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@iamrachelrach
2 жыл бұрын
Can you review Mr. Malcolms list I enjoyed it a bit more would love your take. It still was missing something. 😬
@TheMemoryPolice
2 жыл бұрын
@Ellie- Have you seen the 1995 Persuasion with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds? It's perfect exactly like the book. Amanda Root is the exactly like Anne Elliot of the book. Even the 2007 one is quite well done.Please do a review on the these movies
@milliehaagen7526
2 жыл бұрын
I wasn't planning on watching it because I'm anti Dakota Johnson, I've never cared for her performances. But also I haven't heard anything good about this particular adaptation. I will stick to the 1995 film.
@Huorfern
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah 1995 is the way to go, also Fiona Shaw is in it ^^
@shantell5701
2 жыл бұрын
@Ellie I was hoping you might address the sea bathing scene. I’ve always been curious about that. In Pride and Prejudice Mrs. Bennet mentions wanting to sea bathe, but was swimming considered acceptable for women? Did they have swim suits?
@bkmbkmbkm
2 жыл бұрын
I think the reason Persuasion is getting “backlash” while other modern adaptions like Little Women or Pride and Prejudice did not is because of the heroine alternative they did. Like you mentioned, instead of creating an equivalent to Anne or choosing one of her “acceptable” personality traits to focus on, they chose to create their own original character. You may not have envisioned the 2005 Elizabeth Bennett when you read Pride and Prejudice or the 2019 Jo March when you read Little Women, but you can see the characteristics they chose to build on. The issue with creating an alternate and plopping them in the middle of a story that’s already been created is that it throws the entire story off kilter. This 2022 Anne Elliott would never have given up Wentworth in the first place. She’s too brash and confident. While the 2005 Elizabeth Bennett differed from, say, the 1995 Elizabeth, both were clearly the same character, and the differences wouldn’t change the way Elizabeth reacted to things. I think it’s a shame they changed Anne so much. Rather than taking the opportunity to modernize AND show introverted, dutiful girls and women that they, too, can be a heroine, they basically said “no, girls like that are not good enough.” It was very disappointing.
@athag1
2 жыл бұрын
Well said.
@AmatistaMoon
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you, this is my exact thought! An Anne that would talk back to her father, Elizabeth, and Lady Russell so boldly, then ignored Mary so stubbornly, is not the type of character that can convincingly have been persuaded to give up Wentworth in the past. Sure, people change, but the issue is that because we're not seeing the past she had with him, her current personality needs to make that past plausible. This Anne doesn't.
@sarahbabcock8188
2 жыл бұрын
“This 2022 Anne Elliott would never have given up Wentworth in the first place.” Excellent point!!!!! You are so right!
@tamoramuir2089
2 жыл бұрын
I do think modern film, whether they're doing a historical piece or not, needs to show introverts being heroines. Problem is, it's so much more fun to watch and listen to an extrovert. Very interesting that society has gone from admiring introverted women as modest and demure to ignoring them. An introvert is likely to have thought through her speech and ideas much more thoroughly than an extrovert, even though the extrovert might speak more quickly and confidently. I think "dutiful" is a completely separate trait and is considered a suspect thing even in a child and a definite negative thing in a women in today's culture. Certainly that's reflected in the film industry.
@anapaulacueno8192
2 жыл бұрын
It was really, really disappointing 😞 this adaptation is a mockery
@gingersgiraffes219
2 жыл бұрын
With my BA in English, I found this movie incredibly painful to watch. And this is my favorite Austen book! You give the screenwriters way too much credit...I don't think they gave a crap about Austen, her time, the culture, or anything about the original story or time.
@perdidoatlantic
2 жыл бұрын
True. They are just trying to make money piggy-backing on someone else’s hard work.
@lovetolovefairytales
2 жыл бұрын
👏👏👏
@PatriciaHFD
2 жыл бұрын
There are better ways to work with these texts, for example makin all modern, not this mixed thing. 🤷🏻♀️
@Odontecete
2 жыл бұрын
You hit it on the nose. I think she gave the screenwriters WAYYYYYYYYYYY too much credit. Considering the screenwriter that wrote it is 80 and clearly out of touch with a 27 year old female (heroine or not). I found too much in the small portion of the movie I viewed as a throwback to things we said in the 80's that were then, in today's terms, cringe. But given that the 80 year old would have been in their 40's at the time, probably thought they were "hip" and "cool". I wouldn't be surprised if "Slip me some skin" was cut from the screenplay. The largest issue I have with this adaptation isn't the screenwriter's being so out of touch it was the rip off of a British comedy and a blatant rip off at that, which tells me that they didn't give two sh&ts about this movie, they just wanted to cash in.
