Jane Austen’s Persuasion and the Moral of Persuasion as a Virtue

Persuasion is a story about Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth who were in love eight and a half years ago.  Her friend Lady Russel persuades Anne that it's not wise to marry a penniless naval officer when she is only 19, so she refuses Frederick.  Eight and a half years later Anne's father has spent so much money they must move to Bath and rent out Kellynch Hall to tenants.  Admiral and Mrs. Croft, the sister of the now wealthy Captain Frederick Wentworth become the tenants of Kellynch Hall.  It's a story about pride, choices, persuasion, and second chances.  Or perhaps even third chances.  It's moving, emotional, and mature in a way that appeals to those of us who have lived through some difficult choices, that is to say, lived.

Part of the charm of this story, and one might argue, every Austen story, is the thoughtful way it deals with flawed traits.  A casual observer might say that Anne is flawed because she is too weak-willed, too willing to be persuaded to other points of view.  In fact, Frederick believes it at first when he is still bitter about being refused.  However, as the story progresses it becomes increasingly clear that persuasion, like any trait, has its good sides.  A person's strength is often their weakness.  So the story goes about telling us how the weakness of Anne at 19 is actually her strength at a more mature age.

The story of Persuasion tells us repeatedly that being capable of being persuaded to see reason and amend one's own position based on logic and rationale is a good thing, even when it has difficult consequences.  Those characters who cannot be persuaded to be sensible, who act only on feelings, end up feeling the consequences in visibly negative ways.  People who can't be persuaded end up: insolvent because they can't be persuaded to spend money wisely (like Sir Walter), friendless because they cannot be persuaded to see value in people outside of social rank and flattery (like Elizabeth), severely injured because they cannot be persuaded that their ideas are foolish and dangerous (like Louisa), or even alone because they cannot be persuaded to overcome their pride (like Captain Wentworth at first).

Persuasion as a Force of Good

Sir Walter judging the appearance of a naval man

At every turn success and well-being of the characters comes with the ability to be persuaded to see and act rationally.  Sir Walter and Elizabeth enjoy better society in Bath once they are persuaded to go there to live more cheaply and attempt to pay their debts.  Captain Benwick is able to rejoin the happy and lively world of the future once he is persuaded that he should read more prose and should think of moving forward now, not living solely in the past.  Only after he realizes that he must, does he find Louisa agreeable enough to pursue and marry.  Anne is persuaded that the Elliot pride is directly hindering her happiness and starts to act against it by fighting to maintain friendships her family does not approve of and ultimately trying to show Captain Wentworth her feelings.  Captain Wentworth is persuaded to overcome his pride and finally pursue Anne in Bath, and it is from that decision that his happiness ultimately stems.

Persuasion can be a moderating force.  It can help you balance out your tendencies towards pride, towards vanity, towards making rash decisions.  It can help encourage good behavior and ameliorate foolish ideas.  No person is without flaws.  This is part of the reason why it is important to have intelligent people around you who want good things for you.  These friends can help you balance out mistakes and misunderstandings with different perspectives and smooth out flaws in yourself with their influence, their persuasion.

Persuasion as a Portion of Duty - Material Considerations

At the heart of the story is that first act of persuasion by Lady Russel, which led Anne to be persuaded by duty and logic not to accept Captain Wentworth when she was only 19 and he was a young penniless naval officer.  Some people and adaptations think this was a bad thing, but Jane Austen tells us it was not.  Anne doesn't regret being persuaded to not accept Captain Wentworth when they were so young and he was penniless.  I think both Anne and Lady Russel were aware that Elizabeth was not likely to make a good match, none of the daughters were going to inherit the estate, they weren't even on speaking terms with the heir.  They had no dowry, considering that Sir Walter had spent every penny and was in shocking piles of debt.  It looked as though Anne would have to marry well to be safe and possibly care for her sisters once Sir Walter had gone.  Was it fair that she was therefore persuaded that love was not enough?  No.  But it was a very rational choice at the time.  Even if he had been prosperous straight off, if he had died immediately (a possibility in a war), she would have been left a widow.  We see in both Mrs. Clay and Mrs. Smith, both widowed very young, that such a situation leaves the women vulnerable and leads to some difficult choices for them.

  And Anne says that she considered it a duty to Lady Russel who she considered a mother figure, to listen to her advice in that matter.  She did not regret being persuaded in that case.  Anne tells Wentworth "I was perfectly right in being guided" by Lady Russell "to me, she was in the place of a parent.  I am not saying that she did not err in her advice." Only that "I was right in submitting to her, and that if I had done otherwise I should have suffered more in continuing the engagement than I did even in giving it up because I should have suffered in my conscience.  I have now, as far as such a sentiment is allowable in human nature, nothing to reproach myself with; and if I mistake not, a strong sense of duty is no bad part of a woman's portion".

Being persuaded not to accept Captain Wentworth before he had made any money was a wise decision at the moment that is was made at the behest of a person she considered a mother figure.  She regretted that it had kept them apart after Frederick had returned with money and a promising future in the navy, but not that she had been persuaded those eight and half years ago.  The reason this novel feels like it has a more adult perspective is because it is many ways concerned with analysing past choices and learning from previous mistakes, a thing all adults must do to grow.  It is possible to look back and think that a decision was the right one at the time but also regret what it's current consequences are.  To be able to say you were glad that you were guided by your parent figure, Lady Russel, but also that you know her advice was wrong.  And to blame neither yourself nor her.  That's a very difficult thing to do but is a part of having an older perspective on life.

Persuasion vs. Pride/Stubbornness 

As with all Jane Austen novels, this story has a subtlety and a nuance that I love.  It does not advocate for anyone to constantly be persuaded out of the things they want and should do, nor to be incapable of being persuaded to do the right things against what your current desires may be.  Jane Austen, this story demands that a balance of these qualities is necessary.

Captain Wentworth almost loses Anne because his hurt pride leads him to stubbornly not reach out to her when he returns that first year with money enough to keep her.  After they have finally reconnected at the end of the book he admits to her that it was pride that had prevented him from writing to her when he had a few thousand pounds a ship under his command.  They both realize they could have avoided the last few years of misery and separation if he had done so.

Captain Wentworth nearly loses Anne again when his pride, still hurt, eight and half years later, leads him to court Louisa.  He only learns his lesson when, at Lyme, he realizes that Louisa and her whole family are expecting him to offer Louisa marriage as soon as she is well.  He says he removes himself from Lyme to allow her to heal and lessen her attachment as much as is honourable.  But he was willing to marry her against his wishes because it was the right thing to do.  If the whole family expects an engagement, he is toying with Louisa's reputation and that is unpardonable because it could affect her chances for a happy future.  The moment he realizes he must balance his desires against the realities of his actions is the moment he grows as a character.  Luckily, Louisa and Captain Benwick become attached during her recovery and Frederick is free to pursue Anne as he wishes, swallow his pride, and come to find her in Bath.

Anne and Henrietta show different sides of the same decision.  Henrietta was almost persuaded by Mary's nonsense that she shouldn't marry Henry Hayter.  Jane Austen sets this up as an example of being too weak-willed and gentle.  She is not being persuaded against Henry Hayter for good and logical reasons.  Henrietta is being persuaded out of Mary's unreasonable dislike of him, and a foolish desire to continue flirting and being flattered with Captain Wentworth who is so dashing and charming and new.  She ought to have stuck to her purpose when there was no logical reason to be persuaded otherwise.  She learns this in time to win back her intended.  Then there is Louisa who is a foil to Anne.  She is too stubborn and heedless to be persuaded of anything.  This is a character trait that first attracts Captain Wentworth who is trying to forget Anne by courting someone completely unlike her.  Louisa who is too stubborn to even see reason (let alone propriety and duty) ends up unconscious on a pier, nearly dead because of it.

For Anne, being persuaded to give up Frederick at 19, was the right choice.  However, when they meet again, she is too proud to express her feelings, as is he and they suffer through a few more things before it all works out in the end.

Finding the Balance

When Anne and Captain Wentworth are reconciled and together at the end of the book he tells her how he finally had begun to see Anne's true character at Lyme when he had occasion to witness what being far too stubborn could be dangerous.   Captain Wentworth describes Anne as being the "loveliest medium of fortitude and gentleness"  At Lyme, he says he had "learnt to distinguish between the steadiness of principle and the obstinacy of self-will, between darings of heedlessness and the resolution of a collected mind. There he had seen everything to exalt in his estimation the woman he had lost; and there begun to deplore the pride, the folly, the madness of resentment, which had kept him from trying to regain her when thrown in his way."  Anne was in that elusive middle ground between firmness of character and capable of being guided.

