Directed By Carrie Cracknell

Starring – Dakota Johnson, Cosmo Jarvis, Henry Golding

The Plot – Living with her snobby family on the brink of bankruptcy, Anne Elliot (Johnson) is an unconforming woman with modern sensibilities. When Fredrick Wentworth (Jarvis) the dashing one she once sent away crashes back into her life, Anne must choose between putting the past behind her or listening to her heart when it comes to second chances.

Rated PG for some suggestive references

Persuasion starring Dakota Johnson | Official Trailer | Netflix – YouTube

POSITIVES

Jane Austen stories with a contemporary take have been all of the rave lately in examples like “Emma”, “Love and Friendship”, or the recent “Mr Malcolm’s List”, but what makes “Persuasion” a different breed from the rest is its first-person perspective in protagonist that often halts progression in the narrative so she can speak directly to the audience. This fourth-wall breaking feels like it could easily be annoying, especially with the multitude of instances that she attempts this gimmick, but I feel like for a Victorian era narrative with stuffy characters, it’s an insight into a character with heart and illustrated motivations to feed towards her sometimes questionable movements, all the while carving out a rich consistency in humor that not only points towards a modern psychology towards dating in the 17th century, but also attains a relatability and connection to our trivialized protagonist. In such, Johnson dons a faithfully consistent British accent and elegance that coherently elicits the charm and accessibility of Anne, making her a character of great humanity who has made mistakes in the past, but the kind we conjure pivotal empathy towards. Aside from Johnson, Henry Golding grants his dependable commanding presence and charismatic exubberance for the occasion that, while limited in on-screen influence, does inject the film with a much-needed dose of energy at a time when it becomes flailing towards predictability. Aside from the performances, I also took great pleasure in the boldness and grandeur of the movie’s production value, which visually illustrated the wealth and untouchable emphasis of this family’s riches. Everything from the variety of color in the wardrobe, to the backdrops of immersive set design attained an air of class and sophistication that intoxicated my visual capacities, and in the case of these closed-door occasions invited me along to the tables where the wine and meals were so thoroughly documented that I felt the immersion easily afforded me the capability to reach out and grab them. There are also great technical values in the cinematography and musical scores, which vividly paint a majesty to the on-site shooting locations that breed an air of believability to the geography of the setting. Many wide angles paint the cold and dampening loneliness of a character in frame, while claustrophobic angles often flesh out the stuffy surroundings of a character’s momentary humiliation. Likewise, the score from Stewart Earl cements a blanketing of amplification to the emotions we’re experiencing on screen, with the sharpness of the melodramatic moments emphasized by the orchestral brilliance of string pieces elaborating the tragedy of old love lost and new love attained.

NEGATIVES

Where “Persuasion” does go wrong in attaching itself to audiences not familiar with its literary origins is in the direction and storytelling of its narrative, which feels hindered by a cloud of repetition that it isn’t able to allude itself from until the closing ten minutes. The cat and mouse game between Anne and Frederick grows tiresome by the midway point, with little to no mounted tension between them attained over the course of the struggle. I don’t blame the performances of the actors for the disappointment, but rather the blandness of the narrative, which is not only predictable in the telegraphed movements of familiarity, but also minimal on the stakes and circumstances of what each character means to the other. We rarely ever get to feel the scars of the trauma beyond what is told to us, so essentially it constantly feels like these characters could just as easily move on, especially with a blossoming love interest for both of them attained in other people. Aside from this, while the majority of performances are effective in bringing something bountiful to the characters they adorn, there were a couple of pieces that were wasted in their minimal execution. The main one is certainly Richard E. Grant, a veteran of comedies who is relegated to two scenes, with the strange decision of no dialogue for his character. It certainly feels like his best moments fell victim to the cutting room floor, and to that I ask why you would cast someone so monumentally impactful if you’re never planning to showcase his influence in the first place? Love interest Cosmo Jarvis also did nothing for my tastes, as he remains too one-dimensional to ever make the audience invest in his plight. Because of such, I found myself rooting for Henry Golding’s character despite knowing what in-store for him was inevitably, creating a jaded disposition where I was actually rooting against the film’s direction in storytelling, which you never want to be on. On the subject of Golding, it’s also strange how his characterization changed so sharply in the middle of his on-going arc, unintentionally attaining a disjointed consistency or incoherence for his development that felt rushed or heavily obvious in its intention. Finally, while I did mostly enjoy the aforementioned gimmick of Anne continuously breaking the fourth wall, I felt that the overexplaining of exposition took away too much of the natural essence from the storytelling, giving us a spoon-fed surrealness that completely eviscerated subtleties. The inconsistency of the humor didn’t even bother me as much, as I realize that’s the kind of humor most evident in Jane Austen novels, but the notion to tell and not show is something truly unforgivable, lessening the need to even pay attention if I can just hear it highlighted in the overhead commentary.

OVERALL
Though not entirely irredeemable, “Persuasion” is a disappointing missed opportunity to once again introduce the work of Jane Austen to a new generation of lovelorn victims seeking insight from one of the patriarchs of the literary genre. With a tighter grip to a more compelling story, the film could’ve more than justified the occasion, but as it stands the remarkably infectious work from Johnson and a breathtaking production waste away from an experience plagued by mediocrity.

My Grade: 5/10 or D+