Persuasion

Reviews

Peter McGinn
You may well ask, why should you watch this particular version of Jane Austen's Persuasion? well, settle in and let me tell you. I think I own almost every filmed version of every Austen novel. I find different strengths and weaknesses in all of them, but I would not trash any of them the way people do some versions because they don't stay true enough to the books. I write novels myself in my spare time and - were I lucky enough (or good enough) to have any made into a film - I would not be offended if they were changed. Books and movies have different needs and ways of telling a story. That said, I really love this interpretation of Persuasion. I greatly appreciate how British productions often don't automatically lunge for the most beautiful or most handsome actors and actresses for their lead roles, as American productions are apt to do. Sally Hawkins is by no means ugly, but she is almost homely in some of her scenes, such as when she is weeping. I read a criticism in a review of how the actors stare into the camera, but I think Sally is at her most masterful doing just that, looking right at us, such as in the very first scene, or the weeping scene I just mentioned. Her facial expression changes are sometimes dramatic and other times subtle but still very effective. I think all of the acting is wonderful here, from the effete snob father right down through to the many minor characters. I do admit I was a bit mystified by one aspect of the ending. I will try not to give it away to those who may actually be deciding whether to watch it, but the book's ending is changed for the film, which as I said above, isn't a problem for me in itself. There are enough versions of Austen movies or mini-series out there that I am fine with each doing some interpreting. And in this version, they want to make the final scene more dramatic. That is fine. But what struck me as weird was that Anne follows a character out the front door just seconds behind him, but that person is nowhere to be seen on the street, and she goes off in pursuit. It wouldn't have taken much to have Anne be delayed leaving just long enough to make it realistic that there would be no sign of him when she steps outside. But I forgive them that oddity. Perhaps it was the result of an editing room dilemma. Also in that scene they show her walking from above, which makes for a strange angle. Since then I have seen that technique used more, so perhaps it is a new thing. The music by Martin Phipps is also wonderful, moody and rich. I am surprised that the soundtrack was not made available (the last time I checked). The closest I have come to finding it was, oddly enough, a CD called H2O by the Canadian nature CD producer Dan Gibson. It is similar to the main theme music of the movie, though obviously not the same thing.
Movie Recommendation
- Mansfield Park2007-03-18In Mansfield Park, poverty-stricken Fanny Price is sent away to live with her wealthy uncle and aunt at Mansfield Park. As she struggles to adapt to her new lifestyle she begins to attract the attentions of suitors, learning about the sexual politics of high society along the way.More...
- Persuasion1995-05-01Anne Elliot, the daughter of a financially troubled aristocratic family, is persuaded to break her engagement to Frederick Wentworth, a young sea captain of meager means. Years later, money troubles force Anne's father to rent out the family estate to Admiral Croft, and Anne is again thrown into company with Frederick -- who is now rich, successful, and perhaps still in love with Anne.More...
- Shuffle2012-03-20Lovell Milo is a man who begins experiencing his life out of order; every day he wakes up at a different age, on a different day of his life, never knowing where or when he’s going to be once he falls asleep. He’s terrified and wants it to stop - until he notices a pattern in his experience, and works to uncover why this is happening to him - and what or who is behind it.More...
- JL Family Ranch: The Wedding Gift2020-09-27When Henry proposes it looks like Rebecca will get her fairytale ending until her daughter invites a visitor from her past to the ranch that will change the Petersons and Landsburgs forever.More...
- Inbetween Worlds2014-02-11Jesper is a soldier in the German army, who reports for a new tour of duty in Afghanistan. His unit is to protect a village from the Taliban.More...
- The Disney Family Singalong - Volume II2020-05-10Ryan Seacrest hosts the second Disney Family Singalong featuring celebrities and their families as they take on their favorite Disney tunes from their homes. Special guests include John Legend, Christina Aguilera, Shakira, and Katy Perry.More...
- Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style1992-11-27Kelly's grandpa invites the whole gang to his little hotel "The Hideaway" in Hawaii for summer vacation. They expect a marvelous time at the beach - without Belding. Upon arriving, they quickly learn that not only is Belding there, but they also have to help Kelly's grandpa from losing his hotel. Meanwhile Zack meets (again) the love of his life, Jessie and Slater bet with Lisa that they won't fight, and Screech gets kidnapped by the Pupuku clan.More...
- A Little Romance1979-04-27Intellectually precocious teenager Lauren King lives in Paris with her somewhat ditzy mother. On a movie set, she strikes up a friendship with teenage film buff Daniel Michon. After Lauren's mother forbids her to date the outspoken Daniel, the young lovebirds team up with eccentric pickpocket Julius to run away to Venice, where, according to legend, a couple who kiss under the Bridge of Sighs will stay together forever.More...