Jane Austen urges us to consider that it is the middle ground that is ideal.  Being capable of sticking to your purpose but also knowing when logic must prevail over feelings.  Having both learned their lessons, Anne and Wentworth are now adults who have addressed some of their flaws and are ready to enter into a healthy relationship.  Anne learned that she must be more firm in her purpose now that she is an adult and refuses to be persuaded into marrying Mr. Elliot or from canceling her plans to visit Mrs. Smith for an impromptu visit of the Dalrymples.  Captain Wentworth learned that his pride and stubbornness were preventing him from being happy and he learns to act less on his surface emotions and more on rational plans to pursue his own real happiness.  Jane Austen argues the couple is happier for being reunited, "more tender, more tried, more fixed in a knowledge of each other's character, truth, and attachment; more equal to act, more justified in acting."  We know that Anne and Frederick have grown as people and will have a very happy marriage indeed.

More Jane Austen Please!

If you are interested in more discussion of Jane Austen, I have more for you.

For a start, you can see my ranking of every movie adaptation of Persuasion on this page here.

And if that's not enough don't worry you can see my discussions of the movie adaptations of all the other Jane Austen novels and even, a mad attempt at ranking them all together.  Why did I do this?  I think I must be crazy.  Oh wait, we already knew this.  Anyway...

To see my ranking of Every Jane Austen Adaptation, go here.
To see my ranking of all the Pride and Prejudice adaptations you can go here.
To see my ranking of all the Emma Adaptations you can go here.
To see my ranking of all the Sense and Sensibility adaptations you can go here.
To see my ranking of all the Mansfield Park Adaptations you can go here.
To see my ranking of all the Northanger Abbey Adaptations you can go here.

For my discussion of the Lady Susan Adaptation (Love and Friendship), you can go here. 

To see my ranking of all the "Not-Quite-Austen's" you can go here.

I have a whole page dedicated to Jane Austen where you can find my rankings of different movie adaptations and essays etc.

All Things Jane Austen

The Jane Austen Project - Ranking ALL the Austen Movie Adaptations

Ok, just the ones I've seen

I am embarking on this mad project to rank all the Jane Austen movies.  Why?  Because I saw someone else had started to and I disagreed with them completely.  I was so put out by their rankings and reasons that I thought about it for days and decided to do my own.  So here we are.

I haven't watched all of the adaptations ever made, some of them are a bit harder to dig up and not all of them are worth the many hours of investment required.  This will be a discussion and ranking of the ones I've seen and I'll update this list if and when I see more Jane Austen movie adaptations.

Seriously though, why do we watch all these adaptations anyway?

I don't know about you, but when I watch adaptations of Jane Austen's books because I love the stories.  I want to be transported to a time with polite and proper manners, and conversation.  I want to revel in the beautiful gowns, scenery, and landscapes.  I watch Jane Austen movies because I want to glimpse life in another time, see the daily life, the manor houses and imagine Regency balls.  I want to imagine a time when gentlemen and ladies were held to a rigid code and be nostalgic for the idea of it while not having to give up my modern civil liberties.  There is something in the way that Jane Austen draws up her characters with rich inner lives and complex motivations that I love to watch play out every time on the screen.  For a few hours, I want to live in a world where real obstacles are overcome and good characters always get a happy ending despite all the odds being against them.

Public Service Announcement
Before I forget, you can in fact find all of Jane Austen's stories in the public domain.  That means, that you can find FREE digital copies of them on Kindle etc.  Also, because they are in the public domain you can find FREE audiobooks at https://librivox.org/.  Everyone should be able to access a copy that wants one.  Ok, now back to the rankings.

As much as I love Jane Austen, not all her stories were created equal.  Her characters are certainly not all created equal, some possess more wit and vivacity than others.  She has a way of portraying families and social dynamics, both good and bad that is utterly captivating.  And as much as we all seem to love these stories, the endless variations of film adaptations have produced the same varied quality.

This will be a slightly shorter explanation of what I like and don't like about all the adaptations. I will discuss all the movies at more length on pages for each book.  I'll have a page for Pride and Prejudice adaptations, Sense and Sensibility, etc. (links also to be found at the bottom of this page).

Here is my ranking of all the Jane Austen movie adaptations that I have seen.  Feel free to disagree with me and tell me so in the comments, if you feel so inclined.

1. Pride and Prejudice 1995 BBC mini-series 

Starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle

         What can I say?  This mini-series is number one of all the Jane Austen movies because it is perfect.  (These are my opinions obviously, you may disagree and even feel at liberty of commenting thus).  I love Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth.  I think she does the most amazing job of bringing the character to life.  I love the way they portray Lizzy in this series.  She's smart, she's witty, she's caring.  She's independent but not forceful.  She's realistic and hopeful.

         Colin Firth is excellent as Mr. Darcy.  He does such a lovely job of growing emotionally throughout the film with his facial expressions, starting from a scowl and ending with a more vulnerable admiration across the room when Elizabeth saves his sister from distress.  I do think that one gratuitous fan-pleasing scene with Colin Firth diving in the pond is silly.  But every other scene is rational and lovely.

         The length of the movie allows them to linger on subtle emotional scenes to achieve the correct tone as well as tell the story at a pace that unfolds naturally.  I love it.  The clothes, the scenery, the music, the pacing, it's all perfect.

         Why is this my all-time favorite of all the Jane Austen movie adaptations?  Well, I simply love the story, the characters, the nuanced performances of all the actors and I can't find any fault with this version.  So, I like it best.  I often put in just the last disc and watch the end of this movie whenever I need a pick-me-up.  I rewatch the whole version once a year during the summer with my mom and a healthy amount of tea and cookies.  By healthy I mean indulgent and luxurious.

2. Sense and Sensibility 1995 - starring Emma Thompson

          This movie is so perfect.  From the piratical and geographical leanings of Margaret to the small details of life at home with four women this movie is perfection itself.  It has an emotional subtlety that is conveyed with both grandeur and simplicity.  The scene where Elinor sits in the stairwell and drinks the tea she has brewed for Marianne while everyone has dramatically (and with tears,) closed a different door in her face is perfect.  The loneliness and bravery required to keep everything together for the family's sake when everyone else is so emotional is so obvious in this script.  Watching Emma Thompson portray the struggles of a sensitive but brave heart that cannot give in to any of her own sorrow is a beautiful thing.  Such nuance, such loveliness.

          It's cast beautifully.  Everything about this movie is lovely really.  Your heart breaks (and I cry) for Marianne while she quotes sorrowful poetry in the rain and for Colonel Brandon who loves her completely but has given up hope she'd ever think of him.  It's just perfect.

          Since I've expressed my views on how perfect this movie is why is it in second place?  I prefer the storyline and some of the characters in Pride and Prejudice.  The ladies do steal the show in Sense and Sensibility, I don't love the men as much as in Pride and Prejudice.  However, Emma Thompson's script is simply perfection, so it's number 2 for me.

3. Northanger Abbey 2007  - starring J.J. Field

            Oh my goodness I love this version.  I love the chemistry between J.J. Field and Felicity Jones.  I think Miss Thorpe is perfectly cast and believable.  Actually, everyone is perfect in it.  You believe that Catherine is young and a bit fanciful but she is thankfully not portrayed in an irritating way as they do in some other versions.

          Oh, and the falling in love montage, over apple picking, apple roasting, and the race to see his home in the rain on horseback.  Sigh.  The way he gently lifts her off the horse and reverently touches her face to remove the mud, it, well, it defies words.  It's perfection.  I love this movie entirely.

          This movie is third because, again, I prefer the story of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.  It gave a close run for second place because it's lovely, but the scripting of Sense and Sensibility done by Emma Thompson is exquisite.  Northanger Abbey is only third, one place down, by the slightest margin.  Even though this is not my all-time favorite Austen, I admit that I find Mr. Tilney completely dreamy in this version.  But who can compare with the incomparable J.J. Field?

4. Persuasion 1995

        This movie is fourth because it's a lovely version of Persuasion, my favorite version actually.  This story is about the very sensitive Anne, who is misunderstood by all her family, and even her friends.  So, the tone is a little more melancholy.  I do love the story but it's not quite as happy as other Austen's until you reach the very end.  In some ways, I relate most closely to Anne's character and story, so it can be difficult for me to watch her struggle some days.

         This version does a beautiful job of giving you the feeling of Anne's quiet and somewhat melancholy life at home.  The longing she has for a chance to live life on her own terms and the nostalgia for a time when she was more herself and happy with Captain Wentworth.

