Persuasion

I understand some people didn't understand the choice to break the fourth wall in this adaptation. This was a bold choice as British period adaptations are renowned for their conservative subject matter and are commensurately conservative in the following of established conventions in their production. I can imagine some of my fellow British folk were outraged. I for one felt it worked to help the viewer align with Anne Elliot, Austen's most sympathetic heroine who is often browbeaten and left behind. The main merits of this version are twofold. First, in that Sally Hawkins is just absolutely perfect cast as Anne. She elicits so much sympathy and is so endearing. And second, that of the three adaptations available to us so far, this is the most engaging and modern in style and production value. It is quite short, though the novel is a short one too. But perhaps would have been closer to great if it padded things outa bit more.

Adrian Shergold's adaptation of Persuasion was the last in the ITV Jane Austen Season, and it ended on a high note. Very different style from the previous two, and is rather sombre in tone, as befits the story and characters in the novel. There is a voice over so as to enable the audience to get closer to the character of Anne Elliot played very well by Sally Hawkins. Rupert Penry-Jones is very good as Captain Wentworth, whose interaction with Anne is concise and to the point. They are not strangers, but they are estranged. Adrian Shergold employs a lot of hand held camera, and uses a lot of close ups in order for the audience to recognise the relationships between characters and their feelings. Quite often Sally Hawkins looks at the camera, and I felt this worked very well. My only slight annoyance with this adaptation was the director's unwillingness to have two people who are talking in the shot at the same time. Preferring to move from a close up of one to a close up of the other (shot reverse shot as it were) continuously. This works well occasionally, but when it is as often as it is in this adaption you become very aware of the camera and its movements, which detracts from the story and the conversation itself. This is my only slight problem with this adaptation. The supporting cast was brilliant, with Amanda Hale brilliantly playing Anne moronic younger sister. Alice Krige was great as Lady Russell, and Anthony Head as Sir Walter Elliot. This is to mention only a few. To say that ITV's Austen Season did not start well would be an understatement. However, with last weeks brilliant Northanger Abbey and this weeks Persuasion they have finished on a high. Each had its own tone and style, and forgetting Mansfield Park, they worked rather well. I would recommend this film to both fans of the book and newcomers to Austen's work. I have deliberately refrained from comparisons between this and the 1995 version, both are very good and this one has some very inventive camera work.

This lovely production has a brooding quality that mirrors the circumstances of the author. Unlike the rest of Austen's heroines, Anne Elliot, in a delicate anxiety-ridden performance by Sally Hawkins, isn't twice as clever as everyone else. She's been "persuaded" to make the wrong choices over and over. Her own character we see emerge in the course of the story, and her defiance of convention, class and family brings us a very "modern" heroine.

Unlike the more sour comments here, I thought the production values exquisite, the cinematography mirrors both the romance Ms. Austen is noted for, but also a melancholy that is at the heart of all of her work. Beautiful scenes, for example, shot on a sea wall with a monochromatic palette very near the color of cold steel, we feel acutely the dilemma of the heroine forced to be in situation after situation where she has to face her past in the presence of her beloved. The beautiful visuals are matched, if not surpassed, by a delicate and evocative musical score.

Anne's redemption comes slowly, perhaps too slowly for the more impatient in the audience. And Rupert Perry-Jones' Captain Rupert all but stops the camera with his impressive portrayal of Captain Wentworth. More empathic than Ms. Austen's usual love interests, Mr. Perry-Jones also stops the hearts of the viewers with his agony, visible to us, but not Anne Elliot.

It would be difficult to pick a favorite out of Masterpiece Theater's "The Complete Jane Austen," but for me, this one might be it. It's economy, lovely cinematography, efficient screenplay, and splendid cast (save Amanda Hale who stops the show every time she appears on screen in a distracting, mannered performance that a director should not have accepted) especially the gentle beauty of Alice Krige as Lady Russell. "Persuasion" is free of the more clever elements that teeter many of Ms. Austen's works, and this production makes the most of a love story whose heroine earns her redemption with courage that is not facile or glib.

To those who think "the book was better," of course. So glad you have your attitude. Pity you can't let go of it and enjoy this fine little production.

Having read some of the earlier comments I felt I had to jump to the defence of this highly enjoyable production of Persuasion. Having seen the 1995 BBC adaptation I cannot deny that this adaptation was done in a somewhat different style, however that does not take away from the pleasure gained by watching this ITV production.

I have read all 6 of Austen's novels and have read much literary criticism where her work is concerned, so like many other people who have commented on this film, I no longer compare adaptations of Austen's novels to her actual novels. Therefore I can have no quarrel with this latest film.

It has been addressed that Rupert Penry-Jones and Sally Hawkins lacked on screen chemistry, this is in a way quite true, but only because their chemistry is more understated, which is, in my opinion more in keeping to the period in which Jane Austen was writing. I do not agree with the many comments insulting the acting of almost all of the cast. In my opinion, the ITV has come up trumps with this cast and each actor and actress portrayed their character in a way which suited the overall character of the film.

Unfortunately I do have to agree with many comments on the camera work of this production which was certainly below par, however this is my only complaint.

So, overall the film was most enjoyable, the story itself being told in such a way that I almost cried at the end! I am sure that this adaptation has helped only to uphold the respect for Austen's Persuasion and her other great novels. For that any true Austen-fan can be grateful.

I was swept up by this brilliant adaptation from second one, when a young woman looked straight at me with melancholic eyes in an extreme close up. I was engaged, I was on her side and watched, utterly spellbound, as her story unravelled.

A clever script manages, with all the cuts and changes which are invariably part of all adaptations, to distill the spirit of Jane Austen's novel unerringly. Wonderful leads (Rupert Penry-Jones is a warm-hearted, dashing Wentworth and Sally Hawkins is a delightfully sweet tempered Anne Elliot) and an outstanding supporting cast breathe life and immediacy into the plot. Creative film making ideas give the production a fresh face and make for memorable, visually gorgeous film moments. The pacing is swift but never hurried. And last but not least, I loved the musical score!

Watching this sent me walking on cloud 9 for days. I have watched it several times since and am still discovering new marvels because there are many levels to explore in this gem. Don't miss it!