There was only one good thing about this film. The lovely black and white bunny which you see Anne holding sometimes. I hope Jane Austen liked rabbits because nothing in this film would have impressed her. It floats off into a period drama fantasy land where beautiful people of all races flounce around saying anachronistic things. It has such radically different dialogue and looks so modern that it might have been better to retell the story and set it in the present era.
Persuasion is actually my least favourite Austen novel but I’d rather read it a thousand more times than attempt to watch this insincere adaptation again. It compares very unfavourably with Emma (2020), which certainly took some liberties but kept the essence of the novel and, most significantly, didn’t change the character of Emma. If you love Anne Elliot, do not watch this new adaptation of Persuasion, which turns her into a sarcastic, mouthy, unsympathetic character who rolls her eyes at everyone and gets drunk. Stick to the 2007 film or really any other version.
I will conclude this review with the words of critic Deborah Ross in The Spectator: “everyone involved should probably be sent to prison.”
Low-resolution image taken from Wikipedia.
Persuasion is my favourite Jane Austen novel so you can imagine the trepidation I felt when sitting down to watch this version. I decided to try to watch it without comparing it to the book and mostly succeeded. But Anne from the book was not a drunk, never bragged and so far as I know, didn’t have a rabbit.
Aha, you didn’t say whether you enjoyed the film? I think actually the film is so different to the book that it’s not difficult to see it separately, except if you’re studying it as an adaptation and writing a scathing review, like me 😀
As an adaptation, I hated it. Anne Elliot from the book was gentle and kind, and would never have behave like the film character did.
However, there were things about it I liked, such as Anne’s character talking directly to the camera. I loved that technique in I, Tonya too.
I did make a conscious effort to watch the film as a stand-alone story and was mostly successful. So I would say that I enjoyed the film, but didn’t rate it at as an adaptation.
Funnily enough, I watched it with my husband who doesn’t read fiction and he loved it. He also loved the Anne With an E series, which seriously annoyed me in the way that this version of Persuasion has annoyed you.
I liked Anne with an E, but I preferred to see it as a separate story from the books, to prevent myself from getting too annoyed with how they changed it! I generally like the talking to the camera technique but not with so much eye rolling, ha ha.
Yes, there were a few too many eye rolls!
Love your candor–and that there’s one fewer terrible movie I feel like I need to catch!
Thanks – I had to be honest, people should be warned!
I’ve heard awful things about this movie adaptation and I can’t blame fans to be enraged by what was done!
Possibly the worst adaptation I’ve seen of any book! Maybe those who don’t know the book will like it better.
Haha, everyone seems to be highly critical of this adaptation. I will stay far away, Persuasion is actually one of my favourite Austen novels.
I have seen some glowing reviews but they are outnumbered by the people who hated it, LOL. I would not recommend it to any Austen fans.
Everything I’ve heard about this adaptation makes me wonder how on earth it every got made. There ought to be a law against messing with the classics this badly!
That is a law I would certainly approve of! Also, Austen fans in particular are hard to please, they do not appreciate such sacrilege!