         I really like the chemistry between Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds in this movie as well.  It is a lovely, nuanced adaptation of such a sensitive work with such sensitive characters who have very rich inner lives. 

5. Emma 1996 - starring Kate Beckinsale

        The reason this is number six for me is because "Emma" is not my favorite story, but this is my favorite adaptation of Emma.  In this version, you can see the feelings that Mr. Knightley is developing for her.  I like to see him just a tiny bit jealous when you're watching and he doesn't know it.  The chemistry between Emma and Mr. Knightley is lovely in this version.

          This Emma is also more likable as a person, less mean, just young, and naive in some ways.  The splendor of Mr. Knightley's wealth is fantastically displayed with the strawberry picking and a manservant to attend to each guest.  I love that detail.  Seeing how many servants must attend a strawberry-picking party and a picnic.

          I love that the story includes chicken thieves because it makes it just slightly more entertaining.  I love that it opens and ends with them.  I love that this is how they convince her father she should in fact marry Mr. Knightley.  It's adorable.  I love the chicken thieves. (since Emma is not my favorite Austen, that's enough to nudge it into first place of the Emma's for me).

6. Pride and Prejudice 1940 with Laurence Olivier 

This movie is a black and white version of Pride and Prejudice set more in the Antebellum American South than it is in Regency Era England.  But if you can get past the Antebellum gowns (which are great in their own way), and the black and white film, and the random dramatic 1940's obligatory staring out of windows, it's a great movie.  No, it's not strictly traditional or faithful to the book.  But it's a cute take adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and I prefer the charming but unfaithful additions in this film to the poorly written and awkwardly modern Lizzy of the new 2005 Pride and Prejudice.  For more on this version, see my Pride and Prejudice rankings page.

7. Pride and Prejudice 2005 with Keira Knightley

          Yes, it's good, no it's not as good as the 1995 BBC mini-series.  That's my opinion.  For a lengthier discussion see my opinions of all the movies.  But in short, there are several things I don't like about this version.

1. Lizzy is made to feel too forward and improper, she tells Jane to go visit an Aunt with no invitation given.  And they give her the lines about how much money would be needed to bribe Wickham.  It feels wrong.
2. This movie didn't take the time to give people thoughtful lines, they just have the characters lecture each other about how life works so that the movie can explain to the audience why certain things are happening.  That's a failure in my opinion.
3. I don't like the way they portray Mr. Collins in this version.
4. Lizzy wears terrible gowns to balls.  Yes, this may sound like a silly reason to not like the film best, but really.  Everyone else wears nice, white, pretty, fashionable gowns and she shows up in a sad-looking green thing that she could do gardening in.  Stop reinforcing the idea that smart independent women can't care about how they look, Hollywood!  Women can be pretty AND smart! 

          Ok, rant over, this is actually a good movie despite my opinions of its foibles.  Its soundtrack is gorgeous.  It is filmed beautifully.  It's really very good.

8. Love and Friendship 2016 with Kate Beckinsale

          I don't want to say too much about this movie, because it's awesome and you should watch it before I ruin it for you.  This is a movie adaptation of Jane Austen's novella Lady Susan.  It's not exactly filled with the proper ladies fighting against an unjust society to win their happily ever afters.  Don't get me wrong, it's still a Jane Austen movie, but it's not like the others you may have come to know and love.  

          Lady Susan is a schemer and I have to admit that I cackled out loud at least three times while watching this movie.  I love watching a schemer use nothing but wits and charm to get her way.  And Kate Beckinsale, is perfection.  I would highly recommend this movie if you haven't seen it yet.  I'll say no more.   

9. Emma 2009 mini-series with Romola Garai

          I have rather mixed feelings about this movie.  I feel like it starts out amazingly and I slowly have my opinion of it shift through the film until we reach the end and I'm not sure I especially like it anymore.  The opening is lovely and gives more context to the cast of supporting characters who are so important to our plot.  Emma is understandable, relatable, loveable, naive, well-meaning, and young without being a total brat or too proud.

          As the movie progresses Emma almost seems to become less sympathetic, as she also seems to become more modern.  She slouches more and she says things that are improper.  While Emma devolves in propriety and behaves badly, her protege, Harriet, has improved under her instruction.  Harriet feels more ladylike than Emma, sitting straighter, behaving well, being polite.

          It is a cute version of the story, however.  Mr. Knightley is charming and I enjoy his performance throughout.  And there is no nosebleed during the proposal, so it edges out the 2020 Emma, despite its own foibles and despite the many positive things going for the 2020 Emma.

10. Emma 2020

         This was a very close call and almost came in higher for a few reasons.  It's funny.  They lean into the comedy of this story and it's refreshing.  The clothes are gorgeous and I adore Bill Nighy as Mr. Woodhouse.  I will probably watch this version more often than the mini-series, partly because it is shorter, and partly for the clothes.  Oh, I like that Miss Smith has a bit more character in this version.  There are also lots of beautiful shots in this movie.

         The reason I don't 100% love this movie is that although I do like that they lean into the comedy of the story they take a few scenes a little too far.  I don't know why they decided to give Emma a bloody nose when Mr. Knightley proposes to her.  It's distracting and awkward and not especially funny to me.  They make Mr. Elton a little too cringe for me to enjoy watching.  I know that Mr. Knightley wasn't quite old enough but that didn't bother me.  I quite liked this portrayal of Mr. Knightley.

        There is a LOT to love about this adaptation.  And truly it's a close call, but for me, the awkward went one step too far.

11.  Sense and Sensibility 2008

          This is not my favorite.  This version doesn't quite have the nuance or tone of Emma Thompson's script.  But it has something.  The rug beating scene, where Elinor is venting some frustration and meets Edward Ferrars, is very excellent indeed.

          There is a duel and also a hint of the seduction that Willoughby has committed.  So, that's kind of fun.  I do like this Elinor.  It's a perfectly decent adaptation.  But it just doesn't have the same magic for me as the script by Emma Thompson.

12. Persuasion 2007

This is only slightly under the 2008 Sense and Sensibility because they make Frederick cruel at the dinner table which is not true to him, they skimp on the note reading and have five minutes of running.  Its charming parts are very charming.  Anne is as sensitive and emotional as we know her to be from the book.  The scenes that they add whole cloth, with Captain Harville telling Frederick he is expected to marry Louisa and later the buying of Kellynch Hall as a wedding present are all lovely. 

13. Persuasion 2022 Netflix

This movie had the potential to be truly beautiful or truly funny.  And it was disappointing because rather than choosing one it tried to do both and failed at both.  Set during the Regency Era it tries to undercut the romance of the story by making fun of the morals of the time.  

It was neither fully a Regency romance, nor a comedy.  It opened with a sweeping romantic scene set to piano of Anne and Frederick on a cliff in the English countryside. It's gorgeous and romantic and then it cuts to her telling us "she's single and thriving".  She is still more likeable than the 1971 Persuasion and has more feelings, a lot more, considering she drinks them away through most of this movie.  

Captain Frederick Wentworth is lovely in this version.  We see a lot more genuine emotion from him, which I appreciate.  He's also much more likeable than the 1971 Persausion version.  He's very real and hurt by Anne's dismissal of him.  

It really is a beautiful movie, it is stunningly filmed.  Half of the music is stunning as well.  If it didn't keep undercutting itself with random out of place modern things it would have been a much better version.  In fact, it would have rated a great deal higher on this list if it had just cut out some of the most glaringly modern things.  If she hadn't gone on about Frederick as her ex, or the characters hadn't gone on about self-care and being an "empath", or they hadn't included a scene where she almost peed on screen. 

It seems to have drawn on the 2007 Persuasion as well as the modern tone of Bridgerton.  There was a lot to love and a lot to be frustrated by.  I went back and forth on where to place this in the list for a long time.  

14. Emma 1972 mini-series

         This was a tough call but it falls further down the scale because as much as I adore the father in this movie, I can't stand Emma.  My favorite character in all of Emma is the poor father, he stole the movie for me.  Well, that and there is no awkward nose-bleed at the most ill-timed moment (the nose-bleed proposal scene of the Emma 2020 version is really terrible and almost cost it a higher ranking).  I don't love this portrayal of Emma, but Mr. Knightley is indeed a gentleman and I adore her father in this version.  

15. Persuasion 1971 mini-series

       I didn't like this adaptation.  It doesn't have the same magic as the 1995 version with Amanda Hines.  I think they portray Anne as confident and resigned where she is really meant to be much less confident, possibly hopeful and then despairing, and more or less profoundly emotional in Captain Wentworth's presence.  She's almost cold in this version.  I can't quite put a finger on what I do not appreciate about Captain Wentworth in this version, but there was something.  Did he feel duplicitous to me?  I am not sure, but I didn't like him.

