As with her earlier novel, MANSFIELD PARK, Austen filled this story with subdued satire - intertwining a comedy of genteel manners with the unassailable decrees of the human heart. This is the story of Anne Elliot (Amanda Root): a single woman in her late 20's who, eight years previous, on the counsel of her patroness and late mother's friend, Lady Russell (Susan Fleetwood-who sadly died of cancer shortly after this film was made), had refused an offer of marriage from her true love, Captain Frederick Wentworth (Ciaran Hinds) on the grounds of his poor financial prospects.

Captain Wentworth returns to Anne's rather confined realm of society when his sister, Mrs. Croft, and her husband, an Admiral in the Navy (John Woodvine, of 1992's WUTHERING HEIGHTS) lease Anne's baronet father's estate, Kellynch Hall. Before she can join her father and elder sister Elizabeth (Phoebe Nicholls) in Bath, she must first spend a few weeks with her hypochondriac younger sister Mary, whose husband Charles' family, the Musgroves - parents Mr. and Mrs. Musgrove, and two younger sisters, Henrietta and Louisa - reside nearby. It is here that Anne becomes re-acquainted with her long-lost love, who's by now an advantageous match for any young woman, having made his prize fortune during the war. Wentworth initially fancies himself "a lost man" to the first attractive young lady who bestows upon him her "compliments to the Navy." To all appearances, Louisa Musgrove is that very lady...

Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds, even though they lack the physical beauty distinctive in other Austen adaptations, express the gamut of suppressed emotions most flawlessly here. Ms. Root conjures all the feelings of empathy and affection with every delicate expression she makes. Mr. Hinds, whom I've seen in a number of other roles -including that of an overwrought Mr. Rochester in a 1997 adaptation of JANE EYRE - gives here what's quite likely the best performance of his career. His Wentworth's subtle yet barely suppressed anger hits Anne like a bombshell. The emotion is slow paced and very flowing - but it's nonetheless quite palpable.

The entire cast, in fact, gives every cause for high praise -- most notably Corin Redgrave (brother of Lynn and Vanessa) as Anne's vain and spendthrift father, Sir Walter Elliot, Sophie Thompson (sister of Emma Thompson) as Anne's self-centered younger sister Mary Musgrove, and Fiona Shaw (Mrs. Reed in 1996's JANE EYRE) as the indomitable Mrs. Croft - each are absolutely perfect in their respective roles.

Many a time, upon a weekend afternoon, I've placed this tape into my VCR and played it while occupied with various household chores. As ever and as always, this film offers up its many beauties, and they never fail to enchant me: the long walks through the pristine and stately New Forest - the excursions with the Navel men striding proudly along jetties of the shores at Lyme - the atmospheric turns about the drizzly sidewalks, the pump rooms, and the concert halls of Bath. Such are the scenes that eternally soothe a spirit ~


Beautiful!   September 1, 1999
 239 out of 244 found this review helpful

For my money, this is absolutely the best Jane Austen adaptation ever done. Unlike some other recent adaptations ("Emma") where the aim seems to be to show beautiful people in lovely costumes surrounded by lovely things, this movie actually wants to portray real people with real emotions, whose clothes get dirty and hair gets windblown when they go for long walks.

I loved that the director didn't cast "Hollywood" types. Amanda Root is perfect as Anne Elliot -- at the beginning faded, tired and resigned to her fate as a spinster aunt who is everyone's confidante, but who cannot confess her own feelings to anyone. There is such a wealth of expressions in her eyes and her subtle gestures. And Ciaran Hinds makes a dashing and handsome Captain Wentworth -- no wonder all the ladies are in love with him! The minor characters too are priceless -- especially Sophie Thompson as Anne's hypochondriac sister, Mary, and Corin Redgrave as the monstrously snobbish Sir Walter Elliott, who has some of the funniest lines in the movie.

Highly recommended to all true Jane Austen fans!


