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(More customer reviews)"Persuasion" is tied with "Pride & Prejudice" as my top favorite Jane Austen novel. I was looking forward to this version, after being a little disappointed with the 1995 adaptation (actors were a bit too old for their roles, I thought, but that's another review).
While "Northanger Abbey" is a story of young love, "Persuasion" is a story of love lost. Anne Eliott was once engaged to Frederick Wentworth but has had to give up the engagement due to the persuasion of her friend Lady Russell. Anne is the daughter of a baronet and Frederick is a young lieutenant with little prospects and was deemed by her friends and family as not worthy enough to marry Anne. Fast forward to 7 or so years later, and Anne's family is in dire circumstances. Her family has to move from their large country estate to Bath in an effort to retrench and avoid further debt. Frederick returns to England as a wealthy and highly eligible naval captain and his and Anne's paths meet again. Frederick is pursued by 2 of Anne's younger sisters-in-law while Anne is left to wonder what might have been. After a stressful visit to Lyme, Frederick and Anne's paths briefly separate. Anne moves to Bath where she is pursued by her cousin William Eliott and she crosses paths with Frederick again. Will love triumph the second time around?
Whether you agree or disagree with my assessment of the 1995 version starring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds, I think you will find that Rupert Penry-Jones and Sally Hawkins are wonderful in their roles as Frederick Wentworth and Anne Eliott. Sally Hawkins - unknown to me until now - gives a soul-stirring and endearing performance as Jane Austen's long suffering heroine. Rupert Penry-Jones is aptly dashing and handsome, though perhaps a little bland, as Frederick (I'd take him over Ciaran Hinds any day). The supporting cast is solid - with a few exceptions - and the screenplay, up until the last 10 minutes, stays true to the tone and spirit of the book. The production values, costumes and locations are excellent. This scores points for actually filming in Bath and Lyme (actual locations from the book). Another high note is Martin Phipps (who also composed the amazing score of BBC's "North & South) who delivers yet another stirring score.
The reasons for the 4 stars are as follows (warning, spoilers!):
a) Casting - I absolutely detest Amanda Hale as Mary Musgrove. She is annoying and stands out in a bad way from the rest of the cast. Julia Davis is also off as Elizabeth Eliott and looks more like Anne's wicked stepmom than her older (by 2 years) sister. Elizabeth is supposed to be beautiful and elegant, and Julia Davis is nowhere near this. Surely there are more than enough talented British actresses who could have played these roles.
b) Changes - Some long-time fans will be a little irritated with the changes made to famous scenes from the book. This is where the 1995 version triumphs over this version. While the Amanda Root version remained faithful to the book, this version strayed in some of the vital scenes such as the dialogue between Captain Harville and Anne on woman's constancy; and the scene where Frederick writes a letter to Anne.
c) The last 10 minutes - where Anne runs around Bath like a headless turkey - almost completely ruined it for me. Whoever thought of sending a docile, elegant, poised, upper-class lady like Anne to run around town like a servant girl is beyond me. The adaptation would have been outstanding except for this miscalculation. I am not a purist, but there is just so much a long-time Jane Austen fan can take and this one crossed the line for me.
All in all, however, I give it 4 stars for Sally, Rupert, most of the supporting cast, Bath, the score and the first 80 minutes. It goes along swimmingly up until the climax, at which point I have to fast forward to skip the part I detest. A good and solid adaptation, but "Northanger Abbey" starring JJ Feild and Felicity Jones gets my vote as my favorite of the recent Jane Austen adaptations.
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Persuasion (2007)Jane Austen’s romantic masterpiece comes to DVD in a thrilling new production from the BBC and Masterpiece Theatre. Anne Elliot fell deeply in love with the handsome young naval officer Frederick Wentworth at the age of nineteen. But with neither fortune nor rank to recommend him, Anne was persuaded to break off her engagement. Eight years later, Anne has lived to regret her decision. She never stopped loving Wentworth, and when he returns from sea with a fortune and rank, she can only watch as every eligible young woman in the district falls at his feet.
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