          In this movie, I find the gowns are distracting because they don't seem to have paid any attention to the styles and fabrics that would have been worn.  Why is Anne wearing a giant bold plaid patterned fabric?  I know it's not the biggest deal, but I found it distracting enough to pull me out of the story.    I did like that Anne quotes some poetry about autumn on their walk but not enough to like the rest of this adaptation.

16. Pride and Prejudice 1980 mini-series

         I've seen it, it's Pride and Prejudice.  It's not an unfaithful adaptation of the story, but it's just not good.  There were a few things that didn't work for me.

          The biggest thing for me is that I didn't like Lizzy in this version.  She feels like an arrogant smart-ass.  Lizzy and Darcy have no chemistry from what I can see.

          Caroline Bingley is insufferable in this version, excessively mean.  Wickham lies to everybody extra obviously.  Lizzy is warned by everyone not to like Wickham and she takes no notice.  This makes her less sympathetic and even more arrogant feeling.  It makes more sense when you stick to the book and everyone has the general feeling that Wickham's great and then everyone finds out he's not at roughly the same time.

          I do like their version of Mr. Collins.  He's still a bumbling fool, but he's a believable person, you can imagine him existing (unlike the Mr. Collins in 2005 who is a cartoon).  This Collins is still a fool but you can see why Charlotte would marry him whereas in some other versions you really cannot, even knowing she's afraid for her future.

          This movie falls into 11th place (below an inferior Captain Wentworth and plaid dresses in the 1971 Persuasion and the awkward proposal nose-bleed of Emma 2020) because of one other big problem.  After Darcy's infamous failed proposal to Elizabeth, this movie has dramatic internal dialogues.  They are awful.  If you have to dramatically explain what's happening to the audience you haven't done a good job of setting up the scenes in the movie.  There is no excuse for this in this case as they had plenty of time to set up the scenes.  This particular mini-series is many hours long.  I can't stand it.

17. Sense and Sensibility 1981

          I've seen this one, it's fine but I didn't like it.   It was my first introduction to Sense and Sensibility and I just didn't take to it.  I didn't want to watch it again.  I don't find this Elinor compelling.  It wasn't until I found the Emma Thompson Sense and Sensibility that I really fell for the story.  And it's such a great story.

18. Mansfield Park 1983 mini-series

       I still don't love this story (even if Fanny is faithful and good and long-suffering and some sort of Cinderella figure, I don't like the story, sorry Jane Austen).  It's not because I think Fanny is boring, or too good all the time, it's because the story is painful to live through every time I see it.  All the characters in it are pretty much awful and abusive to Fanny.  And I don't like watching it.

       There are things I like in this version.  Lady Bertram is pretty great in her quiet yet high pitched voice and her lounging ways.  This is a long but well-done version.  I just don't like the story.  I don't like the characters.  We mostly watch Fanny get abused the whole time and at the end, while I'm glad she's happy, I personally do not think that her cousin deserves her either.

19. Mansfield Park 2007

This version of Mansfield Park is not the most accurate, nor the most fanciful.  This Sir Thomas says unnecessarily mean things.  It's just not that good.  It's not terrible but it's kind of meh.  I like that this Fanny and Edmund seem to have decent chemistry.  I like this Edmund.  This Aunt Norris is suitably horrible.  I sort of like that Lady Bertram plays an advocate role for Fanny in the end.  But I really don't like this Sir Thomas.  And the whole thing is filmed in one location.  So it leads to some interesting choices.  

It is at least a coherent story that's not offensive for failing to address important social issues nor is it creepy or downright irritating and painful to watch.  So, it's above everything further down the list.

20. Mansfield Park 1999

       This movie is just different.  It's not really Mansfield Park.  The modernity and pacing in the filming of this adaptation do hold my interest and I prefer a shorter version of this story because it's not my favorite.  But they do leave out a lot that makes the plot a little harder to follow.  I like the way they portray Fanny as emotional and interesting, up until the end where they suddenly make her be uncertain and waver on Henry Crawford.  Making her a writer is a fun twist, but totally conflating her with Jane Austen herself is an odd choice.

       It does make her a more interesting character to be sure.  But I would have liked to see her be this interesting newly dimensional Fanny without being turned into Jane Austen herself.  I like to see her having wildly conflicting emotions in the corridors, where she feels very trapped and very aware of herself.

       The rest of this version is a bit too much for me.  I still hate most of the characters in this story (sorry Jane Austen).  There is an emphasis on slavery in this movie.  They make that the point of tension between Tom and Mr. Bertram, and we find art done by Tom that makes him a tortured, empathic, artist soul.  But we never address the issue with any other characters.  We don't do anything with it.  We go back to having tea and nobody says anything again.  If you're going to add slavery you have to make it more of a thing, not an "oh, we live off of blood money.  By the by, let's put on an extravagant play."  They didn't do enough with the theme.  It's almost disrespectful to introduce slavery but not do anything more with it.  I found it offensive anyway.

       The way it ends is also really an odd choice, to pull you out of the story to tell you how it happens all awkwardly, but not really tell you how it happens.  It was strange.  I did not enjoy this version.  I found it's lack of thoughtful treatment of slavery offensive, but it didn't give me nightmares, so it's just above the 80's Northanger Abbey.

21. Northanger Abbey 1987

             I watched this for the first time one summer afternoon with my mother and we were not prepared for it.  At the time neither of us knew anything about the story, hadn't read the book, or seen another adaptation.  We had expected something feeling like Pride and Prejudice.  We got this.  It was so odd.

             I didn't like the portrayal of Mr. Tilney, he was creepy, or Catherine who I also felt was weird and creepy.  I would not rewatch this version except for one single scene.
The one scene I particularly like in this adaptation is the bathing scene.  Everyone is in the baths with their bonnets on and full-length bathing costumes on while they parade slowly through the bath waters chatting with friends socially with floating trays of bath salts in front of them.  It was delightfully weird and awkward.  I loved it.

             But, as much as I loved that scene, I was equally horrified by the "Gothic" dreams that Catherine has in this one.  The scene with an old lady sewing her fingers together still haunts me to this day.  So I'm not a fan of this particular adaptation.

       

22. Emma 1996 with Gwyneth Paltrow

          I really don't like this adaptation of Emma.  It's a lovely movie in some ways, yes, but the portrayal of Emma is, to my mind, the worst.  In this movie, Emma is all the worst qualities of being young without anything attractive about her at all.  She isn't naive so much as she is mean.  She makes cutting remarks about everyone.  She's self-absorbed, in the worst way.  She's whiny, she pouts, she's generally irritating.  She's the protagonist and I can't stand her.

For a more balanced view of this movie, or more complete discussions of each adaptation, you can visit my individual pages for each book, links found below.

       

23. Pride and Prejudice: a latter-day comedy 2003 

Hands down this is the worst adaptation of a Jane Austen novel I've ever seen.  In fact, it was so bad it was almost hilarious.  I spent equal amounts of time cackling at it (not with it) and being utterly confused.  To say it had plot holes would be a massive understatement.  It was so bad my friend couldn't even finish watching it.  For further discussion on this disaster, you can find my full review on the Pride and Prejudice page, here.  And yes, if you're wondering, it is a rather Mormon interpretation.

The Not Quite Austen's 

Then of course there are the not quite Jane Austen's and retellings I've seen.  If I want to watch an adaptation I want to revel in the clothes and beautiful manor houses in England, the beauty of the time on display visually in a movie.  I do not want to watch a movie set in modern times and in high school, Clueless.  Unless it's doing something more, telling a different story, I don't want my adaptations to be set in modern times.  I couldn't quite place these on the other list.  But here is my ranking of the Not Quite Austen's and retellings.

1. Lost in Austen 2008

My favorite "not quite Austen".  An avid fan of Pride and Prejudice ends up inside the Pride and Prejudice story and has to figure out how to not ruin it or her own happy ending.  It's cute, it's interesting.  It explores the original characters as they deal with life in very new situations.  It is not faithful to the book, obviously.  I find it delightful.

2. Austenland 2013

Simply fun.  An obsessive Pride and Prejudice fan goes on an expensive holiday to a Jane Austen immersive experience.  There is romance and silliness.  The characters are over the top fans, actors, and airheads.  It's charming.  It's totally silly.  It doesn't take itself too seriously.  It's a feel-good movie.  And Kerri Russell and J.J. Field are utterly charming.

