Persuasion

"Persuasion," the film, is a faithful adaptation of Jane Austen's final completed novel, and to my mind her finest book. It is directed, with subtlety and brilliance, by Roger Michell. The film is quite able to stand alone, on its own merits - you don't have to know Ms. Austen's work to be captivated by the pure magic of the romance, the Regency English period history, brilliant characterizations, color, music and costumes of this extraordinary drama brought to life on the screen. The movie deals with the same social issues as the book, especially the British class system. Rigid social barriers existed - and everyone wanted to marry "up" to a higher station - and into wealth. This is also a very poignant and passionate tale of love, disappointment, loss and redemption. The point is clearly that one shouldn't ever be persuaded to abandon core values and beliefs, especially for ignoble goals. There are consequences, always. Sir Walter Elliot, Lord of Kellynch Hall, is an extravagant, self-aggrandizing snob, and a bit of a dandy to boot. He has been a widower for many years and spends money beyond his means to increase his social stature. His eldest daughter, who he dotes on, is as conceited and spoiled as he is. The youngest daughter, Anne (Amanda Root), is an intelligent, sensitive, capable and unassuming woman in her late twenties when the film begins. She had been quite pretty at one time, but life's disappointments have taken their toll and her looks are fading. She and her sister are both single. Anne had once been very much in love with a young, and as yet untried, navel officer. A woman who had been a close friend to Anne's mother, persuaded Anne to call off the engagement, convincing her that she could make a much better match. After much consideration, Anne did not follow her heart or her better instincts, and she and her young officer, Frederick Wentworth (Ciaran Hinds), separated. She has never again found the mutual love or companionship that she had with him. The Elliot family is forced to financially retrench because of their extravagance. They lease Kellynch Hall to...of all people...Wentworth's sister and her husband. Elliot, his oldest daughter and her companion, move to a smaller lodging in Bath for the season, leaving Anne to pack up their belongings before joining them. She gets the Cinderella treatment throughout the film. Anne chooses this time to visit with her middle sister, an abominably spoiled, whiny hypochondriac, Mrs. Musgrove. She has made a good, but not brilliant match to a local squire. Charles Muskgrove, her husband, his parents, and their two younger, eligible daughters, Louisa and Henrietta, are delightful. There are wonderfully warm scenes of family and friends dining, dancing, hiking over the gorgeous countryside, and at the seashore, that bring the audience smack into early 19th century English life. It is at the Muskgrove estate that Anne meets Frederick Wentworth again, after his absence of seven years. He is in the neighborhood, because his sister is now in the area, residing at Kellynch, of course. Wentworth is now a Captain in the Royal Navy and quite wealthy. When their eyes meet for the first time, you can absolutely feel Anne's longing and remorse. Intense. I cannot imagine a better actress to play Anne than Amanda Root. She slowly transforms herself from a sallow, aging spinster to a luminescent woman in love - and this is Not just the makeup. Wentworth/Hinds is aloof with Anne, although civil. The man was hurtfully rejected once before and it appears that he still feels the sting of her snub. Now Wentworth is on the marriage market and Louisa sets her cap for him. Accidents and various adventures ensue, from the resorts of Lyme and Bath to the Muskgrove estate, bringing Anne and Wentworth closer together. The passion between the two is palpable, although Very understated, (this is Regency England after all). If Ms. Root is the perfect Anne, then Mr. Hinds is the best possible Wentworth. He is as large and virile as she is petite and feminine. He oozes sexuality...but again, he portrays his character with great subtlety. The entire production is brilliantly cast and the acting is superb I think this is Ms. Austen's most passionate piece. Some scholars say that she modeled Anne Elliot after herself. This remarkable film, like the novel, and the issues it tackles, is just as germane today as it was when written. Each time I view it, it just gets better. And the romance...well, no one does romance better than Jane Austen.

Excellent adaptation, the story is paced just right, the cast is great and the regency’s period is true to form.

