Persuasion (2007) (TV)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Adrian Shergold

Writers:

Jane Austen (novel)
Simon Burke (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 January 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A new adaptation of Jane Austen's classic

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

British Navy | Dancing | Carriage | Class Differences | Love Triangle

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Sally Hawkins	...	Anne Elliot
Alice Krige	...	Lady Russell
Rupert Penry-Jones	...	Captain Wentworth
Anthony Head	...	Sir Walter Elliot
Julia Davis	...	Elizabeth Elliot
Michael Fenton Stevens	...	Mr. Shepherd (as Michael Fenton-Stevens)
Mary Stockley	...	Mrs. Clay
Peter Wight	...	Admiral Croft
Marion Bailey	...	Mrs. Croft
Amanda Hale	...	Mary Elliot
Jennifer Higham	...	Louisa Musgrove
Rosamund Stephen	...	Henrietta Musgrove
Stella Gonet	...	Mrs. Musgrove
Sam Hazeldine	...	Charles Musgrove
Louis Shergold	...	Little Charles

Also Known As:

Persuasion: A Jane Austen Classic (Australia)

Runtime:

120 min (including commercials) | 93 min (excluding commercials)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:G | Finland:K-3 | New Zealand:G

Filming Locations:

Assembly Rooms, Bath, Somerset, England, UK

Company:

Clerkenwell Films

Trivia:

The sheer, dotted muslin gown worn by Jennifer Higham (Louisa Musgrove) at Uppercross is the same gown previously worn by Kate Winslet (Marianne Dashwood) in Sense and Sensibility (1995) during the lawn bowling scene at Barton Park, and by Amelia Warner (Fanny Price, age 17) in Mansfield Park (1999). The same costume was later worn by Charity Wakefield (Marianne Dashwood) in "Sense & Sensibility" (2008) at Norland Park.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Anne is running through the streets of Bath, right before she bumps into Charles and Captain Wentworth, a hydro pole and a radio tower can be seen in the background.

Quotes:

Sir Walter Elliot: I must say, though, the worst of Bath is the number of plain women. I frequently observe that one pretty face would be followed by five and thirty frights.

Movie Connections:

Version of Persuasion (1995)

Soundtrack:

German Dance in D Major

Sombre in tone

Adrian Shergold's adaptation of Persuasion was the last in the ITV Jane Austen Season, and it ended on a high note. Very different style from the previous two, and is rather sombre in tone, as befits the story and characters in the novel. There is a voice over so as to enable the audience to get closer to the character of Anne Elliot played very well by Sally Hawkins. Rupert Penry-Jones is very good as Captain Wentworth, whose interaction with Anne is concise and to the point. They are not strangers, but they are estranged. Adrian Shergold employs a lot of hand held camera, and uses a lot of close ups in order for the audience to recognise the relationships between characters and their feelings. Quite often Sally Hawkins looks at the camera, and I felt this worked very well. My only slight annoyance with this adaptation was the director's unwillingness to have two people who are talking in the shot at the same time. Preferring to move from a close up of one to a close up of the other (shot reverse shot as it were) continuously. This works well occasionally, but when it is as often as it is in this adaption you become very aware of the camera and its movements, which detracts from the story and the conversation itself. This is my only slight problem with this adaptation. The supporting cast was brilliant, with Amanda Hale brilliantly playing Anne moronic younger sister. Alice Krige was great as Lady Russell, and Anthony Head as Sir Walter Elliot. This is to mention only a few. To say that ITV's Austen Season did not start well would be an understatement. However, with last weeks brilliant Northanger Abbey and this weeks Persuasion they have finished on a high. Each had its own tone and style, and forgetting Mansfield Park, they worked rather well. I would recommend this film to both fans of the book and newcomers to Austen's work. I have deliberately refrained from comparisons between this and the 1995 version, both are very good and this one has some very inventive camera work.