A Suitable Persuasion   January 20, 2008
 189 out of 199 found this review helpful

PERSUASION together with NORTHANGER ABBEY were posthumous novels by Jane Austin (published 1817) and reflect the position of a novelist whose thoughts mirror her younger, wonderful bright spirit yet somehow her softer social and feminist darts she so successfully hurled at society in her other famous works. This particular film adaptation by Nick Dear of PERSUASION respects not only the spirit of the novel but also the station of the author. Under Roger Mitchell's keen direction this cinematic reenactment of the belated flowering of a Anne Elliot's eight year thwarted longing for the love of naval officer Frederick Wentworth, all due to the 'impropriety' of Wentworth's financial standings of the past, is placed before us as a quietly gentle song, one that still places the scrutinizing Austen microscope on the social mores of the time and the bows to class distinctions that serve as the matrix for Austen's novels.

The cast is excellent, with Amanda Root suitably in the background as Anne Elliot and Ciaran Hinds as the wise and slightly weathered Captain Wentworth. But their superb performances would not be as credible were it not for the large cast of fine actors playing the superficial silly sisters and cousins and the haughty ladies as well as the warm and worthy ones. This is first rate ensemble acting, allowing the quiet pulse of Austen's Anne to beat softly behind longing eyes, making her plight and ultimate reward for perseverance step stage front at the end of the film. The music of Chopin and Bach flavor the score by Jeremy Sams and the presence of Rosa Mannion, soprano, singing arias and songs lends both an aural and visual credibility to the atmosphere so ably captured by cinematographer John Daly. This is a satisfying Jane Austen adaptation. Grady Harp, January 08


None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives   January 28, 2002
 90 out of 100 found this review helpful

If the pleasures of tea, a letter from a friend, sparkling oceans and ships appeal to you, this movie will be a delight. From the sunlit kitchen tables to the birds chirping at the country estates, you will find the atmosphere and sound very realistic.

This is the story of two people seeking a second chance at happiness and almost seeming to pass by one another like two ships in the night. Neither is willing to say what they are feeling as both are still emotionally distraught from their unfortunate breakup.

Anne (Amanda Root) is an angel of mercy to everyone around her. She not only provides care, she also seems to be everyone's confidante. In her eyes we see her own private torture, which she tries to hide at all costs. She feels that perhaps she made a mistake in rejecting the love of Capt. Wentworth (Ciaran Hinds), who could not provide for her financially at the time. When he appears in her life again, she fears she may lose him forever.

Her own family has gone in various directions due to their own financial difficulties. She is burdened with guilt and financial worries. At first she is shy and melancholy and then when she realizes love may again be within her reach, she blossoms into a beautiful woman who knows exactly what she wants.

The temptation at the start of this movie is to just stop the tape and rewind. However, something in the story kept me watching and the conclusion was very worthwhile. The story is not complex, yet the finer details are worth following and are at times very amusing. Some of the dialogue is so wonderful you have to rewind just to listen to it again!

Mr. Elliot: "Good company is always worth keeping."
Anne: "My idea of good company, Mr. Elliot, is the fellowship of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation and a liberality of ideas. That is what I call good company."
Mr. Elliot: "That is not good company. That is the best."

Or when Mr. Elliot is trying to seduce Anne into marrying him he tries to work his way into her heart with some blandishment and yet Anne is only engaging in a casual dalliance.

Anne: "You presume to know me very well, Mr. Elliot"
Mr. Elliot: "In my heart...I know you...intimately."

A relaxing, beautiful and contemplative movie
you can enjoy on a cold day with a pot of tea and some
heart shaped shortbread cookies.

Dreadfully Romantic!

~The Rebecca Review


As memorable as the book   January 2, 1999
 80 out of 83 found this review helpful

As a lifelong fan of the works of Austen I am always leary of film adaptations, for fear they are glorified costume pieces. This film was so remarkably well done, the characterizations complete and fleshed out, it was as "clinging" as the book. It truly stays with you. Cirian Hinds and Amanda Root are wonderful of course, but the rest of the cast is just as ideal. I would recommend it to all but the most cynical non romantics.