Jane Austen's Verführung

I was very impatient to see this adaptation because I had seen adaptations of Jane Austen's Persuasion from 1971 and 1995. I had read this novel and I can say that it belongs to my favourite. I love this adaptation. It made me cry. I very enjoyed Sally Hawkins's and also Rupert Penry Jones 's performance. They fabulous showed us their suffering, hope for their happiness and their love to each other. Yes,there were some differences between the book and the film but it doesn't matter. The camera was very unusual but from my point of view was very good used especially in the final scene when Anne was reading the letter from Captain Wentworth. I especially love the part, when Anne had wounded leg and Captain Wentworth helped her to the carriage. This is the best adaptation of Persuasion I 've ever seen.

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.

Rupert Penry-Jones's Captain Wentworth behaved as a military man would be expected to behave. He is intelligent, disciplined, decisive, ego-driven. We aren't given histrionic acting, but a performance where a slight widening of the eyes, twitching of a jaw muscle, a gaze held a little long, convey what we need to know about Captain Wentworth's inner thoughts. His blondness contrasts with the darker coloring of the other young males and lends him a golden air. I think Penry-Jones is a fine actor, and found it sad that he writes in his quotes on his profile that "I've worked for years to get the career I have now, so to find I need a break is quite disappointing!". He has won two acting awards to date and he has several projects in the works, so I hope that he has received the break he wished for.

Some see Persuasion as a book of a revenant made human, others as a second chance at love in a time of social change.

If I had written the explanation of how Anne's home became Captain Wentworth's wedding gift to her, Sir Walter would have been totally bankrupt and forced to sell, William Elliot so disgraced that he renounced his entailment, and the duplicitous Mrs. Clay out of the Elliot's life forever.

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!

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.