I immediately liked the casting on this film. Although I have enjoyed other Austen adaptations much more than this one, I think the actors chosen were much closer to the characters described in the novel than in other films. Amanda Root (no offense intended) is not a Keira Knightley, but neither was Anne Elliot, the character she plays. The film’s direction, however, made me give it a lower rating than the acting deserves. I felt it was at times too heavy handed and at others too light, as if it was being directed by two people. The choices during sound editing jarred me a few times as well – for example there would be no music for great stretches of time and then there was too much. Production was very good, as Austen films sometimes tend to take on a staged feeling – some scenes in this film felt very real to me (lovely to see a room actually lit by candlelight, not just one candle lighting an entire room). Those who hate any adaptation which isn’t 98% faithful to the source will like this movie a lot, but I would prefer a few risks in the accuracy department that result in a more compelling film. Overall a pleasant movie, but probably not one I’ll revisit anytime soon.