@tarihatari
2 жыл бұрын
I don’t think the screenwriters read the book at all. Just the cliff notes. Lol
@whateveryouliketocallme7092
2 жыл бұрын
Hot take 1: Feminism is for supporting and celebrating all women with differences in personalities and circumstances. Hot take 2: The reason we keep getting the same sassy "girl boss" protagonist, is because people in executive positions can not understand this fact OR the fact that women are actual, complex human beings.
@CursedCatTruffa
2 жыл бұрын
Two very good hot takes. And adding a third one; The whole girl boss thing in recent media is just misogyny with extra steps if one thinks about it enough
@rochellevanderhelm4944
2 жыл бұрын
@@CursedCatTruffa Fourth hot take: The beloved female characters that came out of Hollywood before the recent obsession with "feminism" and "female representation" were so much more interesting, feminist, and representative than the "girl boss" characters we see now.
@lucilesautot7740
2 жыл бұрын
On the feminism topic, I think XIXe century book adaptation are missed opportunities. In my opinion, if you want make a feminist movie with this kind of material, you can't drill modern feminism into these main characters. Because it makes no sense ... Why this story happening if every one is in a 2022 mindset here? The more interesting way to do it could be "okay girlz, that is what patriachy was in the good old days, and guess what, it was not fun".
@tymanung6382
2 жыл бұрын
@@lucilesautot7740 To be accurate, writers, producers, directors need to study THAT era' s REAL feminists, like Mary Wollstonecraft of England or Olympe De Gouge of France.
2 жыл бұрын
People in executive positions don't think beyond money. If there are 2 character types that work, they'll apply those to everything and everyone for as long as it brings them money. That's all they care. Same for storylines. They have line 1 or 2 stories lines, and everything has to fit that. Anything outside that is considered "too risky" and will be discarded.
@sarahbeachliketheocean
2 жыл бұрын
If they went ahead and named it “Cheap PG Bridgerton Knock Off” instead of Persuasion do you think we would all be less angry…?
@LadyAhro
2 жыл бұрын
The fact that they cancelled the Sarah Snook and Joel Fry version that was already in production. Truly painful. Sarah and Joel would have made an incredible Anne and Wentworth
@pm6730
2 жыл бұрын
I'm still hurting over that. Maybe the production company will think again now that the Netflix one was hated by the fans. I can only hope!!
@hydraxisfrimon9785
2 жыл бұрын
That would have been interesting!
@Terryterryterryterryterry
2 жыл бұрын
@@pm6730 they better bring it, though. Take Netflix's failure as a lesson to learn from. Avoid everything they did. If they were going to do something that the Netflix version did, change it.
@likesunset03
2 жыл бұрын
We had 2 Emma's come out in the same year, why can't we have the same for Persuasion?
@Sillyalways
2 жыл бұрын
I hate this adaptation so much. I was unironically expecting some character shouting "yasss queen!" at some point. The stupidity of the writers has no boundaries and they totally missed the point of the book. I don't understand why they have to alienate JA fans in favor of appealing to an empty headed audience that does not care for JA and that equates sassiness and one liners to liberated women. I say this as a sassy woman that likes to deliver one-liners, this is not feminism. It's just pandering to the pseudowoke.
@PokhrajRoy.
2 жыл бұрын
When Anne’s character said the word ‘Exes’, I died. It’s giving Boomer Male Gaze on Young Woman Energy.
@sengarics
2 жыл бұрын
We all did🤣
@pennyvdl
2 жыл бұрын
Me too. And also when she talked about something being “electrifying”
@abigailtrumbo178
2 жыл бұрын
As soon as I heard that word in the commercial I thought, I am NEVER watching this literary crime! 😡
@ClaudiaGonzalezKinkyFloyd
2 жыл бұрын
OMG noooooooo
@bethanyjoy75
2 жыл бұрын
And her “playlist” Wentworth made for her 😳😖
@charlynnchristensen4429
2 жыл бұрын
I don’t like how world views from past times get dismissed and scoffed at so easily when we are comfortably enjoying the blessings of that progression. However, if someone who hadn’t been into Austen before gives one of her books a try after watching this latest iteration, then that’s pretty cool.