The 1995 Persuasion movie is not only my favorite adaptation of that particular book, it's one of my top five Jane Austen adaptations. And one of my favorite period movies. And just one of my favorite movies! It's just that good. The cast is excellent. I love the look and feel of realism it has too, similar to the 2005 Pride and Prejudice and Bright Star movies- realistic lighting, no makeup, messy hair, etc. Every adaptation has its flaws, and I guess I should just get them out of the way beforehand. This film contains one big historical error! The sailors often go about in their naval uniforms. While this looks really nice on screen, it is actually not accurate. As we know from Mansfield Park, these uniforms could only be seen while the officers were on duty. Probably most casual viewers wouldn't know this and it's cool to see them though. Another issue that doesn't really bother me in particular is the somewhat lacking exposition. I feel a little bit, that this movie was written with book fans in mind. If you weren't already familiar with the story, you might find it a bit confusing, especially in the beginning, what was going on between Anne and Wentworth. As I said, I had no problem following anything but since I had already read the book that doesn't really mean much. The casting is admittedly not perfect. Many of the actors are a bit too old, but nothing jarring like in 1971. Their brilliant performances more than made up for this- with one big exception- Phoebe Nicholls as Elizabeth Elliot was way over the top. Both the canceled and actual ending of the book were used. Some liked the addition, but I could take it or leave it, personally. Some of the other changes from the book may have worked as just a movie, but were lacking for me as an adaptation. Actually, I can say that about pretty much everything- there's nearly nothing in this movie that I don't like as just a movie. Before I say again how much I love this movie (I ended up rewatching it 3 times!), I remembered another scene that bothered me. Anne is taken to Upper Cross in a farmer's cart instead of Lady Russell's carriage. Really? That was stretching it quite a bit. I know Sir Walter doesn't pay much attention to her, but he would never allow his daughter to be seen traveling in that way! And Lady Russell would never have allowed it! She couldn't spare her carriage to go 3 miles away?? All in all, admittedly, this movie is not perfect. But it's still a darn good movie and it's the closest to perfection any of the adaptations of Persuasion have gotten so far.

this was a good movie. l think you will like it.

If the pleasures of tea, a letter from a friend, sparkling oceans and ships appeal to you, this movie will be a delight. From the sunlit kitchen tables to the birds chirping at the country estates, you will find the atmosphere and sound very realistic. This is the story of two people seeking a second chance at happiness and almost seeming to pass by one another like two ships in the night. Neither is willing to say what they are feeling as both are still emotionally distraught from their unfortunate breakup. Anne (Amanda Root) is an angel of mercy to everyone around her. She not only provides care, she also seems to be everyone's confidante. In her eyes we see her own private torture, which she tries to hide at all costs. She feels that perhaps she made a mistake in rejecting the love of Capt. Wentworth (Ciarán Hinds), who could not provide for her financially at the time. When he appears in her life again, she fears she may lose him forever. Her own family has gone in various directions due to their own financial difficulties. She is burdened with guilt and financial worries. At first she is shy and melancholy and then when she realizes love may again be within her reach, she blossoms into a beautiful woman who knows exactly what she wants. The temptation at the start of this movie is to just stop the tape and rewind. However, something in the story kept me watching and the conclusion was very worthwhile. The story is not complex, yet the finer details are worth following and are at times very amusing. Some of the dialogue is so wonderful you have to rewind just to listen to it again! Mr. Elliot: "Good company is always worth keeping." Anne: "My idea of good company, Mr. Elliot, is the fellowship of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation and a liberality of ideas. That is what I call good company." Mr. Elliot: "That is not good company. That is the best." Or when Mr. Elliot is trying to seduce Anne into marrying him he tries to work his way into her heart with some blandishment and yet Anne is only engaging in a casual dalliance. Anne: "You presume to know me very well, Mr. Elliot" Mr. Elliot: "In my heart...I know you...intimately." A relaxing, beautiful and contemplative movie you can enjoy on a cold day with a pot of tea and some heart shaped shortbread cookies. Dreadfully Romantic! ~The Rebecca Review

PERSUASION is a Jane Austen's less known book than PRIDE AND PREJUDICE or SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, written when the author was older. This book has a very refined and complex plot and many scholars consider that the heroin of this book, Anne Elliot, is one of the most complex characters that Ms. Austen created. I have readen all her books and I must agree with them. She is not the vivacious Elizabeth Bennett or the sensible Eleanor Darwood,or even the lovely Emma, but in Anne the aspect of introversion and reflexion are profound. It is not very easy to read her emotions, she conceals them very well, and being a very private person, her thoughts are not very easily apparent to the others. Her refusal of the proposal of marriage at 19 years old put her "in the shelf" and the reasons for this refusal are not very clear, but it seemed influenced by an older friend that thought that the impoverished pretendent was not "good enough" for the young Anne, daughter of a baronet. Since then, she lived for the confort of her family without any recognition. The return of her former pretendent to the place where she lives now makes her review her past actions and consider if the life that she is living now is better than the risk of the marriage at 19 with a man that she obviously loved. This is the plot of the romance and also of the movie. The richness and quality of the drama of Ms. Austen's book is well known but must be very difficult to portray in a movie of more or less than 2 hours. Fortunately for the fans this movie achieved this almost impossible task. With the key characters played by Amanda Root (Anne Elliot) and Ciaran Hind (Captain Wentworth) and a support cast of magnificent quality , the movie portrays the intricacies of the romance with superb maestry and the actress playing Anne (probably the most difficult character of Ms. Austen to play) makes a job so good that watching the movie we can see her inner conflicts and hopes, the despair and the happiness in her face almost without any words being said. Ciaran Hind is a magnificent Navy Captain and makes the perfect pair for Amanda Root. They are older than the other characters in the other books of Ms. Austen (Anne must be at least 27-28 years old and Captain Wentworth is certanly more than 30, almost 35 years old) but it must be mentioned that Persuasion was the last book of Ms. Austen. If you want to enjoy a extremely good romantic movie, faithful to the spirit of the book and with a superb cast, figurines and scenario, you will enjoy this adaptation very much. Is is priceless,a delicate jewel that follows the spirit of Jane Austen's world with respect and even admiration. If you enjoyed Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson or Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow you will enjoy Persuasion very much. Highly recommended!

