Persuasion Updates: Few writers have achieved the kind of dignity that Jane Austen has. His works still evoke enthusiasm and enthusiasm among modern readers, and the name Austen combines a certain style and tone.
Not surprisingly, the Netflix-based band, which has already achieved romantic success with Bridgerton, may wish to attract audiences with a new copy of Persuasion, Austen’s last novel.
Director Carrie Cracknell and screenwriters Ron Bass and Alice Victoria Winslow have chosen to work on the novel in a way that has already confused Austen fans: By giving it a 2022 insight. Although Dakota Johnson made it to the winner Anne Elliot, Persuasion is struggling to regain Austen’s magic in his desire to inject modern touch.
Instead of starting a relationship, Convincing picks up years after ending one. The discreet and humble Anne (Johnson) was engaged to a poor naval officer, Frederick Wentworth (Cosmo Jarvis), at a young age. But despite their strong commitment, he was encouraged to end their relationship because of his seemingly insignificant hopes.
Now in her late teens, Anne finds herself thrown back into Wentworth’s life when her family is forced to leave their expensive home. Suddenly in the face of all that she has lost, Anne has to decide whether to follow her heart or continue legally. Unknowingly, Wentworth faces similar issues.
Persuasion Release Date
When translating a popular novel on screen, it should be considered that changes will be made, and that is correct. There are very few books that can be faithfully translated, especially when it comes to the one that relies heavily on internal ideas such as Persuasion.
To deal with this, Bass and Winslow prefer that Anne speak to the camera directly, breaking the fourth wall to clearly express her conflicting feelings. In the hands of another artist, this may seem like a lot of passion, and one can argue that it is not compatible with a romantic moment like this.
Fortunately, however, Johnson is a camera-handling game and, to put it simply, the audience as a determined reference. Her cunning look and honest confession make the viewer very attracted to her Anne, and Johnson seems to be happy with the role.
Although this version of Anne is much more spunk than she is in the book, Johnson plays it very well.
However, the modernized approach to this persuasion still runs into some problems. There are bits of dialogue that try too hard to bring the story from 1817 to 2022. For example, Anne pulls out a sheet of music and calls it a “song list” that Wentworth gifted her with. In another moment, he describes Mr. Elliot (Henry Golding) as a “ten.”
There might be a clever Regency romance that chooses to tell its story using modern phrases and elements, but Persuasion’s approach is far more awkward. Bass and Winslow may have been trying to find a new angle to bring to the classic story, but all it does is highlight how flat the overall tone is.
This is not helped by the fact that Persuasion brings Anne and Wentworth together far more times than Austen ever did. Instead of letting the distance between them lead to classic pining, Persuasion forces them to interact amicably, which ultimately detracts from a love story that’s meant to be filled with desire.
If Anne and Wentworth are able to spend time together, what’s to stop them from working through their past troubles that much faster?
Persuasion Cast Members
Narrative choices aside, Persuasion is aided by its cast. As the central pair, Johnson and Jarvis have a sweetly honest relationship that helps elevate the few moments they’re allowed to properly treat each other. The other characters don’t always get as many moments to shine, although Mia McKenna-Bruce deserves praise for her performance as Anna’s vain sister Mary.
Her casual indifference to her children and complete lack of selflessness are hearty laughs. Golding also deserves props for playing a nastier suitor; after his breakthrough turn in Crazy Rich Asians, he seemed destined to always be cast as a romantic hero, so it’s nice to see him change things up a bit.
Persuasion’s cast makes up for the more subdued approach to production design and costumes that Cracknell uses. Those more adept at period costume will no doubt struggle with some of the choices, though the environments the characters live in look pretty beautiful overall.
There are bound to be viewers less familiar with the source material who are charmed by the persuasion. However, the modern elements are too persistent to ignore, taking away something the film desperately needed some real depth.
Johnson is a charming leading lady and one could easily watch her play Austen’s heroine many times over. It’s just a shame that in an effort to be more modern, the filmmakers decided to overlook themes that could instead be replayed to make Persuasion’s story more accessible to audiences.
As seen in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, it is possible to find contemporary relevance in an older story. It just needs to be done on a deeper level than his heroine drinking copious amounts of wine.
Persuasion will be released on the 15th of July 2022.