@cmm5542
2 жыл бұрын
I agree with both your points. 🙂
@alexandria1663
7 ай бұрын
Right! The sad thing about modernized renditions like this is that, historical movies are the only way some people will ever really “learn” about history, and if we are only ever dismissing or distorting historical views in our media we will lose the ability to evaluate our own culture well, or understand how those cultures achieved certain “surface traits” that we like.
@s.r.nulton9480
2 жыл бұрын
I think that "modernizing" Anne Elliot means they are overlooking a pretty strong, fairly modern theme. She learns to fight for what she wants while balancing that with respecting those around her. Truthfully, they could have done SOOOO much better! Loved the choices for Mr. Elliot and Mary, but even in the trailer, everything else comes across as "yeah, no one actually wants to see that, so let's update it!" Also, making the two leads talk so much destroys the absolute agony of their silence! Last point of my rant, silent characters should be seen as a boon to directors because it means they can be more artistic with their choices. Persuasion has so much characterization shown through the setting and that would have carried well to the big screen.
@BrigitteStanley33
2 жыл бұрын
You're way too kind. It was painful to watch. I remember almost crying watching the trailer, I was so incensed. But thought I'd give it the benefit of the doubt. But unfortunately it made me want to cry even more.
@MysticaFaery
2 жыл бұрын
Liked the orca with the iceberg, so cute! As someone raised in secular, progressive and feminist Sweden, I still can't grasp why anyone would struggle to understand that 200 year old characters are different from people today. And they don't act that weird, people today still struggle to communicate even if we have Iphones. I think book-Anne is more relatable than this drunk-Anne. And as a feminist, I find it terrible that they disrespect proto and early feminists and their efforts by making them so modern in style and jargon. I would have loved to keep the original Mrs Croft quote, but alas.
@barbarafrings9231
2 жыл бұрын
Absolutely agree! 🙂
@virginiaanderson6486
2 жыл бұрын
I enjoyed this version of Persuasion after I realized the they were Bridgerton/Gentleman Jack -izing the story. I'm not sure the Gentleman Jack breaking of the 4th wall was really necessary in this production, but it was amusing nonetheless. I was hoping for an actual production of Persuasion, but this was a fun movie whatever it was.
@lori3056
2 жыл бұрын
I'm so glad you did this review! I've been waiting to hear your take on it and you made some points I hadn't thought of. Spot on! I watched the movie and the whole time I kept thinking "WHAT?!" Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel and I tried to look at this adaptation with an open mind, but I just kept getting second hand embarrassment and cringing. I felt zero chemistry between Anne and Wentworth and if I didn't know the story, I would have no idea WHY she wanted to be with him. She had more chemistry with Mr. Elliot. The 4th wall breaking drove me crazy, the modern language itself was out dated, and all the telling instead of showing completely pulled me out of the film and was rather insulting. The reason I love Anne's character so much is because she's so different from Lizzy and Emma. The modern idea that a woman has to be a bold, sassy, wine drinking "girl boss" in order to be seen as strong and worthy of affection is infuriating.
@rachelport3723
2 жыл бұрын
I did not see (and most likely won't see) the Netflix adaptation, but I like very much what you say about deep and surface culture. Recently I began reading modern Regency romance novels, beginning with the Bridgerton books because I have always been prone to reading books instead of watching movies - and I'm old enough that the habit goes back to things like Dr. Zhivago. And one of my first reactions, which has not changed in the least, was that there was nothing Regency about them. And this way of thinking about deep vs. surface culture fits. Personally, one of the joys of reading authentic period literature is finding out about the deep culture behind them, and I can't figure out why so many people assume that people in general are incapable of this. Thanks for this video.
@thenewkhan4781
2 жыл бұрын
The way they destroyed the perfectly well written protagonist of the novel and created yet another cliche Maniac Pixie character is an huge slap in the face of feminism. Netflix still doesn't understand that you can have a strong female character without making her another annoying, entitled girl-boss.
@antonellamR2D2
2 жыл бұрын
👏👏👏👏👏
@fromyourartistfriend
2 жыл бұрын
The new character they introduced instead of Anne doesn't even seem that progressive to me. She's not really that confident or assertive, its more like a slightly less insecure version of Bridget Jones.
@lovetolovefairytales
2 жыл бұрын
I never thought there would be a more annoying adaptation of JA than Mansfield Park 1999, but here we are. At least MP let me look at Jonny Lee Miller in Regency dress for two hours.