3. Jane Austen Book Club 2007

This one follows a book club that is reading all Jane Austen all the time.  Its charm is in the way it portrays real-life experiences and also explores how reading can liberate you, inspire you, and simply make you feel.  It's a literary discussion you get to enjoy without any work.

It's all the Jane Austen stories rolled into one.  And the characters live different pieces of all the different stories as they live their lives in the real world.  It has its rough moments, its tears, but it's also a celebration of endurance, humanity, friendship, and literature.  It's a better film than Austenland, but it's also slightly more about modern life than typical Austen stories, so it's third for me

4. Becoming Jane 2007

This is a lovely movie about Jane Austen's younger life before she is a known author.  It's romantic, moving and beautifully filmed.  This movie makes me cry.

5. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 2016

Well, it's Pride and Prejudice.  And it's not.  And it's good actually.  Surprisingly.

It is a well-done movie with funny moments and beautiful cinematography.  It has zombies so it's also gruesome and strange.  But it has a certain appeal.

I won't lie, I wanted to hate it.  But I did not hate it.  Much to my shock (and possibly my regret?  I mean I'm glad I didn't feel my time was a waste but do I feel as though I've betrayed my own taste in liking the movie if that makes any sense).  I really don't like zombie movies.

It is a proper retelling of Pride and Prejudice with some obvious alterations.  I love that it's still set in the Regency era.  I don't love zombies, so I was never going to love this movie.  However, I found it surprisingly well done and I do, in fact, mean to watch it again someday.  Though perhaps as a Halloween movie.

6. Miss Austen Regrets 2007

   

This is a movie about Jane Austen's life.  As one might suspect from the title this is not a light-hearted movie.  The story examines Jane Austen's life as she reaches her later years and dwells on both her choices and her regrets in life.   

Olivia Williams is a fantastic Jane Austen, but the portrayal of Jane in this movie is a little sharp and difficult.  Since we are seeing Jane mostly through Fanny's story, we jump around a fair amount and it can be a bit difficult to follow.

It's a beautifully filmed movie and it is entirely believable.  I love that we see beautifully put together scenes of daily life, with Cassandra and Mrs. Austen and Jane at home in their cottage.  The sets, the scenes, the landscapes, they're all just beautiful.  I love seeing the adorable scenes where Fanny is falling for Mr. Plumbtree, chasing each other about in the garden with a crimson ribbon.  It was beautiful, romantic, lavish, and tender. 

I'm just not sure that I love this movie.  I don't love this particular interpretation of Jane Austen's personality.  I like to imagine that Jane Austen was a combination of some of her heroines, the wit and ability of Lizzy, the self-assured confidence of Emma.  It was difficult to watch a deeply regretful, self-pitying, spiky Jane.  

It was definitely a good movie, but I had a hard time watching it. It is difficult for me to watch people suffer, especially those I have a fondness for, regardless of whether I've ever met them in person.  I mean, the movie is titled Miss Austen Regrets.  What did I expect?

It's a beautiful film but it's so sad.  It's hard to believe that I ranked it below Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  I'm not sure I believe it myself.  But the leaps in the story, and the fact that this isn't how I'd like to imagine Jane Austen make this not as fun for me.  Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was definitely fun.  I can't believe it either.  

7. Pride and Prejudice, Cut 2019

This was a cute little feel good movie that is worth a watch if you want something light and fluffy and familiar.  Our Lizzy is an American actress named Kate who is hired to be in a British film production of Pride and Prejudice with a seemingly snobby classically trained British co-star.  The cute thing is that while they rehearse P&P lines they are also living a Pride and Prejudice experience behind the scenes.  The parallel Pride and Prejudice storylines are rather cute.  It's more fun to watch than Miss Austen Regrets.  But it's not in the same class of film.  

8. Clueless 1995

I just never really liked this movie.  Yes, it's a retelling of Emma.  Yes, it's actually a decent retelling of Emma.  However, it's also a high school drama.  Emma wasn't my favorite of the Austen novels to start with, the high school drama was too much for me.  I don't like it, but I can see why some people truly do.  Cher/Emma is both self-centered and completely likable (unlike some of her more haughty counterparts in other versions like the Gwyneth Paltrow version).  You understand why she falls for the scolding tones of her "almost brother" as well.  Paul Rudd is a perfect cast for this role.

Bridget Jones's Diary - really fun, lovely movie, technically an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, has a Darcy, but is really not Austen.

Detailed Discussions of all the Austen Adaptations

For my discussion/ranking of all the Pride and Prejudice adaptations, you can go here.
For my discussion/ranking of all the Persuasion Adaptations, you can go here.
For my discussion/ranking of all the Emma Adaptations, you can go here.
For my discussion/ranking of all the Sense and Sensibility Adaptations, you can go here.
For my discussion/ranking of all the Mansfield Park Adaptations, you can go here.
For my discussion/ranking of all the Northanger Abbey Adaptations, you can go here.

For my discussion of the Lady Susan Adaptation (Love and Friendship), you can go here. 
For my discussion/ranking of all the "Not-Quite-Austen's" you can go here.

I have a whole page dedicated to Jane Austen where you can find my rankings of different movie adaptations and essays etc.

All Things Jane Austen

Persuasion - Movie Adaptations Ranked

Free audiobook recordings of Persuasion can be found at librivox.org

Persuasion

As an adult who has been heartbroken this story speaks to me.  It's not my favorite Austen, perhaps because I usually lean towards the lighter happier stories for escape.  Yet, this story has more depth, and when I'm ready for a quiet evening of introspection I put in Persuasion.  I do love this story.

Persuasion is a story that seems to appeal to a slightly older audience.  I'm not selecting an age, it's more of a perspective, but it seems to appeal and be loved by those who have had the chance to live to regret at least one decision in their lives.  A decision that was right at the time but definitely affected the whole course of your future.

Ok, spoilers will abound.  If you want to avoid them, go grab a book or a movie now.  Otherwise here we go.

Captain Wentworth and Anne

Persuasion is a story about the relationship between Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth who were in love eight and a half years ago.  Anne's great friend Lady Russel persuades Anne that it's not wise to marry a penniless naval officer when she is only 19, so she refuses Frederick.  Eight and a half years later Anne's father has spent so much money the family must move to Bath and rent out Kellynch Hall to tenants.  Those tenants happen to be related to the now wealthy, Captain Frederick Wentworth, throwing Anne and Frederick back together.  This is a story about pride, choices, persuasion, and second chances.  Or perhaps even third chances.  It's moving, emotional, and mature in a way that appeals to those of us who have lived through some difficult choices, that is to say, lived.

Persuasion is a story that talks about how being capable of being persuaded to see reason and amend one's own position based on logic and rationale is a good thing, even when it has difficult and life-long consequences.  Those characters who cannot be persuaded to be sensible, who act only on feelings, end up feeling the consequences in visibly negative ways.  People who can't be persuaded end up: insolvent (like Sir Walter), friendless (like Elizabeth), severely injured (like Louisa), or even alone because they cannot be persuaded to overcome their pride (like Captain Wentworth and Anne, at first).

Persuasion as a Virtue

Jane Austen is telling us that Persuasion can be a moderating force.  It helps balance out our weaknesses and strengths.  It can help prevent foolish decisions and limit the harm of excessive pride.  At every turn, the success and well-being of the characters in this story comes with their ability to be persuaded to act rationally.  Jane Austen argues that Anne has achieved the ideal middle ground between firmness of character and capable of being guided.

Ok, so it would seem that I've written an entire essay on what I think the themes and morals of the book are.  If you are interested in reading about Persuasion as a virtue you may find my post here.  So, without further ado, I give you my ranking of the movie adaptations of Persuasion by Jane Austen.

1. Persuasion 1995 - starring Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds

         I love this version of Persuasion.  It starts off beautifully and just continues to unfold in such a lovely way.  The movie begins with the quiet sounds of a boat passing overhead in the water and quiet piano music.  It begins developing this sense of serenity, this resolute pace, flipping between sailors rowing, and sheep grazing at Kellynch as a carriage rolls past.  Right off, it's a story of the navy and the gentry at home with a subdued tone and a quiet understated beauty.

