Austen convert |
Date: 2008-09-09
I had read the book many years ago and when I heard that there was to be a new Jane Austen series, I re-read it and the others and Persuasion took a very definite first place.
As to this TV version, first time round I loved it and I have found, on repeat viewing only very recently, that it was even better than I remembered. I thoroughly enjoyed the settings, the music and particularly, the two lead performances which I think were thoroughly convincing. Of the supporting roles, I thought Anthony Head was magnificently arch and enjoyably shallow and horrible as Sir Walter, Sam Hazeldine bumbling, delightful and sweet (especially in his relations with Anne which are so kind and redolent, on his part, of what might have been) and I must be the only person who thought that Mary Musgrove was just exactly as she should have been! Peter White is a great favourite of mine so I loved his bluff yet gentle Admiral.
The pacing was odd, I admit, presumably because of the time constraints and like everyone else, I would have liked all of the letter-not just because the written version is so beautiful but because I thought Rupert Penry-Jones' voice-over was absolutely perfect. There's a little subtle break in his voice half way through that gets me every time. The scene in the shop was also wonderful-he, in particular, showed so much by doing so little. There was a real feeling of strong feelings ruthlessly repressed because he was so afraid of being hurt again.
I think Anne was beautifully played by Sally Hawkins and she looked just right. At the start she was obviously depressed but determined to live the best life she could. Then, at the end, she realised she had another chance to live the life she really wanted and gathered every ounce of strength of character she had to grab it with both hands. That was the symbolism of the running for me.
As to RPJ looking too young and unweathered for a sea captain, in reality, that's probably true but the whole point about Austen's description of him is that he had lost none of what she called his (this may be in the wrong order!) "open, glowing, manly" look in the eight years he and Anne had been apart. And even her vain, looks-obsessed father who castigated all sailors because they supposedly looked rough, had to admit eventually that Captain Wentworth was an exception. RPJ had that in spades, as well as the depth of feeling for a role where so much is under the surface. I thought he was wonderful in it and that he and Sally Hawkins created something touching to the contemporary mind, yet absolutely in keeping with the original, of a relationship that nearly didn't make it.
As to "the kiss", it wasn't the chocolate-box romanticism that many accuse modern visual producions of overlaying on Austen-it was hesitant, full of both fear and longing, human, messy and completely believable. The sunlit ending at Kellynch, I think, was symbolic of pent-up longing fulfilled in every way, which is really the point of the entire book, and I loved it.
I've even loved writing this about it!
Mim |
Date: 2008-01-25
(***contains some spoilers***)
I enjoyed this movie very much. The musical score is beautiful, and adds great depth to the story. Costumes and locations also draw viewers into the story period. Although not an "Austen purist", I have read "Persuasion" and I own most of the various film adaptations of her novels, including the previous version of "Persuasion" starring Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root.
Comparing the two DVDs, I find that, while the earlier version of "Persuasion" may more exactly align to the book and is a wonderful movie, this newer adaptation has an updated approach that allows viewers to more closely engage with the characters, especially with Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth. Sally Hawkins plays Anne Elliot as a well-born Englishwoman who loves her family, close friends and home with such depth that she accedes to their disapproval of her attachment at 19 to as yet unproven young naval officer Frederick Wentworth and breaks off her engagement. The movie picks up 8 yrs later when Captain Wentworth has made his fortune in the Navy and returns to the area where Anne sees him again through his interaction with her extended family and friends.
In this 2007 movie version I better understood the relationship between Wentworth and Anne. I felt Anne's grief and regret at losing through her own choice what she later realized was her best chance for happiness, loving him still and forced to watch him being pursued by others. I recognized Wentworth's anger and resentment at being dumped as a young man because of his "station"; his pride smarting at the continued denigration he experienced from Anne's supercilious family and close friend Lady Russell. I saw his fascination with Anne despite all this, his inability to love or marry another because of her. In Rupert Penry-Jones' portrayal of Captain Wentworth, you sense that he is constantly aware of Anne both in and out of her actual presence. There is also a fuller realization of his own culpability in the events that transpire due in part to his own behavior. In his initial desire to prove his indifference to Anne, he himself is the one that nearly derails a second chance at happiness.
The ending scenes are what I found most expanded from the novel. While Anne's racing around Bath on foot to find Wentworth was perhaps unusual, it is in keeping with her determination to seize her happiness despite any obstacles. Though she deals graciously in her own sweet way with interruptions along the way, her absolute determination to reach Wentworth is very evident. The scene where she responds to his proposal has got to be one of the most intensely filmed, yet innocent, love scenes in recent memory. Sally Hawkins' whole demeanor - her eyes, body language - as she tells Wentworth in period language that she'll marry him was absolutely stunning. In the final scene, there was a certain justice in Anne receiving from Wentworth the home she loved and had tried so hard to maintain despite her family's spendthrift ways.
All in all, a great movie and refreshing take on a classic period novel.
