The big irony of this new, less modernized adaptation of Jane Austen’s last novel, Persuasion, is to convey a tense relationship with 19th-century sources in a repressed, passive-aggressive way. is. To Austin’s arrogant view of society. This movie has not made a creative leap to transpose the beloved story of our time. Instead, in a mysteriously intolerable way, directors, screenwriters, and stars imply their discomfort with the social norms of the George Dynasty from within the setting of the novel era.
Both the film and the novel began in the early 1800s, when story heroine Ann Elliott (Dakota Johnson) visits her sister Mary (Mia McKenna Blues) in the English countryside after her father wastes her family’s savings. increase. She is Anne, an unmarried woman, and she is fortunately respected by her blue-blooded relationship, or at least recognized as useful. However, in a direct speech to her camera, Anne is plagued by memories of her romance persuaded to end with Frederick Wentworth (Cosmo Jarvis), an enterprising but lucky sailor. I admit that.
Ann is alone now, and her regrets only grow when Wentworth returns to the country as a wealthy Navy captain. He is eager to find her wife, and if his gaze is first directed at Anne’s lively her sister-in-law, Luisa (Near Thor), his attention always returns to Anne. And it seems.
For this story of rekindled romance, the film summons the handsome appointments expected of a large-budget historical drama. There are luxurious mansions, brocade costumes and magnificent views. But at the heart of this considerable adaptation lies the crisis of simultaneity, and the problem begins with the presentation of its heroine.
Wearing smoky eyeshadow and pink lipstick, Johnson shows the confident charm of a celebrity who shares her secrets with the audience. Her smile can be read as a grin. The discordant bravery of her performance is reflected in the screenplay of the film written by Ron Bass and Alice Victoria Winslow. We are friends. “
The contrast between modernized dialogue and the language of Austin’s time only makes both styles look more polite. The heroine of the story, its dialogue, and even the theme of regret and loneliness, seems to be swallowed by the need to maintain the appearance of modern cheeks.
For Austin novel fans, it’s hard to imagine Carrie Cracknell’s version providing a sense of comfort and escapism. Instead, the intolerable tension between the past and the present acts as a bare window to disarm the anxieties of current Hollywood filmmaking. It’s better to make the whole movie a skeptical and uncertain case than to risk introducing a pre-feminist heroine who lacks self-confidence.
Persuasion
Rated PG. Execution time: 1 hour 47 minutes. Watch it on Netflix.
