Three Versions of Persuasion by Jane Austen

I recently watched three versions of Jane Austen's Persuasion after reading the fabulous novel...the 1971 version starring Anne Firbank and Bryan Marshall (a television miniseries), the 1995 version starring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds, and the 2007 version starring Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones.

Persuasion is about a 27 year old unmarried woman, one of three sisters, who at the age of 19 was persuaded to turn down the marriage proposal of a naval officer she loved because he was not rich or titled. He is now, years later, both a captain and rich, and the object of affection for many younger, prettier women. It is a story about family relationships, marriage, and second chances. There are multiple stories within the framework of the novel and movies, but the central theme is whether Anne Elliot will be able to finally marry the man she has loved and never forgotten.

In Persuasion, Austen questions a lot of ideas, such as "What are our obligations to our family?" "What is the importance in society of those who are of old money versus those with newly made fortunes?" and "How well do we know people?" One of the great interwoven stories is that of Anne's older sister, Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a woman who greatly values family when that family is very titled and rich, and she has use for them (family comes first!) but not so much when they are not of much use (such as when she prefers the company of her flattering friend to her sister, and doesn't want to house her married sister when she visits, though she houses a virtual stranger she believes to be a friend that is scheming behind her back).

Persuasion is amusing, witty, and looks at pretend loyalties and bloated self importance with a raised brow. There are a lot of lessons here too...Austen is very good at understanding people, and has been from a young age. Her own brothers are navy men, thus her fondness for seamen, and she herself was persuaded in her younger years to break off an attachment to a Mr Wrong (as her family believed him to be)...Persuasion is the closest look, from all her novels, at Austen's own life. She too chose to turn down a later proposal from a man she did not love (as Anne in Persuasion does), in her loyalty to a man she found irreplaceable.

While I greatly enjoyed all three movie versions of Persuasion, each had different aspects to its merit. The miniseries from 1971 was most accurate to the book (except in some rather important areas, probably altered for editing purposes...it was 4 hours long as it is!), and the appearances of the different characters was most like what I would have imagined, but the Anne in this version lacks the passion of the Anne in the book and in the other two versions. Her true love may have passed through her fingers a second time and she would have barely blinked, it seems. She is too placid and unemotional during the most emotional parts, and it probably seemed moreso to be as I watched this version last. The other two had Annes that were properly inspired to act when the opportunity for love showed itself again, and not let it get away again. The areas in this version where parts were edited out took away from it quite a bit, and since there were parts added in that were wholly unnecessary (such as listening to a singer for quite a while, and lots of long scenery shots), I would have much preferred that these small but relevant parts were kept it.

In the 1995 version (the first that I watched) I greatly enjoyed it, though I felt Elizabeth was miscast (she is supposed to be very beautiful and conceited). The interaction with Mrs Smith was also greatly altered, and the evils of Mr Elliot do not seem as understandable (in the book, he hides a very horrible side, and only in the other two versions do they touch more correctly on this). Otherwise, this version is terrific. Anne is very well cast, and her younger married sister is well cast and hysterical, and the whole of it is very well acted. I watched this version twice because I enjoyed it so much. The scene where Mrs Croft explains her love for her husband was touching and lovely. The ending was terrific...few words, simply shots of facial expressions that said it all. Throughout the movie, the looks and nuances helped express what was important.

Finally, the 2007 version...the Anne here was the most emotional (I actually cried during the more touching parts of this one, even though I knew what was to happen, because the actress was so beautifully moving). While quite a bit was altered from the novel to fit into two hours, the relationship between Anne and Captain Wentworth was most as it should be...passionate and deep, as in the novel. The actor playing Captain Wentworth was very handsome, it was easy to see why he would be the focus of many young women. This version is a close second to the 1995 version for me.

As a huge fan of Jane Austen's novels, I could not help but see all the versions. I plan to do so for her other novels too. If I were to pick only one version to recommend it would be the 1995 version, but I hope I can persuade some readers to also watch the more recent version as well!

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