Ladies and gentlemen, despite all of my perchants for bloodshed and torture and filth when it comes to film, I am a romantic. I also like Jane Austen. The way I see Austen's work is like taking a fanciful step back in time to an era where men and women relied on letters and sweet words to court each other, where both sexes dressed splendidly, took long walks across the country to breathe in the fresh air and every night was a party with dancing, pleasant conversation and hopefully catching the eye of a handsome stranger. Now, alternatively Austen's works were quite repressed when it came to the relations between men and women- very few public dances involved bodily contact between partners and society was a scrutinizing thing and sometimes it was this lack of contact that made hopes for a married life very low. In Austen's book 'Persuasion', it's protagonist Anne Elliot wanted badly to find a good husband in Frederick Wentworth, a handsome yet poor young man but was persuaded by her deceased mother's friend, a widow of all people, to break the engagement, supposedly in Anne's best interest, resulting in one of Anne's largest regrets. Destined for spinsterhood and being the overlooked middle child of a modest yet well to do family, all Anne can do is go through her life, finding solace in good company and reading. That is, until Wentworth returns from the Napoleonic Wars, a reknown captain with a considerable reputation and wealth, old feelings reignite. Can Anne and Wentworth find each other again?
Roger Mitchell's humble 1995 adaptation of Austen's novel may not have won as many hearts as BBC's adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice' (which firmly placed Colin Firth of every red-blooded woman's map of "Ohhhhh"), but it remained true to it's material and it is ultimately a solid show. There have been criticisms that leads Amanda Root (Anne) and Ciran Hinds (Wentworth) aren't beautiful or romantic enough to play the typical Austen characters, but you must realize it was Austen's intention that Anne Elliot has 'lost her bloom', and she is not the type of woman that every gentleman in the street stops to look at, meanwhile, Hinds is a commanding actor who never disappoints in whatever role he is given, isn't like Firth's Mr. Darcy because Captain Wentworth is a man who has seen the world despite some very humble beginnings. He is thankful for all he has earned and he is wary of the world and never faults in showing good manners. When Wentworth returns to England, he tries to have little contact with Anne as possible, not because he hates her, but because he loves her too much to open those old wounds. However, that does not stop him from being a very desirable bachelor in the eyes of Anne's friend, the much younger, vivacious and pretty Louisa Musgrove who has her sights firmly planted on Wentworth as a prospective husband.
Against these odds, Anne must rely upon her wit and intelligence in order to stand out.
Note: I personally think Cirian Hinds can look pretty fucking hot... just look at his Julius Caesar in 'Rome'.
Given it is a product of it's time, this adaption doesn't look as lush as others, in fact, it looked relatively dowdy with washed out colours, even the open country excursions that the characters embark on look, well... dull. I'm one of those people who love their period films to have a little more flair and unfortunately, not a lot of this show has eye catching scenery. At times, possibly due to this lack of colour, I felt myself FEELING quite sleepy. If it weren't for the story, I would have possibly fallen asleep. :-P Addtionally I felt there was a slight oversaturation of period music in every sequence. It's not that I didn't think the music itself wasn't necessary, but too many violins, piano stings and harp can lead one to think they are listening to a relaxtion tape, which can be quite distracting to an audience when they are trying to concentrate on the story on screen. Gorgeous soundtrack though.
Broadly speaking, this show was a respectable translation of Austen's prose onto the screen. While it does not possess all of the ingredients to make a memorable Austen adaptation, it is certainly not guilty of being a boring or confusing mess. Given the subject matter that love does not always come when it is ready, it offers something different from the usual "Ohhhh, Mr. Darcy!" vibe that Austen's other works have possessed. In fact, I would venture to say 'Persuasion' is much easier to relate to by the audience because the characters do not always get what they want when the want it and most of the time, that characters are too busy with other matters to focus exclusively on romance. I would daresay that this point resonates more than we think now in the 21st century, minus the morning tea, empire dresses and polite conversation.
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