I have talked before about my iffy relationship with Jane Austen and her books. Tonight
maaseru and I watched the 2007 version of my favourite Austen novel,
Persuasion. I always think that Austen had a good sense of irony but little or no sense of romance, and this novel is the one exception, where the hopeless faithful love of Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth never fails to melt my heart.
This very much had the spirit of Jane Austen and the times, and I certainly enjoyed it - but still have criticisms and quibbles. I thought Anne was a little too nervous and mousy: she should be quiet and reserved, but her competence and her intelligence should still be abundantly clear. She is the backbone of the family. Likewise, the story is
Persuasion, not
Cinderella and still less
Jane Eyre, and I Anne should not be quite so dowdily dressed at all times. The other women were wearing the lovely gowns of the Regency period; Anne was wearing drab upholstery.
Loved Alice Krige as Lady Russell, but I always love Alice Krige. Anthony Head was nicely obnoxious as Anne's vain father. Another familiar face from
Doctor Who was Finlay Robertson, who played Captain Benwick here; he was Larry Nightingale in "Blink".
And Rupert Penry-Jones as Captain Wentworth.... He was nice to look at, and I kept thinking of him as a Georgette Heyer hero, with his good features and stylish hair. I wish he were a Georgette Heyer hero, I'm dying to see those novels filmed. But he was more a Darcy than a Wentworth - I couldn't quite believe that this man had spent the last eight years as Captain of a warship fighting the French. He seemed to have no life beyond his dialogue. He ought to have been an Edward Pellew type, but I couldn't imagine him shouting orders from the quarterdeck.
This movie also had the slowest kiss I have ever seen in cinema. Ludicrously so, when it should have been romantic.
So... it was good enough, and did justice to the story, but I preferred the 1995 version with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. That version also had one of my favourite put-down scenes of all time, when Sam West (as Mr. William Elliot)
1 says to Anne, "Have you considered my marriage proposal?" and she replies, "I'm afraid I have had no time to give it any thought at all."
2 ~ ~ ~
1 It occurred to me while watching tonight that his name is Billy Elliot. Wrong connotation.2 Not an exact quote. I'm going to have to watch again to catch it - not a hardship. I don't think it's in the book.