loved this when I first saw it in 1915 and love it still today

I love the works of Jane Austen; it's amazing how very different her novels are from each other, and how different her heroines are. I'm often disappointed in films made of Austen's novels, but this version of Persuasion is true to the novel and takes great pains not to idealize the dress and social customs of the period. The film also refrains from glamorizing it's heroine too much, or from making her too worldly. Anne Eliot is played to perfection by actress Amanda Root. Anne has none of the quick-witted vivacity of my favorite Austen heroine, Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. On the other hand, she is not as soppy and slow as my least favorite heroine, Fanny Price (Mansfield Park). Anne is educated and sensible, yet she is sensitive and interested in romantic poetry. She is a quiet woman living a quiet life, nearly a decade since experiencing what women of her time called a "disappointment in romance" and giving up hope of ever marrying. The daughter of a baronet, her family has fallen onto hard times while her former lover has risen in a successful naval career; what would have been an "imprudent" match 8 years ago would actually have worked out to her advantage. The story of the novel and the movie is set against this back story. This film version of Persuasion is a quiet film, a very refreshing un-Hollywood type of movie. It is also a very artistic movie; the visual aspect is beautiful--especially the artistic shots of the sea side at Lyme--and the sound track is spare and beautiful--the music is solo piano, and the absence of orchestral richness adds to the serene quality. Also, birdsong plays a large part in the background sounds, and the main crisis of the film plays out against a sudden silence intensified by the call of a song bird. All of these small gestures add up to a beautiful, spare, unglamorized film of a beautiful, spare, unglamorized Austen novel, a quiet story, well-told.

Et Dieu sait que je suis une grande fan de Jane Austen, fan qui se fait un devoir de regarder chaque adaptation qui passe. Cette version de Persuasion, qui date de 1995, est à mon sens celle qui, à ce jour, est la plus fidèle au roman, qui en saisit le mieux l'esprit et décrit le mieux l'époque, grâce à une reconstitution de grande classe (décors, costumes) et à un magnifique jeu d'acteurs, Amanda Root (Anne Elliot) en tête. Celle-ci n'est au départ que la seconde fille d'un baronet, plutôt mal-aimée par les siens qui la considèrent comme quantité presque négligeable alors qu'elle est parfaite de dignité, de dévouement et d'empathie. La vie qui ne l'a pas épargnée va se charger de lui rendre ses droits et c'est ce cheminement vers le bonheur que nous suivons avec délices. Son épanouissement personnel et ses retrouvailles avec son amour de jeunesse, le capitaine Wentworth, s'accompagnent heureusement d'une transformation physique palpable, qui fait tout le charme de ce film : de chrysalide, la jeune femme se transforme en élégant papillon. Persuasion est un vibrant plaidoyer pour la cause des femmes et leur droit au bonheur dans l'étroit carcan de la bonne société géorgienne. Un délicieux bonbon anglais pour les après-midis pluvieuses, avec happy end en bonus. Attention, ce film est en anglais avec sous-titres anglais uniquement.

Good movie! Very uplifting! About second chances!

正直キャストされた方々の顔ぶれは「見てみたい！」という気持ちにはなりにくい思いでしたが、同じ原作の他の作品との違いを見てみるために購入しました。 最後の映像も今までにないストーリーでした。やはり配役が華やかさというか、もう少し若い感じがでていればとは思いました。

This is a wonderful adaptation of 'Persuasion'. It's faithful to the text, the period details are very good and the direction and production are both excellent. Amanda Root is exactly as I imagined the heroine to be and Ciaran Hinds makes a wonderful romantic lead, a mixture of love for ann and frustration with her family and friend who exert too much influence upon her. A special mention of the lighting of this production must be made. It's beautiful and atmospheric.

Semplicemente perfetto. A mio parere la migliore trasposizione dell'ultimo romanzo della Austen, che resta uno dei miei preferiti. Gli attori sono assolutamente perfetti, la trasposizione dal libro allo schermo cattura fedelmente lo spirito del romanzo. Se possibile, da vedere in lingua originale. Spedizione perfetta.