         You immediately know from the moment we meet Anne's family that her father is vain and silly, her sister just as bad.  In roughly five minutes we know that Anne's whole family cares little for her.  That Lady Russell values her opinions and company but Anne's sister, Elizabeth, and her father, Sir Walter, do not.  Immediately you find out that her father doesn't even remember that she once knew and loved Frederick.  And Elizabeth tells Anne quite pointedly she won't be wanted in Bath.  The quiet scenes of pastoral life and servants closing up the house all set this beautiful melancholy tone that makes you feel Anne's isolation and low spirits.  You feel her longing for a chance to live life on her own terms and the nostalgia for a time when she was more herself and happy with Wentworth.  Very early you know that Anne now thinks that she would have been happier if she hadn't taken Lady Russell's advice and had instead married Frederick.

         The movie does a lovely job of showing the way she is overly relied on by everyone to do all the work, both practical in nature, as well as relying on her to do all the emotional labor of having difficult conversations with everyone to help smooth relations.

 

Lady Russel and Anne in Bath

         The overbearing but protective relationship that Lady Russell has with Anne is shown, but it feels just a tiny bit like Lady Russell is being manipulative for her own reasons, where the book shows she is just slightly deficient as a judge of character.  But that's really the only criticism I have for this version.

The chemistry, the looks, between Anne and Frederick

         I really like the chemistry between Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds in this as well.  The movie does an amazing job of conveying many of Anne's thoughts visually with lovingly crafted shots such as her meeting of Frederick again and a shot of her hand clutching a chair for support.  A particularly poignant one being where she stares at her reflection in the mirror after Captain Wentworth has said he wouldn't have recognized her again. With no words, they convey so much of Anne's emotions.  It is a lovely adaptation of such a sensitive work with such sensitive characters whose lives are rather rich in inner life that can be hard to capture on film.

         The Admiral and Mrs. Croft are so very cute.  The Admiral is amazing with the little boys, showing them how to make paper ships.  Admiral and Mrs. Croft are my absolute favorites in this version.  They are so adorable.  I want to wrap them up in a blanket and keep them forever.  I really want to be friends with them.

The subtle moments between Captain Wentworth and Anne

         I love the scene at Lyme when Anne tells Captain Benwick that she CAN understand how he feels about his loss.  The sincerity of both parties and the way that Frederick is watching from the other side of the table, smoking and listening and thinking.

Captain Wentworth smoking and staring at Anne

         I love the way that they capture the way that Anne's happiness begins to affect her appearance positively.  She actually grows more beautiful throughout the movie as she becomes happier with better company.  Blooming again in Lyme with the warmth of the Harville's and the excitement of visiting the sea.  She begins to attract notice from Benwick and Mr. Elliot as he passes her on the beach.

Captain Wentworth writing his letter to Anne

         The whole scene where Frederick is writing the letter, and hears Anne talking with Captain Harville about how long women and men love, is perfect.   Captain Harville has said that his sister wouldn't have forgotten Captain Benwick so soon.  Anne agrees that "It would not be in the nature of any woman who truly loved.  We do not forget you as soon as you forget us.  We cannot help ourselves.  We live at home, quiet, confined, and our feelings prey upon us." I love that Frederick is trying to listen and drops the blotter while writing.  Anne continues with "I believe you capable of everything great and good.  So long as, if I may, so long as the woman you love lives and lives for you.  All the privilege I claim for my own sex, and it is not a very enviable one, you need not covet it, is that of loving longest when all hope is gone."  Followed by the dramatic look that Frederick gives her when he points out the letter he has left for her to read.  And then the reading of the letter.  Such a beautiful letter and her extreme agitation, urgency, after reading it.  "You pierce my soul.  I am half agony, half hope."  Such a lovely scene.

Frederick leaving her the letter - by the way, you can find free audiobooks of
Persuasion and other books in the public domain at librivox.org

         It's a beautiful film.  Throughout the clothes and rooms/buildings are lovely.  Seeing the naval officers in their uniforms is excellent.  The music throughout the entire film is perfect.  Lovely piano, and harp pieces.  I love too that a good deal of the music is actually diegetic, that is, music coming from instruments in the scene, or at least implied to be so.  The harp and piano played in the scenes to create the perfect mood and such lovely music.  Dancing reels and even in the end, the carnival sounds with the same understated music over the top as they fall into each other's eyes and the world vanishes.

Admiral Croft in all his uniformed glory

         A few other random details/scenes I loved.  Nurse Rooke, who is the Queen of gossip in Bath, who gets so excited about hearing whether or not Anne is going to marry Mr. Elliot that she pulls up a chair and leans in to better hear the juiciest news straight from Anne.  It's so cute.  I love that we mention Bonaparte and the ending of the war at the beginning of the movie while they are aboard the ship and then again at the end of the movie in the drawing-room at the evening card party.  All the hushed drawing-room conversations that everyone overheard because, how could you not?  They occur in the book, and I love that you see so many in this version.

Captain Wentworth kissing Anne

          This lovely and sensitive movie is my favorite version of Persuasion.  Since Anne, is quiet and sensible where most of her family and connections are not, she is misunderstood, overlooked, and in some ways unappreciated.  At this stage of life, I have very much come to relate closely to Anne's character and story.  So it can be a little bit difficult for me to watch this movie terribly often.  It is hard for me to watch her family be so uncaring, to watch her being ignored.  But this movie is so beautiful and sensitive and nuanced that it is one of my favorites.

Persuasion ends

2. Persuasion 2007 - starring Sally Hawkins and  Rupert Penry-Jones

         This is a rather decent adaptation.  I think this Anne is rather well portrayed.  It has some really lovely scenes and additions that I thoroughly enjoy.  I love that in this version we see Anne journaling and we get to hear her telling us her feelings about particular events by writing about them.  That's a thoughtful detail and a lovely way to include some of her inner thoughts in an unobtrusive way.  Crying into the journal and alone over letters is a nice touch.  You truly feel for Anne, being so alone with nobody to comfort her or help her deal with the terrible pain of being a stranger to someone you love, cannot be with, and must always see.  

         There were very few things I didn't enjoy about this version.  There were a few awkward moments where Anne stares into the camera feeling sad whilst she is journaling and it sort of ruins the emotional impact of the crying into the journal for me.  Then there is the incredibly strange moment where Anne apparently knows how to set a collarbone without a doctor.  How did she learn this?

         I found Sir Walter Elliot to be terrifying and self-important in this version; not silly and vain as I should describe the one in the book and the way he is portrayed in my favorite 1995 version.  The sister is much more deliberately cruel and less silly in this version as well.

Anne in the foreground with her cruel family in the background

         I love the scene where Captain Harville recognizes the name of Elliot and asks if she is Miss Anne Elliot.  Alerting us right away that he is acquainted with Frederick's feelings and the failed engagement.   I like that Captain Harville tells Frederick that Louisa and her entire family are expecting him to propose to Louisa as soon as she is recovered.  This allows us to find out Frederick's feelings earlier in the movie and explain why he suddenly leaves Lyme.  Other versions make it seem more mysterious why he left.  In the book, you don't find out what Frederick has been about until the end, but it doesn't seem to fit nicely in a movie in that location, so it's often left out.  I like seeing Frederick's perspective a little earlier in this adaptation.

Anne and Captain Wentworth walking

         I like that this movie emphasizes that Frederick is a man of honour prepared to marry Louisa if she still thinks that's what she wants, even though it's not what he desires.  I love the scene where Captain Harville tells him that Louisa has chosen to marry Captain Benwick.  These extra scenes with Frederick and Harville being open about feelings are a really lovely edition to explain what Frederick is thinking and planning as he enters Bath.

Captain Wentworth and Anne smiling in conversation

         I love the steamy scene in Bath where Anne and Frederick meet again.  And the smiles on their faces as the joke about morbid poetry.  I like the way Anne and Captain Frederick Wentworth get engaged outside Camden Place with her accepting his proposal.  And I don't really have anything against what she says to him, except that it sounds almost as though they are saying that her being persuaded was a bad thing.  And I don't like that they make it sound as though being persuaded was such a terrible flaw.  They add the lines:
"I am in receipt of your proposal and am minded to accept it. Thank you" - Anne
"Are you quite certain?" - Frederick
"I am. I am determined. I will. And nothing, you may be sure will ever persuade me otherwise." Anne

The book is very much against this idea that her persuasion was a flaw and I think that sentiment misses the moral of the story.  The whole point of the book is that being persuaded by sense and rational logic is a good thing.  Would Captain Wentworth have made his fortune and been the same person if he had married Anne young?  And what if he had died young during the war and left Anne a penniless widow?  Women had to be rational, especially those with no hope of inheritance, or dowry, even if they were very desperately in love.  She was not wrong to be persuaded it was not the right time to marry him.  The book strongly stresses that although it hurt Frederick's feelings, it was the right choice at the time.  Had he pursued her when he came home a few years later with some money she would have said yes.

