It’s hard to overstate how bad the Netflix persuasion is, and in more ways than one.
As an imitation of the Netflix hit Bridgerton, Persuasion is a pale copy. While it aims to be the candy-coated pastiche of the Regency that Bridgerton made fashionable, it’s too consistently convinced of its own virtues to enjoy Bridgerton’s oh-so-satisfying juices. It apes Bridgerton’s crass anachronisms (“A 5 in London is a 10 in Bath!”) as if the audience should regard them as revelations rather than weak jokes, which by now are more than tired.
With Dakota Johnson as an example, it’s disappointing. Johnson’s easy screen presence has been the redeeming factor of many bad films before this, but starring Anne Elliot, she does nothing to ease Persuasion as it swings its emotional pendulum from dreary to boring. Instead, he winks at the camera with his best Jim-from-The Office grin, as if to say, “Can’t we all agree that’s adorable?” We are not.
As an adaptation of the Jane Austen persuasion, it’s a disaster. While Austen’s original is devastating in its restraint, this film is broad in humor, shallow in emotion and ham-fisted in characterization. It unforgivably muddies one of Austen’s most romantic moments, subverting the iconic letter-writing scene until it loses all internal logic and with it all emotional force.
Taken on its own, purely as a film, Persuasion is just bad. It’s boring. It’s not romantic. That’s not funny. It’s not sad. It doesn’t seem to have a reason to exist – and the reason it finally comes up with is frankly insulting to everyone involved.
Directed by Carrie Cracknell and written by Ron Bass and Alice Victoria Winslow, Persuasion loosely follows the plot of Austen’s original. Anne Elliot – rich, beautiful and charming – was once madly in love with a penniless young sailor, Frederick Wentworth. They were engaged to be married. But Anne’s friends and relatives convinced her not to throw herself at a man with no money and few prospects at the age of 19, so she broke Wentworth’s heart.
When both the novel and the film open, it is eight years later. Anne has never gotten over Wentworth, but is now an outcast who has given up on devoting her life to taking care of her sisters and her sister’s children. Meanwhile, Wentworth has become a naval captain. Now wealthy and respectable, he is looking for his wife and is still furious with Anne for ending their relationship the way she did. And circumstances have made him a guest at his sister’s home when Anne is also there.
Austen’s Anne reacts to these circumstances as she reacts to most things: outwardly remaining as calm and composed as possible while inwardly tormented. The tension between the social pressures Anne is forced to navigate and her deep emotional pain is part of what drives Austen’s persuasion and makes it so heartbreaking to read.
Such an inner rift is undoubtedly difficult to dramatize on screen. The solution invented by Cracknell and his collaborators is undoubtedly novel: they got rid of it completely.
Of the Netflix persuasion, Anne takes on the mannerisms of a mid-90s romance heroine, crying in the bath, drinking copious amounts of red wine, and crying when she accidentally spills sauce on her head. When she’s not crying, she’s either gushing about her relatives’ woes for the camera or blurting out obscure things in awkward social situations. “Sometimes I dream that an octopus is sucking my face,” he tells one party.
Meanwhile, Wentworth has lost the polished charm and energy of its bookmate. As played by Cosmo Jarvis, Wentworth is shy, brooding and vague; Darcy cyborg without specificity. He has a good look, but there is nothing behind it.
The film picks up briefly when Henry Golding arrives to play Mr. Elliot, Anne’s cousin and Wentworth’s rival for her heart. Golding is in pure mustache-twirling villain mode (although Cracknell has irresponsibly left out a plot line where Mr. Elliot is actually the villain). His presence adds a welcome energy to the proceedings.
There is a general lack of energy here, which the film seems completely unaware of. Persuasion continues on the apparent assumption that all its trendy anachronisms will bring old Austen to life. Where Austen, with her finely tuned irony and social paradox, wrote, “Now they were like strangers; nay, worse than strangers, because they never became acquainted. It was an eternal estrangement,” Cracknell renders the line painfully awkward: “Now we’re strangers. No, worse than strangers. We’re the same.” Then the camera pulls back so you can examine the result, as if this movie has done you the service of making persuasion make sense in the 21st century, the same way Clueless made Emma make sense in the 20th century.
