PERSUASION
A film review by Anthony E. Wright and Jessica Wilcox
Copyright 1995 Anthony E. Wright
Jane Austen is getting a Hollywood make-over. She might have been the ghostwriter for the summer hit CLUELESS, so closely did it follow her book "Emma" scene-by-scene: it just transported the story into present-day teen Valley culture. Later this year, Merchant-Ivory veteran Emma Thompson will add her star (and Oscar) power to a film version of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY.
Some Hollywood agent is probably calling on Steven Spielberg to direct MANSFIELD PARK, starring Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, and computer-animated aristocrats. With all this movie-making, the BBC arthouse productions of Austen's work might get lost in the shuffle. That would be a mistake for both Austen fans and neophytes.
PERSUASION is opening nationally after its one-theater run in Manhattan, with its adaptation of what some Austen fans believe is her best novel, bursting with romantic tensions and incisive social commentary. There's little Hollywood glitz here: The scenery is pleasing and real. The language is understandable but retains its clever wit. And while attractive, the characters much more plain than the perfect creations that movies usually attempt to claim as real people. Little makeup is used: No one would mistake this for one of those dressed-up Merchant-Ivory galas. Narratively, we see how truly dreary being English aristocrat can be. The houses are silent except for the creaking floor boards. Rooms are lit with only sunlight or candles. The directing capitalizes on these aspects for good effect: The camera actually rocks with the movement of a ship, or the bustle of a horse-drawn carriage. We get the full ride, with the bumps included.
Those familiar with PERSUASION be forewarned: while this film attempts to capture the spirit of the book, many details were deemed expendable. The basic story remains intact, but scenes are switched around, dropped, and even tweaked. The movie changes some of the action to make plot points stronger. It even draws from early drafts of the book--so some Austen lovers might be needlessly concerned about the eventual outcome. Yet even the most rabid Austen fanatics will be pleased by the movie. Those who don't remember reading "Pride and Prejudice" and the like in high school might need a little coaching and careful viewing in the first half to get all the characters and relationships straight, but the experience is still worth it.
The story focuses on Anne, the white sheep of a ludicrous aristocratic family, when she meets up with Captain Wentworth, a sailor whose hand she was persuaded to spurn, by her friends and family concerned by his lack of money. Although now he has come back from the wars a rich man, and she has become more independent to boot. But getting the two together still requires a lot of maneuvering. Anne is the protagonist that we like: A literate, unpretentious lady that even deigns to visit with friends below her on the class scale, which predictably rewards her with valuable gossip later in the story.
The acting between these two main characters gets at some of the romantic tensions that light up the book.... The (perhaps too) frequent close-up of Ann's wide eyes are remarkable, because with only a twitch they convey her longing and amazement at her predicament. Most everyone else does well portraying the silly characters that Austen created. In fact, the moviemakers were generous: director Austen might have made the characters more ridiculous.
But besides the story of romance, the social satire is biting. To our amusement, we see the stultifying boredom and pointlessness when the family give a courtesy call to a well-connected relative. Anne talks with a friend about the difference between "good company"--an obsession among the aristocrats--and the "best company," for which Anne has a fairly different criteria. When an associate makes a point by referring to the women characters in novels, Anne pointedly reminds him that the novels are written by men. Even just the cruelty of it all is portrayed: when discussing the family finances, her absurd, vain father exclaims, "Ask Anne? Whatever for?"
Perhaps the only problem is that social satire of another century is similar to a day-old wedding cake: it still looks beautiful, and one can appreciate the craftsmanship, but to some it loses a delicate touch that makes it so tasty. Yet when leaving the Paris Theater in downtown Manhattan, one is immediately greeted with the horse-drawn carriages running along the base of Central Park; the historic Plaza Hotel, perhaps the most expensive lodgings this side of England; FAO Schwartz, the literal playground of the rich; and around the corner, Trump Tower, the most visible symbol that if Jane Austen were a screenwriter today, she would have a lot of material to work with. Despite Hollywood, we may need her now more than ever.
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