         At every turn this story emphasizes that pride and willful stubbornness are flaws and persuasion by logic and sense is a virtue.  Pride is what moves Sir Walter and Elizabeth to spend too much and be incapable of seeing people's value outside of rank.  This leaves them penniless and in huge debt, forcing them to move to Bath.  The only good thing they do is to move to Bath to have fewer living expenses, and they were persuaded to do that by Anne, Lady Russel, their lawyer, and his daughter Mrs. Clay.  The stubbornness of Frederick and pride of Anne to not reach out and express their feelings has kept them apart all these years.  The ultimate example of willful stubbornness is Louisa.  She can't be reasoned with to not do something even when it's dangerous, foolish, illogical.  The result is a tragic accident that could have killed her.

Louisa's accident in Lyme

         As with all of Jane Austen's novels the qualities demand a balance.  It is the middle ground that is ideal, being capable of sticking to your purpose but also knowing when logic must prevail over feelings.  Achieving that "loveliest medium of fortitude and gentleness."  In the end, this is what Frederick appreciates about Anne's character.

         In the book Anne tells us that she was "perfectly right in being guided" by Lady Russell "to me, she was in the place of a parent.  I am not saying that she did not err in her advice." Only that "I was right in submitting to her ...  and if I mistake not, a strong sense of duty is no bad part of a woman's portion."    At 19 with no dowry, it would have been foolish to marry a penniless naval officer.  What would they have lived on?  If her sister didn't marry well how would he support them all?  What would happen if she was widowed so young?  This story has two examples of young widows driven to hard choices.  But I digress, for more on the virtue of being persuadable see my above "essay" on the story of Persuasion.

         Ok, a few things I didn't like in this version.  Frederick announces at a dinner party that he intends to marry anyone who smiles and complements the navy.  It was inappropriate, a remark he only made to his sister in the book, not to a dinner party.  It would also have been cruel and humiliating for Anne to have to listen to such a pointed speech about what he is looking for in a lady and how the traits he lists are the exact opposite of hers.  If you won't have Frederick say it to his sister, it makes more sense to come from his sister as it does in the 1995 version.

Anne journaling

         Then there is the moment that Anne tells Captain Benwick at Lyme that women are not inconstant, that they love longest when all hope is lost.  Frederick is meant to hear this speech and begin to think she still cares for him.  It seems Frederick doesn't hear her.  This means his letter is out of context and they are forced to shorten and rearrange it a little.  He writes this just after he leaves her house, saying he feels hopeful, but he didn't look it, and indeed she doesn't think he did or she wouldn't chase him so.

        That brings us to another point.  The letter coincides with one of the most odd parts of the movie, Anne running excessively around town.  The moment Frederick leaves her house she gets delayed by Lady Russel and then she runs after him just moments later.  But somehow it takes her nearly five minutes of screen time to run all across town to catch up with him.  She runs here and there across town always missing him.  She started out just behind him and he's somehow had time to go home, write a letter, then go to the pump room, and then to visit her house again?  What this leaves us with is 4 minutes and 45 seconds of running around town with short delays by people she meets at each location sending her elsewhere.  She gets Frederick's note telling her he still cares and she spares exactly 16 seconds to glance at it and then we are back to running.  Not only would it have been improper to run through town (we could get over that), she stupidly runs all over town for nearly five minutes of the movie and it feels boring and silly.  Nearly five minutes are dedicated to weird shots of her running, But they couldn't even give her half a minute to actually read the letter, the crucial romantic letter.  She glances at it and we are supposed to think she's read it.  Had they cut even 30 seconds out of the running scene and given it to the letter reading, it would've been a better movie.

Anne running across town

         Then for a minor annoyance.  After she has assured Frederick she intends to marry him they have the longest prelude to a kiss of all time.  She is still breathing heavily from running all over town, but he seems reluctant to bend and kiss her.  She is just trying to stretch up to him, not managing to reach him or kiss him for so long that it's incredibly awkward.  Sadly, it's the single most awkward kiss I've ever seen in a movie.  It kind of ruins this romantic moment where they finally get together after 8 years and a whole movie of build up.

         As far as other minor annoyances go, I don't like the ugly clothes that Anne wears.  No, she doesn't have to dress as fancy as her sister Elizabeth, but she wears ugly things and ugly browns and an ugly shawl.  It annoyed me to see her in such things.  Then there is the weird moment where her friend Mrs. Smith, who is supposed to be a cripple (that's why she has Nurse Rooke and lives in Bath), is somehow not an invalid at all.  Mrs. Smith is running across town to be a part of the let's reveal all the endpoints to Anne as she runs across town for five minutes?  So, she seems quite healthy then and seems to have no need of a nurse.  Yes, that's minor but I'm mentioning it anyway.

Frederick buys Kellynch Hall for Anne, so romantic!

         I do like the performances of Anne and Frederick.  It is a lovely movie in some ways.  I do appreciate the ending.  It's so charming that we see Frederick and Anne are happily engaged and he has taken her blindfolded to see a wedding present.  He has apparently bought the estate of Kellynch Hall from Mr. Elliot and is giving it to her as a wedding present.  Then she leaps into his arms for a hug, a kiss, and they dance in the gardens as we pan out.  It's charming, heartwarming.  It's lovely.

Captain Wentworth and Anne dance at Kellynch Hall!

3. Persuasion 2022 Netflix movie - starring Dakota Johnson and Cosmo Jarvis

        This movie was, unfortunately a disappointment.  It opened with such a beautiful scene, Anne Elliott and Frederick Wentworth as young lovers on the cliffside obviously enamored of each other as she tells you she was once persuaded to give him up and we watch a single tear streak down his face.  It's gorgeous and it had my hopes up that this would be a truly beautiful movie.  And then it disappointed me because the next sentence was, and I quote "Now, I'm single and thriving; I spend my time drinking fine wines, enjoying warm baths, and lying face down on my bed.  Like I said, thriving."  So there you have it, that's the perfect encapsulation of this film.  It's absolutely beautiful and then it's just so damn modern and disappointing. 

        If you want to modernize Persuasion then do a modern retelling.  If you want it set in the Regency era, do us a favor and don't make Anne Elliott a rude, drunk person who discusses exes and nearly pees on screen.  I do not watch period dramas to watch people pee in the woods in their long skirts, or to watch sisters discuss "self-care," or have the man you're pining after go from being an "ex" to being a friend and all the horror of that.  I watch period dramas for the romanticism captured so beautifully in the opening scene, for the longing, for the painfully adhered to propriety and the knowledge that by staying true to your morals you'll have a happy ending at the end of the story in the most romantic and beautiful of English settings. 

Anne being too modern in the first scene

If you want Anne Elliott to talk about being "single and thriving" in a facetious way and have it actually be funny, then I implore you to make it a modern retelling of the story.  This adaptation flickered from beautiful to modern in the most odd ways and it failed to be romantic because it was jarringly modern and it failed to be funny because it was weirdly regency/romantic.  It was neither thing and the audience felt the push and pull of both these mismatched tones throughout the whole movie.  Just when you'd think ok, it's just a quirky and fun adaptation of Persuasion, it's kind of funny, just roll with it, it would become sweeping and romantic and regency again.  Just when you were about to lose yourself in the drama of manners it would spring modern bullshit on you.  It kept clashing with itself and it was an unfortunate state of affairs.  Either movie could have been great.  But both tones constantly clashing with each other did not leave a satisfactory result.  That being said, there were many things I liked about it.

Anne looking pensive

I still liked this Anne, even drunk, more than the 1971 Persuasion's Anne.  And I like this Frederick Wentworth a lot better.  I appreciate that we see more of his feelings in this one, rather like the 2007 version.   I love that in this version we see Frederick's feelings much more clearly.  We see him hurt, and angry and pining after her, and we see him come almost to the edge of saying he still loves her, but always not quite able to say it.  I think there's a lot of influence from the 2007 Persuasion.  We see Captain Harville having knowledge of Anne Elliot, just like the 2007 version.  This movie is also influenced by the recent release and success of Bridgerton.  Some of it works, some of it doesn't at all (the drunk Anne, and the modern phrasing throughout).  It really is too modern for a movie set in the Regency era.  The characters go on about exes, and self care, and being a ten or a five.   It's non-sense.  The clothes aren't right.  Anne wears black to the Dalrymple's and modern looking button downs at other points.  Don't do a Regency adaptation if you don't want to do it properly.   

