Persuasion

Image credit: Wikipedia

As a member of the human race who really enjoys movies, there is something very dispiriting when you go through a movie funk. We all go through them and they are never particularly fun – having that drive and excitement of curling up to watch a new movie severed or just no longer there. I’ve been going through one for the past couple of months, but I recently got to enjoy the uplifting feeling of randomly breaking it one day. I had a Saturday afternoon where I just really fancied curling up with a cup of tea and a new movie. The film of choice: Persuasion staring Dakota Johnson.

Witty and smart Anne Elliot (Dakota Johnson) was once in love but was persuaded by her family to break the engagement due to her beloved’s humble standing in society. Eight years later Anne is still unmarried and regrets that decision every day. But fate gives her another chance when Frederick Wentworth (Cosmo Jarvis), now an upstanding Captain in the navy, reappears in her life. Will pride, regret, and embarrassment prevent Anne from following her heart a second time?

Based on the novel by Jane Austen, this 2022 adaptation is a delightfully light and witty retelling of a classic love story. True to the narrative style of Austen, the film is filled with cheeky asides and fourth wall breaks, as well as an entertaining and memorable cast of subtly caricatured supporting characters.

We feel immediate sympathy and connection to Anne thanks to Johnson’s beguiling performance, which then goes through a compelling series of changes as she shares scenes with her ex. The morphing stages of the relationship are subtle, but very well acted out with Anne providing drama and comedy while Wentworth goes through scenes like a lovelorn puppy.

Image credit: The Guardian

There really isn’t much to say about a Jane Austen period romance that has not already been said before. We are instantly transported into another era, but still able to follow all that is happening thanks to the film’s modern camera tricks and actors’ engagements with the audience.

Persuasion is sweet and romantic, a very lovely little film to while away a cold winter’s afternoon with.

Director: Carrie Cracknell, 2022

Cast: Dakota Johnson, Cosmo Jarvis, Henry Golding, Ben Bailey Smith, Yolanda Kettle, Lydia Rose Bewley, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Nia Towle, Izuka Hoyle, & Richard E. Grant