Persuasion (1995)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Very Cool!!!

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

In this adaptation of Persuasion you get the book almost entirely verbatim. The scenery is lush and alive but at the same time dull. It represents wonderfully how our heroine Anne sees life both before and after her Captain has come home, and both before and after he wins her heart a second time.You really see how embarrassed she is upon his return, you see how much she still loves him but how she will not be the one to stand in his way of true happiness. The characters all come to life and the actors bring their own take on all of them. Any lover of Jane Austen will appreciate how well this movie was made. This is one of the best book to movie translations ever seen on screen. 9/10

It is hard to name another film in which every single actor is cast so well and performs so well. Even the "smallest" roles are a treat. A miracle. And watching Amanda Root reminds me of that wonderful assertion by Judi Dench: "Acting isn't what you say; it's what you don't say," --- and Amanada Root can speak volumes without a word. The Musgrove family, and their home, constitute everyone's favourite dream of English rural paradise; and at every viewing I am riveted by that fabulous carpet. Charles Musgrove is so beautifully acted --- yes, you know he is a bit of a fool and insensitive, but you love him for his heartfelt honesty and generosity. Likewise, Admiral and Mrs Croft --- the married couple everyone wishes to be. When Mrs Croft (Fiona Shaw, a genius)is regaling the dinner party with her memories of home and sea, John Woodvine, as the admiral, is visible in the background, listening quietly, not looking at her, but permitting himself an exquisite, reticent, almost humble smile of contented happiness. There is not a single weakness in this wonderful PERSUASION.

Persuasion is perhaps not so obvious a choice to adapt from Jane Austen's work as her better known novels, but it still a rattlingly good love story. Like Mansfield Park, it features the navy for many of it's main male characters, but the heroine, Anne Eliot, is an older and wiser girl than Mansfield's Fanny Price.This adaptation is fairly short, around 1 hour 40 minutes, but it does remain fairly close to the book. Amanda Root is an excellent Anne, while her snobbish father, sister, and friend are played respectively well by Corin Redgrave, Phoebe Nicholls, and Susan Fleetwood.Captain Wentworth and Mr Eliott are perfectly cast - Ciaran Hinds shows reserve, regret, and restraint in his portrayal of a man already scarred by rejection and scared to hope, while Samuel West is foppish but not silly as the opportunist cousin seeking a fortune.Persuasion looks great despite it's limited budget, and engages itself to viewers in an understated way - all the better for it.

This screen adaptation of Jane Austen's novel, "Persuasion", is excellent. I love Amanda Root as Anne Elliot. She plays the part to perfection, displaying her feelings and regrets, but never showing disrespect towards her family. This is just as Jane Austen wrote it.The entire cast does a great job, and the story plays out so beautifully. The longing of Anne Elliot for Captain Wentworth is so real and meaningful. As are Captain Wentworth's feelings for Anne.I also enjoyed Fiona Shaw as Mrs. Croft, Capt. Wentworth's sister. She has such an unusual look that she always stands out on-screen, and she is a great actress. She plays the part wonderfully in this movie.As always, I urge you to read Austen's novel before watching a screen adaptation. Why not enjoy the original first? It truly is a wonderful experience to see such beloved characters come to life on the screen.