Modern dialogue

I like that Anne tells us that Frederick is the only person aside from her mother and Lady Russell who ever saw her, understood her, or loved her.  I appreciate that Anne understands why he wouldn't write to her saying that "he respects himself too much to beg. He didn't fight for me because he could never value a love that wasn't offered freely." And I rather love the thought that she has followed his career through newspapers and news of the navy.  But I hate that she talks to camera to tell you about it.  She continues talking to camera throughout the movie and I find it obnoxious. 

Anne talking to camera with her rabbit

I love that Anne speculates about what Frederick might think about seeing her again on the journey to Uppercross.  Is he still angry with me?  What if he's been pining for me day and night all these years?    I also love that Anne travels with a rabbit companion on the way to Uppercross and indeed throughout the movie.  I love that it's never mentioned and that she never discusses it or explains it to you, but that she's often holding it for comfort.  I prefer her talking to it than to camera as well.  

Anne holding her rabbit

The only modern parts of this film that I enjoy involve Mary.  She's delightful as she complains in a much more florid and modern way.  I love her complaining about the flowers "my in-laws sent me that lovely bouquet, isn't that sweet, they'll only rot of course and then I'll feel even worse than if they hadn't sent anything at all.  How unkind is it to remind a dying person of decay?"  I love how melodramatic that particular line is.  I actually laughed at this.  As well as "I'm so close to death I can feel my organs decomposing." 

Mary decomposing

Louisa is much more likeable in this movie, which actually is a bad thing, as it makes you despise Frederick for taking advantage of her affection.  You can't see why this Louisa would ever impetuously throw herself off a staircase either.  And this Louisa is such a sweetheart that it makes no sense that they have her try to set up Anne and Frederick and then ask permission to have Frederick for herself.  

Anne being drunk and covered in gravy

I absolutely hate that Anne is a drunk in this movie.  She shouts at Frederick from across the way through the open window in her underwear and then hides and drops a whole gravy boat on her head in her drunken state.  I hate that she is drunk at the dinner when she finally spends the evening at the Great House in Uppercross and that she rudely announces to the whole table that Charles first wanted to marry her.  It's so tacky.  The Anne we know and love suffered with actual grace and dignity and never would have even considered doing anything this rude and tactless.  It's awful and we totally understand why Frederick would be so enamored of the kind, sweet and proper version of Louisa this film portrays. 

I do find it amusing that she meets Frederick again for the first time in 8 years with jam on her face and a bread basket on her head talking about how handsome Frederick the sailor is.  It's cute, and funny with the children being so entertained even if it's inappropriate.  It's charming so I give this one a pass. 

Anne wearing a bread basket and jam mustache

It is visually beautiful.  The scenes of sweeping cliffside romance, the seaside and the melancholy.  The classical music lilting you along on the journey as you the women walk towards the Great House in Uppercross beneath umbrellas with lanterns through the rain.  It's stunning, it's perfection and then it's jarringly modern.  It's trying to be two very different movies, one that takes itself seriously and loves the romance and drama of Austen's novel set in the Regency era, and the other poking fun at the exact time period it's chosen to represent.  It is constantly undercutting itself as a romance and then undercutting itself as a comedy and it fails to do either justice.  It's a true shame.  

Anne at the seaside

Charles Musgrove and Mary

Anne, Henrietta, Louisa and Mary

I love the scene where she's playing Marie Antionette in the woods with the bluebells and that when the kids get too agressive with beating "the bad Queen" with sticks, Frederick saves her.  And she's so unjustified in asking him not to be angry.  Which is why I like him the better for saying "what would you want me to be?" and when she has no answer, just walking away.  

Anne running through the woods with her nephews

I love that she asks the little boy James to hug her so tightly she can't feel her body anymore.  It's a touching and beautiful way to talk about how sad she feels without telling the camera for once. 

Mr. Elliott is smug, arrogant, openly not a gentleman.  Elliot tells Anne he doesn't want to lose his title to a new son through Mrs. Clay.  It's a ridiculous thing to admit to Anne, who he is still attempting to woo in this version.  I mean really, who finds it attractive to hear a man say "I'm only trying to marry you to keep my inheritance away from Mrs. Clay."

Mr. Elliot looking smug

I love the scene on the beach where Anne and Frederick finally talk.  He tells her "I've lived with a thousand different imagined versions of you over the years. Some to rail against, some to cherish."  He tells her there's no-one quite like you.  He basically tells her he wants her his life no matter what and he feels he can only have friends.  It's a beautiful scene until she opens her mouth and declares they've gone from being "exes to being friends" and it's so much worse.  Gross.

Anne being modern at the sea

When she thinks Frederick is engaged she tells us, "I've always imagined myself confronting this moment with grace. I would astonish myself and others with my quiet dignity, my ability to endure. Statues would be erected in my name.  In memory of Anne Elliot who suffered cosmic loss yet really held it together quite impressively." But the sad part is that the Anne Elliot from Austen's Persuasion really did and we loved her for it and this Anne does not confront it with grace or quiet dignity.  She is loud and drunk and rude and talks to camera throughout it all. 

But I do like the ending.  I like that Harville lets her know that Benwick and Louisa are engaged.  I love that she reads his letter, since it's such a lovely letter, and that she runs to find him (and it doesn't take her five minutes to get there, sorry 2007, but that was really awful).  "I have thought many times about how to tell you this, but the pain of love unrequited rendered me silent.  Tell me not that I am too late. My love for you has never faltered."  and the way they embrace is so lovely. With relief and disbelief and happiness and the way you feel when you finally come home after such a long absence.  The song is hauntingly beautiful and lovely.  And I adore the last scene of Frederick and Anne on the cliff, reunited at last.  

Cliffside romantic moment

There's more to be annoyed at in this adaptation than there should be, but there's also much more to like than in the 1971 adaptation.  So it beats out 1971 with beauty and the scenes with the children.  Even if Anne is a drunk, she's still more likeable than the cold Anne in 1971.  And this Frederick is much more delightful than the 1971 Frederick as well.  

If you want to see a more detailed discussion of this adaptation and why I think it doesn't work, you can find it here.  

4. Persuasion 1971 mini-series - starring Ann Firbank and Bryan Marshall

         This is a solid adaptation, but I don't like it.  It doesn't have the same magic as the 1995 version or the 2007 version.  

         I think they portray Anne as confident and resigned.  I think this does a disservice to her character.  She is meant to be extremely sensitive and emotional and maybe a little bit despairing and then a little bit hopeful.  She is certainly not confident and her emotional state is anything but resigned.  The whole time that she watches Captain Wentworth pay attention to Louisa, and then notice her in some small way that nobody else has, it's exhausting emotionally for her.  This Anne seems less conflicted, more collected.

         I can't quite put a finger on what I do not appreciate about Captain Wentworth in this version, but there is something.  Did he feel duplicitous to me?  I am not sure, but I didn't like him.  I almost feel like we know more about his internal feelings and they do him less credit.  And yet we still do not actually know anything about his feelings, not in the way we see in the 2007 version when that Wentworth talks with Harville.

         And for me, the gowns are distracting.  They seem to have barely any relation to the styles and patterns that would have been appropriate to the Regency era that the movie is still claiming to be set in.  Anne sometimes wears these giant bold plaid patterns.  The colors also feel very sixties to me.

Anne in a plaid gown

         I want the dresses and colours to be pretty and suit the time period.  Why set the story at this time if you don't like it?  And I want it to be accurate (at least enough that it's not distracting) and visually appealing.  It's a visual medium, is that too much to ask?  I did like that Anne quotes some poetry about autumn on their walk in this version but not enough to like the rest of this adaptation.  Not enough to overcome a cold and mature Anne playing opposite an unappealing Wentworth.  There is no romance in this version at all. 

Mary in an ugly dress clashing with the couch

I have not yet seen the following adaptations:

Persuasion 1960 mini-series

Let me know if I'm missing any from this list.  And feel free to agree or disagree with my assessments of the films above.

Again, if you want to read my essay on Persuasion as a moral in the book, go here. 

To see my ranking of Every Jane Austen Adaptation, go here.

To see my ranking of all the Pride and Prejudice adaptations you can go here.
To see my ranking of all the Emma Adaptations you can go here.
To see my ranking of all the Sense and Sensibility adaptations you can go here.
For my discussion of all the Mansfield Park Adaptations, you can go here.
For my discussion of all the Northanger Abbey Adaptations, you can go here.

For my discussion of the Lady Susan Adaptation (Love and Friendship), you can go here. 

For my discussion of all the "Not-Quite-Austen's" you can go here.

I have a whole page dedicated to Jane Austen where you can find my rankings of different movie adaptations and essays etc.

All Things Jane Austen