- Heartless2010-05-21The story follows Jamie, a troubled young man with a birthmark on his face, which has left him feeling isolated and fearful, hiding from the world outside. He lives in the East End of London, an area notorious for its violent hooded gangs. According to news reports, the gangs are now wearing demon masks. But, one night, Jamie discovers the terrifying truth.More...
- The I Inside2004-03-21When Simon awakens in the hospital after surviving a near-fatal accident, amnesia has erased the last two years from his memory. He learns that his brother was killed, he has married a woman he doesn't remember and he's haunted by strange visions of the woman he loved.More...
- Northanger Abbey2007-10-24A young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart.More...
- Miss & Mrs. Cops2019-05-09Once a legendary detective and a new mom, Mi-young, now works a desk job. But when overenthusiastic newbie Ji-hye is assigned to Mi-young's civil complaints team, the two female cops get caught up in a serious criminal case that triggers an action-filled comedic investigation.More...
- Jungle Emperor Leo1997-08-01Tezuka Osamu's most famous work "Jungle Emperor Leo" has been made into an animated version a number of times. In this theater version, Tezuka Osamu was able for the first time to depict the theme that "All life is equal" through Leo's self-sacrifice.More...
- Panfilov's 28 Men2016-11-24USSR, November, 1941. Based on the account by Vasiliy Koroteev this is the story of Panifilov's Twenty-Eight, a group of twenty-eight Red Army soldiers commanded by General Ivan Panfilov, that stopped the advance on Moscow of a column of fifty-four Nazi tanks of the 11th Panzer Division for several days. Though lightly armed they fight tirelessly and defiantly, with uncommon bravery and unwavering dedication, to protect Moscow and their Motherland.More...
- Dangerous Beauty1998-02-20Veronica is brilliant, gifted and beautiful, but the handsome aristocrat she loves, Marco Venier, cannot marry her because she is penniless and of questionable family. So Veronica's mother, Paola, teaches her to become a courtesan, one of the exotic companions favored by the richest and most powerful Venetian men. Veronica courageously uses her charms to change destiny -- and to give herself a chance at true love.More...
- Mansfield Park1999-11-12Fanny, born into a poor family, is sent away to live with wealthy uncle Sir Thomas, his wife and their four children, where she'll be brought up for a proper introduction to society. She is treated unfavorably by her relatives, except for her cousin Edmund, whom she grows fond of. However, Fanny's life is thrown into disarray with the arrival of worldly Mary Crawford and her brother Henry.More...
- Wuthering Heights1992-10-16Young orphan Heathcliff is adopted by the wealthy Earnshaw family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Cathy. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Cathy, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Edgar Linton, a man of means who befits her stature. Heathcliff vows to win her back.More...
- I Am Love2010-03-19Emma has left Russia to live with her husband in Italy. Now a member of a powerful industrial family, she is the respected mother of three, but feels unfulfilled. One day, Antonio, a talented chef and her son's friend, makes her senses kindle.More...
- Love Like the Falling Petals2022-03-24Haruto Asakura falls in love with hairdresser Misaki Ariake and asks her out. Watching Misaki Ariake work hard to achieve what she wants, Haruto Asakura, who almost gave up his dream to become a photographer, begins to pursue his dream again, but Misaki Ariake is diagnosed with a disease that ages her 10x faster than normal.More...
- Red Nose Day Actually2017-03-24Fourteen years after the events of the first film, a series of encounters between people in Britain reminds us that in these different times Love, actually exists.More...
Similar Movies
Carrie
2002-11-04An awkward, telekinetic teenage girl's lonely life is dominated by relentless bullying at school and an oppressive religious fanatic mother at home. When her tormentors pull a humiliating prank at the senior prom, she unleashes a horrifying chaos on everyone, leaving nothing but destruction in her wake.There Will Be Blood
2007-12-26Ruthless silver miner, turned oil prospector, Daniel Plainview, moves to oil-rich California. Using his son to project a trustworthy, family-man image, Plainview cons local landowners into selling him their valuable properties for a pittance. However, local preacher Eli Sunday suspects Plainview's motives and intentions, starting a slow-burning feud that threatens both their lives.Sahara
2005-04-06Seasoned adventurer and treasure hunter Dirk Pitt, a former Navy SEAL, sets out for the African desert with his wisecracking buddy Al in search of a confederate ironclad battleship rumored to have vanished long ago, the main draw being the treasure supposedly hidden within the lost vessel. When the daring duo come across Dr. Eva Rojas, a beautiful scientist who is juggling an escape from a warlord and a mission to stop the spread of a powerful plague, their desert expedition begins to heat up.Shooter
2007-03-22A top Marine sniper, Bob Lee Swagger, leaves the military after a mission goes horribly awry and disappears, living in seclusion. He is coaxed back into service after a high-profile government official convinces him to help thwart a plot to kill the President of the United States. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, Swagger becomes the target of a nationwide manhunt. He goes on the run to track the real killer and find out who exactly set him up, and why, eventually seeking revenge against some of the most powerful and corrupt leaders in the free world.Earth
1998-09-16It's 1947 and the borderlines between India and Pakistan are being drawn. A young girl bears witnesses to tragedy as her ayah is caught between the love of two men and the rising tide of political and religious violence.Running with Scissors...