But the thing is, Austen’s persuasion makes sense already in the 21st century. (So was Emma, which Clueless was fully aware of.) Of course, the social codes have changed, making Anne Elliot choose to hide her heartbreak. But the emotions at the heart of the novel—loneliness, longing, despair—breathe powerfully into the present.
Adapting Emma to Clueless worked because the transfer of Regency mores to a ’90s SoCal high school was playful and witty. Clueless didn’t explain Emma to the audience too dumb to get it. It was fun with the audience.
The persuasive attempt to adopt modern customs over Regency England just seems clumsy and condescending. The film seems to think you’re too stupid to understand Jane Austen on your own, so instead of trying to bring her work to life, it decided to spoon-feed you a summary.
In one indelible moment of Austen’s persuasion, Wentworth tells Anne, “I am half agony, half hope.” Convincing Netflix is a pain.
Is Persuasion a movie?
Directed by Carrie Cracknell and written by Ron Bass and Alice Victoria Winslow, Persuasion loosely follows the plot of Austen’s original. Anne Elliot – rich, beautiful and charming – was once madly in love with a penniless young sailor, Frederick Wentworth. They were engaged to be married.
Is Persuasion available on Netflix? Passions are flaring around Friday’s release of “Persuasion,” Netflix’s first adaptation of the Jane Austen novel. Read also : Best Movies & Shows on Netflix: What’s On Guide July 3, 2022. Full of deep sentiment and a favorite of hypervigilant Austen fans, it is one of the author’s most difficult novels to put on screen.
Is Persuasion a series?
Persuasion (TV series 2015– ) – IMDb.
Was Jane Austen’s Persuasion made into a movie?
Persuasion is a 2007 British television film adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1817 novel Persuasion. It was directed by Adrian Shergold and written by Simon Burke. On the same subject : What to watch on Wednesday: “Beauty” kicks off on Netflix. Sally Hawkins plays the main character Anne Elliot, while Rupert Penry-Jones plays Captain Frederick Wentworth.
Does Netflix have Persuasion 2007?
Rent Masterpiece Classic: The Jane Austen Persuasion (2007) on DVD & Blu-ray – DVD Netflix. See the article : New Netflix movies and programs coming in August 2022.
Is Persuasion on Netflix a movie or series?
It’s not just bad Austen of the Netflix persuasion. This is one of the worst movies in years.
Is Jane Austen’s Persuasion a series? Persuasion was one of three novels adapted for ITV’s Jane Austen season in 2007. It was the first of three adaptations to begin development.
Is Persuasion a movie?
Directed by Carrie Cracknell and written by Ron Bass and Alice Victoria Winslow, Persuasion loosely follows the plot of Austen’s original. Anne Elliot – rich, handsome and charming – was once madly in love with a penniless young sailor, Frederick Wentworth. They were engaged to be married.
Is Persuasion a series?
Persuasion (TV series 2015–) – IMDb.
How can I watch Persuasion 2008?
See persuasion | Main video.
Where can I watch Persuasion? Since Persuasion is a Netflix Original, you can only watch the movie on this streaming service. So, no, the movie is not available anywhere else. You can subscribe to Netflix to get unlimited access to original content as well as other popular shows, movies, sports and interactive content.
Is Persuasion on Netflix yet?
The film, which premieres July 15 on Netflix, has been widely panned by critics and Austen fans alike for diluting Austen’s language and altering the characterization of its heroine, Anne Elliot, played by Dakota Johnson.
Does Netflix have Persuasion 2007?
Is The Original Persuasion Streaming On Netflix? Jane Austen fans will know that Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root starred in the beloved 90s production of Persuasion. This movie isn’t on Netflix, but you can rent or buy it on various platforms (or watch it for free on Crackle).
