Currently Watching: Persuasion

Can you really have too much of a good thing? Yes, I'm sure you can. But when it comes to one of my favorite authors, and of her novels, my favorite story, perhaps not. Over the course of three days, I watched three very different adaptations of Jane Austen's Persuasion. This was Austen's last completed novel, and was published posthumously in 1817. I love the book, and am especially fond of Anne Elliot, both of which are much more understated than most of Austen's previous novels or heroines (except perhaps Fanny Price of Mansfield Park, but despite several attempts, I've still not managed to get far into MP, and so I won't speak to it in this post). Warning: if you don't want to know the plot, go watch read the book and then you can finish this post.

I first became aware of the story through the 1995 Sony Classics staring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. I immediately fell in love with the quiet movement of the movie. Where the 1995 Pride and Prejudice was a swirl of drama and Mrs Bennet's high-pitched whines, Persuasion, and indeed, Anne Elliot, seemed to be after my own heart: there was a gentle, quiet pulse to the film. Neither Anne nor Captain Wentworth seem to be overrun by their emotions; where many of those around them are seemingly selfish or merely unthinking, characters like the Harvilles and the Crofts shine through the mists of the harsh, unfeeling, or overly guarded. Additionally, Root and Hinds portray their characters so well. They are full of a life that you want to see made whole by the presence of one another; you believe their pain is abiding and real, and that their joy is equally substantial. This version also sees my favorite interpretations of Admiral and Mrs Croft, as well as Charles and Mary Musgrove. This also features the least annoying of the Louisa and Henrietta Musgroves.

Next, I watched the 2007 ITV adaptation. Much as I wanted to be, I am not a fan of this version. I loved seeing Anthony Head as Sir Walter, and Mrs Clay was far superior to the others. Mary Musgrove is odd in this film, incredibly awkward and uncomfortable to watch. Several things stood out to me in this version: The screenplay seemed to skip lightly over the story, touching down in places to maintain the thread of the plot, but not really substantiating it with much. The beauty of the 1995 version was that they really did manage to fit a great deal into a short-ish film. But the 2007 version spends little time with the subplot concerning Mrs Smith (though, I admit the 1995 version altered this in order to accomplish rounding out it's screenplay), and especially does not give enough credit to Captain Benwick. Second, the movie is monotone. There are a few splashes of color (color was not a problem in the 1971 version), but it is mostly shades of greys, blues, purples, blacks and whites. There is little that pops in a visual presentation of this story. Anne's clothing, perhaps purposefully, seems to be haphazardly thrown together, and most characters seem to be washed out in their outfits. Third, it seems almost that neither Anne nor Captain Wentworth speak until the scene in which they are once again reconciled. Again, this might be intentional - Anne does not find her voice until she finds a voice to speak her love to Wentworth. But one of the things I love about Anne Elliot is that she has learned from her mistake and is in fact a gentle but determined woman. She gives way to others out of a desire for peace, and perhaps out of habit. But amongst her friends, she has an opinion and shares it with winsome and humble honesty. But this ITV Anne is not so bold, and is almost too timid for my taste. Equally, Captain Wentworth is all smoldering glances and no substance of personality. I could go on... but I won't.

Lastly, I watched the nearly four-hour long BBC 1971 teleplay. The clothing (and the color) is hideous, and the quality of film is jarring in that way that all the old BBC films are due to differing film types for indoor or outdoor scenes. Some of the acting is stilted, or even exaggerated. But Ann Firbank does what neither of the other Anne's has done: here is a gentleman's daughter, aware of herself, her consequence, and her opinion. But equally a gentle and kind woman who cares little for the consequence of those who do not seem to deserve that consequence due to their arrogance and folly. Here is a woman who knows her own heart. Maybe I prefer this version because it contains a version of one of my favorite quotes from the book, in which Anne reflects on why she could never marry her cousin, Mr Elliot.

Mr Elliot was rational, discreet, polished; but he was not open. There was never any burst of feeling, any warmth of indignation or delight, at the evil or good of others. This, to Anne, was a decided imperfection. Her early impressions were incurable. She prized the frank, the open-hearted, the eager character beyond all others. Warmth and enthusiasm did captivate her still. She felt that she could so much more depend upon the sincerity of those who sometimes looked or said a careless or a hasty thing, than those whose presence of mind never varied, whose tongue never slipped.

The party at Lyme is given far better justice here than elsewhere, as is the story of Mrs Smith as well. She is much more compassionately displayed here: not merely a gossip, but an afflicted, invalided widow who even in her own poverty cares for those who are worse off.

I still prefer the 1995 version. I suppose one of the reasons why there is a constant stream of new Austen adaptations has to do with the fact that no one version will ever get it "right" - something precious to one person is too easily cast aside by another. But one thing that remains the same in each of these versions is the sweet story of reconciliation.