Persuasion

In an era quite fond of revamping the joys of the 19th century, director Carrie Cracknell breathes new life into one of Jane Austen’s most beloved classics.

Although this newest adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel “Persuasion” will surely generate much talk of the evils of attempting to renovate classics for a more modern audience, I would encourage longtime Austen lovers and newcomers to the genre alike to give this Netflix Original a fair chance.

Although many lovers of Austen’s works prefer more faithful renderings of her complex characters, Johnson’s witty and charismatic take on Anne’s inner turmoil creates a narrative that is more accessible for modern audiences. Director Carrie Cracknell’s portrait on the plight of heroine Anne Elliot, played by Dakota Johnson, seeks to put a more humorous and sarcastic spin on the character’s traditionally melancholy inner monologue by allowing her to break the fourth wall and address her snide remarks directly to us.

This is an interesting and atypical choice that while slightly jarring at first, quickly made for a much more lighthearted experience of the character’s unexpected reunion with Frederick Wentworth, a man she almost married eight years prior portrayed here by Cosmo Jarvis.

Among the many creative updates Cracknell makes the story, one of the most notable is the decision to include an ambiguous diverse cast, making no allusion to it throughout the film. This choice I’m sure will garner much discussion on either side of the spectrum, but ultimately highlights an attempt to have the story be more reflective of society as it is today.

Speaking of the cast, Johnson and Jarvis both excel in their roles as the primary protagonists and have a believable and compelling chemistry on screen. Jarvis in particular brings a much needed levity to Captain Wentowrth, while also managing to capture the depth of the all too human experience of suffering great disappointment in love.

Other notable performances include that of Mary Elliot, portrayed by the hilarious Mia Mckenna-Bruce, who settles perfectly into her role of the ever-complaining younger sister. She is supported by her somewhat patient and aloof husband Charles Musgrove (Ben Bailey Smith).

Despite the fact that many of the antics that manage to make their way onto the film aren’t necessarily reflective of the time period in which the story takes place, they do allow for the characters and their motivations to come across as much more human.

For example, although it would likely be frowned upon for an upper class and relatively young woman in 19th century England to have a slight drinking problem stemming from a depressing home life and no clear way of changing those circumstances, it is not wholly unreasonable from a modern perspective.

These among other elements of Cracknell’s interpretation of “Persuasion” make it an overall worthwhile watch. The cinematography is both dynamic and captivating, lending itself to the narrative device of breaking the fourth wall.

While largely faithful to its source material, the plot simultaneously manages to create room for a slightly faster paced story and more humanizing moments between the characters. In this current era of bringing the aesthetics and stories of previous centuries into new and reimagined narratives, this adaption of

“Persuasion” fits in nicely with the likes of “Bridgerton,” “Emma,” and its numerous other contemporaries.