A
film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net on July 14, 2022.
If you have read Persuasion or
consider yourself a Jane Austen
aficionado, this new Netflix-funded production hasn’t been made with you in
mind. In fact, the more familiarity one has with Austen, the more likely the
2022 Persuasion is to be seen as an
abomination. While retaining the broad outline of the novel’s plot points, it
ignores pretty much everything that makes Persuasion
unique and compelling among the author’s five completed novels. Screenwriters Ron Bass and Alice Victoria Winslow (who ditch much of Austen’s text in favor of
more modern-sounding dialogue), collaborating with British theater director Carrie Cracknell (making her movie
feature debut), have followed the apparent mandate to apply the recent trends
in Regency Romances (think: Bridgerton)
and apply them to Persuasion.
It's
certainly not impossible to remake a classic novel in its traditional period
while applying a more modern sensibility to the proceedings. Armondo Iannucci
achieved it with The Personal History of
David Copperfield. Greta Gerwig did some interesting things with her 2019
reworking of Little Women. And Autumn
de Wilde took on Austen’s Emma in a
2020 release whose distribution was interrupted by the pandemic. These three
films have one thing in common: a degree of respect for the source material
that informs the final result. That crucial ingredient is apparently absent
from Persuasion. In her review for The Independent, Clarisse Loughery puts
it this way: At no point during Carrie
Cracknell’s directorial debut do you ever get the sense that anyone’s actually
read ‘Persuasion’. Point taken, although to be fair to the director, she
has stated (in a New York Times
interview) that Persuasion is one of
her favorite novels. But I wonder if anyone in the target audience will care
because most of them probably haven’t read it.
The
story beats are familiar and generally follow the narrative established by
Austen. Seven years prior to the present time frame (which is around 1814),
Anne Elliot (Dakota Johnson) and
Frederick Wentworth (Cosmo Jarvis)
were engaged to be married. After being persuaded that it wasn’t a good match,
Anne broke off the engagement – an action that both she and Wentworth have
regretted. In the interim, she has continued her spinsterhood (at age 27, she’s
past the usual marriageable age)
while he has gained fame and fortune fighting Napoleon. A coincidental meeting
reunites them and, thereafter, they are frequently thrown together. The
encounters are painful for them both and a sequence of misunderstandings
seemingly undermine any hope of the engagement being revived, especially when
Wentworth appears to become involved with Anne’s relation-by-marriage (to one
of her sisters), Louisa Musgrove (Nia
Towle), and Anne dallies with her cousin, William Elliot (Henry Golding).
Regardless
of the filmmakers’ familiarity with Austen’s novel, Persuasion fundamentally misunderstands the character. This Anne
has been forced into the mold of an Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice) or an Emma Woodhouse (Emma) – sharp-tongued and prone to put-downs. The Anne of the
novel, however, is a more somber and introspective woman – someone who has
learned to accept her lot in life until her emotional balance is upset. In a
choice that’s more distracting than effective, Cracknell often has Anne
breaking the fourth wall by gazing into the camera and addressing the audience.
The veil of melancholy that Austen draped over the character’s shoulders is
nowhere to be found, except perhaps during brief, self-pitying soliloquies.
Persuasion’s approach to
color-blind casting is confined to the supporting roles. Anne’s second
mother, Lady Russell is played by Nikki
Amuka-Bird (who is dark-skinned) and Malaysian-born Henry Golding essays
William Elliot. Both are fine in the roles, although the screenplay lessens
William’s duplicity, thereby making him less overtly villainous. The most
notable performer is Richard E. Grant,
whose over-the-top portrayal of Sir Walter Elliot fits perfectly into the
pantheon of Austen parental figures. The leads retain their lighter skin; both
are miscast. Dakota Johnson’s sunny disposition might have worked in Pride and Prejudice or Emma but it’s woefully misplaced here.
Even when her Anne is in a funk, we don’t believe it. (In a way, this is
surprising because Johnson has shown range in almost everything where the
number Fifty isn’t part of the
title.) Cosmo Jarvis often seems to be trying too hard to be downbeat and lacks
the gravitas one expects from Wentworth. He and Johnson also share little in
the way of romantic chemistry.
Persuasion, written during
Austen’s final years of life, is viewed by many critics as being her
best-written, most insightful novel. It is markedly different from the lighter
books she is best remembered for. The optimism has been replaced by an
introspective perspective on a life that didn’t go as hoped. This quality shone
through in the excellent 1995 adaptation (starring Amanda Root and Ciaran
Hinds) – it came out the same year as the definitive Pride and Prejudice mini-series. However, just as Joe Wright was
able to put his own stamp on that based-on-a-classic movie in 2005, there’s no
reason why Cracknell couldn’t have done the same thing here. Transforming Persuasion into something generic and
pitching it to viewers seduced by the likes of Bridgerton and Mr. Malcolm’s
List illustrates not only a lack of imagination but a betrayal of the
source material.
Anyone
who doesn’t know the difference between the 19th century author and the capital
of Texas [Austin] and who simply wants a by-the-numbers period-piece romantic comedy may
find Persuasion to their taste.
They’re welcome to it with its tiny pleasures. Thankfully, for those who want
the real version, there are plenty of other places to experience it without the
asides to the camera and contemporary idioms. [Berardinelli’s rating: 2 stars
out of 4]
Blogger's comment: I
will admit that breaking the fourth wall with asides to the viewer
can be disconcerting at first, but once I've accepted that Anne Elliot
(Dakota Johnson) knows I'm there and is acknowledging my presence, it
actually gives the film a third dimension of depth, and makes it come
alive. Also, I find the use of modern language in Regency period romantic dramas like Bridgerton and Persuasion rather refreshing. So, Mr. Berardinelli, you are welcome to your opinion.
Labels:
drama, period, romance
IMDb 56/100
MetaScore (critics=43, viewers=36)
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=52, viewers=70)
Netflix
Berardinelli’s original review
