I am a huge Jane Austen fan. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite (I am team Darcy all the way), but Persuasion may be my second favorite of her novels. I like the more mature story of a second chance romance...and the letter, often touted as the most romantic letter in literary history, is truly sigh worthy. I absolutely loved the 2007 BBC production starring Sally Hawkins, Rupert Penny-Jones, Anthony Head and Alice Kridge. That film really brought the story to life, building drama and tension that crests in the actual letter. Completely the opposite of this film.
I really like Dakota Johnson and Henry Golding and, as mentioned, I love the source material...so I can honestly say I was very excited to see this film in the works and I was eagerly anticipating it's release. I was there at the stroke of midnight to watch and grew more and more dissatisfied as the film went on.
It's like the story received a Bridgerton-lite filter and not just modernized twists but a true dilution of the source material.
The film starts with our protagonist, Anne Elliot, speaking to the audience...which she proceeds to do through the entire film...and not in a writing in her journal or thinking kind of way, but full on looking at and speaking to the audience. I imagine they thought it was funny. I could handle it at the start for the set-up, but then it really just started to take you out of the story, serving more as a distraction than a storytelling aid.
I was very disturbed that they turned Anne into a lush...her only pleasure seems to be drinking and she does it heavily throughout the film...including straight from the bottle. If you read the novel, this seems horribly out of character...which in the source material is above reproach.
The cast is given a multi-ethnic approach, similar in it's period inaccuracy as Bridgerton. It also gets a modern approach to sexuality as at one point it is alluded to that Lady Russell goes on European tours to have dalliances with men...something she and a young lady like Anne would never, ever have spoken about in reality.
There is an added feminist twist to the story (one that Austen didn't proved), Wentworth apologizes to Anne for her not being able to be in the navy and when Luisa and Anne discuss Wentworth's qualities...him listening to women is touted as a virtue. Fairly certain neither appear in the source material and seemed time period inappropriate.
Then there is Mr. Elliot and Anne's straightforward banter, again highly inappropriate and inaccurate.
Now for the story and it's changes...it was very strange to have Captain Wentworth telling Anne about how as an Admiral he would think "what would Anne do" and that's what he would do...how she is calm in a crisis, etc....and all of this before Luisa hits her head. It's like they didn't the audience was smart enough to glean that from her actions in the moment...which happens later (while watching, I though are they going to skip the real scene altogether and just have his words suffice? But no then they go on to show the injury scene!?!?!?) Also having Captain Wentworth telling Anne that there is an understanding that he didn't mean...changes his character. He truly didn't know that his actions toward Luisa could be misconstrued as more serious...something he never intended as the final letter clears up for anyone in doubt. Then there is the final letter (which is pretty perfect as is)...it ends up being a badly paraphrased and watered down version that contains absolutely no angst or love at all. Of course it didn't help that absolutely no tension or drama was built up at this point.
Add in some additional period inaccuracies like resin jewelry, pierced earrings, small bust above the front door and inappropriate clasps...the details might have been an indication of the lack of attention this film was going to show.
I did like the white and black pet rabbit, interesting touch that I didn't hate and Cosmo Jarvis was a bit of a sleeper surprise that I didn't hate in his role as Captain Wentworth.
I rarely ever recommend a different film, but I feel I really have to in this case. Please watch the 2007 BBC production of Persuasion instead of this film, it is a million times better.
Very disappointed.
