Persuasion is a beautifully orchestrated film adaptation of Jane Austen's latest novel directed by Roger Michell.
Adapting Austen's story to the screen requires a very sensitive writer and director. Anne Elliot, though to be fair, Lisecki and Barbara Radecki's sitcom-style script asserts only a tenuous allegiance to her novel. (The credits, meanwhile, do not acknowledge the adaptation.) Still, it's gleefully peppered with "Persuasion" parallels and reference points, many of them throwaway in nature: The advertising company where Wren works is called Keller Keller Lynch, a nod to Kellynch Hall's novel's key location, while his cantankerous cat is named Wentworth, after the novel's romantic hero. That the name is assigned to her pet rather than her eventual love interest is a discouraging sign of where the chill of the film's chemistry really lies.
While twelve years have passed since its release, Persuasion (1995) casts a giant shadow for Jane Austen fans, coloring their opinion of any new production. Persuasion (2007) screenwriter Simon Burke took a different approach to portraying him by accentuating the divide between the two main characters. Anne (Sally Hawkins) is even more reserved and quiet, and Captain Wentworth (Ruppert Penry-Jones) even more stiff and obnoxious than Austen's origins or the 1995 performance. Director Adrian Shergold further accentuated this, making Anne he would often not speak, instead using facial expressions and voice-overs to convey his emotions and feelings. The chemistry between the two lead characters continues to simmer and their eventual rekindled romance turns on some heat, but at what cost? The final scene, when the lovers realize they were meant to be together, is one of Austen's most memorable. The letter that Captain Wentworth writes to Anne to declare his love for her is frequently quoted and discussed.
This exquisite drama, directed by Roger Michell, is a winner on every level. It is now clear that Merchant and Ivory do not have an exclusive franchise in beautifully produced, literary film adaptations of classic novels.