My best friend and I are very enthusiast Austen fans, but since we’re not in an English-speaking environement, we are actually fairly novice in the subject and know nothing of the lesser-known stories, like Persuasion. So we settled for the watch with absolutely no knowledge of the story, though I knew that Anne was Austen’s oldest heroine and Persuasion, her last complete novel.

Persuasion is a very different story from the cheery Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility. Anne Elliot is a (relatively) old maid, with little to look forward to in life, and that made her particularly endearing. Though the story is probably a tad too complicated for the 2-hour format, which made us wonder a some loose things a bit, it’s nice enough. The main couple is wonderful, well-played and full of (hidden) love. I thought that the young lady who jumps from the top of the wall was really stupid, though, but was amused to find myself back in the location of Mansfield Park’s Portsmouth!

No bonus feature to speak of on this very lacking DVD, but the film is fine, with a clear picture and okay sound. It’s clearly a must for Jane Austen fans. I am very much looking forward to the BBC’s new adaptations DVDs, too!

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.