it.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Adaptation of Austen's Book
Review: I thought this was a great movie. The pain and anguish of lost love is seeping out of Amanda's Root's performance. She has a misarable family, who are only concerned with social rank, hair styles and fashion, and that's just her Dad! One sister pretends to be sick when she's bored with her children and husband, but still manages to eat like there's no tomorrow! Her other sister is more concerned with the latest in marzipan, than she is in anything else.

There's other stuff going on, intrigue, romance and the beautiful English countryside. The characters spring from Austen's book and if you like Jane Austen, you'll certainly appreciate this British version of Persuasion.