Persuasion

A real pleasure to watch and by far superior to the later version with Sally Hawkins. (Sally Hawkins was fine but the whole later production looks like a cartoon version compared with this elaborate rendering of Jane Austen's world.) Amanda Root as Anne Elliot is perfect as the underestimated and unloved daughter of a spendthrift snob of a father and a stepmother right out of Grimm's fairy tales. (Not to speak of being henpecked by her hyper nervous younger married sister.) They filmmakers also managed to make Amanda Root look rather unattractive at the beginning and one wonders how any man could have been so much in love with her as the still lamented Frederick Wenthworth, whom she sent away on the heavy influence of her family, because he was a nobody with no regular income at the time. Years have past when we comes back into her neighbourhood, apparently haunting her serenity and feeling her more wrong then ever before. Cairán Hinds is equally good as the former lover Wenthworth, still hurt and trying hard to ignore Anne and seemingly having a good time without her. Once Wentworth pops up every now and then we notice that Anne begins to look more pretty, even the presence of the man she thinks she has lost forever make her look so much better.

The beauty of this version is not only grounded on the excellent cast but also in the magnificent eye for details, and, although only running a mere 100 minutes, gives the viewer the appropriate feeling of time passing by very slowly (don't get me wrong, I don't speak of the pace inside the story), but time that painfully slows down when being with people you despise or you feel dispised by. I always cherished this book by Jane Austen very much and I'm so glad that finally I found this film that really does it justice!

I enjoy Jane Austin best of all when it is free of the Hollywood temptation to populate her cast with handsome men and beautiful woman. Anne Elliot is attractive not because she is some buxom blonde, but because her character is intelligent, quiet, and generously caring.

The photography in this film is extraordinary as are all the performances. Colin Redgrave is fabulous as Anne's father, a sniveling social climber, and Samuel West as the seedy relative who tries to get back in the families good graces to make sure that his fortunes are preserved. The actresses playing Anne's two sisters also do a praise worthy job.

I recommend this film highly even if you aren't an Austin fan.

The recently released DVD provides a wonderful opportunity to revisit this exquisitely done Austen. Her usual themes of elligible young women and men, their social positions, and their incomes, are very much in evidence; however here there is something a bit quieter and more deeply felt, as two special people get a second chance at happiness. The direction is remarkably fine-tuned, and the production makes a welcome attempt to portray a more realistic glimpse of the life of various classes during the period than is usual. The flamboyant period costumes are particularly amusing, and the sight of the naval men striding along jettys in uniform with their very striking hats is one that has always stuck in my mind.

And the celebration of the ordinary and the idea that true love will out itself whatever the obstacles put in its way.

The casting was inspired and utterly believable in this wondrous adaptation. I never tire of Ciaran Hinds, there seems to be so many layers in what he brings to his far too infrequent roles in films. I believe he is mainly a stage actor.

The story bears truth to Jane Austen's original work, and I am a long time fan of Austen.

Amanda is not glamorous in her role of Anne Elliot. But her truth and honour stand steady in the ebb and flow of the values, minor complaints and minutiae of her family life. It is clear from the beginning that she is the one with all the missing qualities in the others.

Fiona Shaw also captivates in the role of Mrs. Croft who strikes out in a completely different kind of lifestyle for the era, sailing the seven seas with her husband and sharing his adventures.

8 out 10. Well done to all concerned.

This is a very well put together, and yet very fragile movie that shows its budget constraints all too well. Beautifully acted and written, the direction unfortunately reveals the boxy nature of a TV screen. But despite the lack of impressive cinematography, the scenes are set up extremely well. The use of staging and visual metaphor are jaw-droppingly fantastic. Austen's relatively simple potboiler has been turned into a work of visual art that reveals the director's love for the material.

The music is done perfectly - it doesn't overpower or ever impose interpretation, instead it is just enough to maintain focus on the story. And I love the understated nature of the characters. It is easy to spot the hypocrites, but you can see why they are the way they are. It would be very easy to make Mr. Eliot into a simpering, unctious idiot - instead, he is played as a gentleman. It makes Anne a better character, and it makes the movie a better experience.