2006-10-27Young Augusten Burroughs absorbs experiences that could make for a shocking memoir: the son of an alcoholic father and an unstable mother, he's handed off to his mother's therapist, Dr. Finch, and spends his adolescent years as a member of Finch's bizarre extended family.Come Early Morning
2006-01-10A thirty-something southern woman searches for love, despite the burdens she carries with her.Youth Without Youth
2007-10-26Professor of language and philosophy Dominic Matei is struck by lightning and ages backwards from 70 to 40 in a week, attracting the world and the Nazis. While on the run, the professor meets a young woman who has her own experience with a lightning storm. Not only does Dominic find love again, but her new abilities hold the key to his research.Wedding Daze
2006-09-09After losing the woman of his dreams, Anderson is convinced he'll never fall in love again. But at the urging of his best friend, he spontaneously proposes to a dissatisfied waitress named Katie and an innocent dare evolves into the kind of love that both have been looking for all along.Side Effects
2005-03-07America! Built on a better pill. Karly Hert has spent the last ten years selling drugs. Legally, that is. Karly is a pharmaceutical sales representative. She sells pills to doctors. She makes lots of money. She has a company car. She has a nice fat expense account. But there's a growing pit in Karly's stomach. Something isn't right behind the scenes at big pharma. Based on the director's decade working directly for the industry.The Lovely Bones
2009-12-26After being brutally murdered, 14-year-old Susie Salmon watches from heaven over her grief-stricken family -- and her killer. As she observes their daily lives, she must balance her thirst for revenge with her desire for her family to heal.The Year of the Death...
2020-10-01Fernando Pessoa, one of the greatest writers in Portuguese, created an immense parallel world and several heteronyms so as to endure the loneliness of genius. José Saramago, 1998 Nobel Laureate in Literature, has a heteronym, Ricardo Reis, return to Portugal after a 16-year exile in Brazil. 1936 is a perilous year with Mussolini’s fascism, Hitler’s Nazism, Spain’s Civil War and Salazar’s New State in Portugal. And Fernando Pessoa meets his creation, Reis. Two women, Lídia and Marcenda, are Reis’ carnal and impossible passions. “Life and Death as one” allows for literature and cinema.Tomka and His Friends...
1977-10-28Tomka is a boy who likes playing football with his friends. When the German army captures his town, the German soldiers establish their camp in the town stadium. Tomka with help from his friends and their parents organizes sabotage actions against the soldiers.Candyman
1992-10-16The Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand, is accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic grad student researching the monster's myth.The Right Stuff
1983-10-20As the Space Race ensues, seven pilots set off on a path to become the first American astronauts to enter space. However, the road to making history brings forth momentous challenges.A Walk in the Clouds
1995-05-27World War II vet Paul Sutton falls for a pregnant and unwed woman who persuades him -- during their first encounter -- to pose as her husband so she can face her family.Tootsie
1982-12-17When struggling, out of work actor Michael Dorsey secretly adopts a female alter ego – Dorothy Michaels – in order to land a part in a daytime drama, he unwittingly becomes a feminist icon and ends up in a romantic pickle.Clueless
1995-07-19Shallow, rich and socially successful Cher is at the top of her Beverly Hills high school's pecking scale. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other. Emboldened by her success, she decides to give hopelessly klutzy new student Tai a makeover. When Tai becomes more popular than she is, Cher realizes that her disapproving ex-stepbrother was right about how misguided she was -- and falls for him.Spider
2002-11-06A mentally disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. His mind gradually slips back into the realm created by his illness, where he replays a key part of his childhood.Operation Petticoat
1959-12-05A World War II submarine commander finds himself stuck with a damaged sub, a con-man executive officer, and a group of army nurses.