@maryhamric
2 жыл бұрын
You can look at him for four hours in Emma. 😊
@lovetolovefairytales
2 жыл бұрын
@@maryhamric I know! 😁
@tiffnickk
2 жыл бұрын
Im so tired of movies inserting modern ideas into classics. It seems so disrespectful of the author and of people in history who came before.
@sarahwatts7152
2 жыл бұрын
I absolutely wouldn't mind a modern adaptation of Persuasion like Bridget Jones or Clueless, but I agree that ruining the context kills the whole thing.
@tinamcguire3660
2 жыл бұрын
I love what you shared in this video. It was so much more interesting, thought provoking and educational than the others reviews I've seen.
@PatriciaHFD
2 жыл бұрын
And now having see the video, I add: I'm not against modernizing books, but only if they do it as in Clueless, as you said. I read once that Bridget Jones' diary is loosely inspired in Pride and Prejudice (they have a Darcy that is ... "THE" Darcy). And that movie didn't shocked me. My husband, poor thing, watched first the Netflix version. He said that something was off... So now I'm showing him the real ones ❤️😀
@laureng4024
2 жыл бұрын
I agree with everything you said. The movie looked like a beautiful regency era story but the words/lines the characters used brought me right back in 2022. It took away the escapism in history that I love about Jane Austen's world. The only thing I disagree with you about is Anne's pet because I have two bunnies and I think that was awesome 😊
@suburbanbeatnik
2 жыл бұрын
This is a first-rate, thought provoking video essay with a lot of insight into the Regency. I particularly loved your comments about "deep culture" and "surface culture," world-building, and how beliefs have evolved over the centuries. This is particularly relevant to me because I am working on a Regency-set time travel trilogy-- the first book is coming out next year. This is so useful I am probably going to watch it again. Thank you!!
@charlottesullivan4822
Жыл бұрын
What’s that book’s name? I would love to check it out!
@spinstercatlady
2 жыл бұрын
I think you absolutely hit the nail on the head with this review, Ellie. We Janeites and history buffs tend to forget that the vast majority of mainstream readers/watchers are not deeply knowledgeable or invested in all the historical accuracies of Regency life, and at the end of the day just want a feel good movie inaccuracies be darned. This movie was most definitely geared towards the mainstream bc they knew us Austen lovers would watch anyway and so needed to try and draw in the masses as well lol. All that being said, I didn't absolute hate the movie, I just class it with other modernized historical rom coms like Bridgerton (though I actually liked Persuasion quite a bit more).
@annipetratos9401
2 жыл бұрын
Ellie I loved this video and your presentation. I stopped watching "Poldark" very quickly because of the issue of modern personality and ideals in an olden setting. Don't have Netflix 😁 Thanks again 🌸🌿
@portlandrestaurants
2 жыл бұрын
I was on a pharmacy tour in New Orleans and the tour guide said that having some certain types of diseases was a status symbol back then. Hard to directly translate that to today I think.
@maysummer1780
2 жыл бұрын
I'm just so disappointed because Sarah snook was supposed to do a persuasion but they canceled it because of this Netflix version.
@banannakis6723
2 жыл бұрын
I wonder if this movie had been set in modern times like Clueless or Fire Island was, considering it has a very modern feel to the movie if that would have been better? Though once again they did change Anne's character completely, so it probably wouldn't alter much. Anne isn't Emma, her story works because she's a self-sacrificing, sidelined, and reserved character who finally breaks free of the toxic hold her family and society have on her. And is her own woman, who takes charge of her life, her happiness, and who she wants to be with. That doesn't have the same feel, as someone who's already a girl boss.
@GitanAnimex
2 жыл бұрын
But general people have watched period drama and understand it , i feel like the screenwriters are treating us as if we were that stupid . Changing the personalities of the main characater and dinamics makes the story having zero sense if they were going to modernize everything but the clothes and places just to have a pretty looking movie well that is lazy filmmaking
@lovetolovefairytales
2 жыл бұрын
Yes! I feel like this movie treats me like I'm slow.
@ilmaba1756
2 жыл бұрын
YES, many things are being dumbed down, when it would be more entertaining and educational to stick to the original.
@cmm5542
2 жыл бұрын
Not to mention that you could make a modern movie with nice clothes and settings if you wanted to promote a modern message. Shoot a scene at Paddington Station with everyone coming in all dressed up for the office in cute summer clothes on the one hot week we got in the UK this year!
@kathydoi9768
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your insightful and well reasoned comments. It helped me understand why I found the movie so jarring.
@gretslie
2 жыл бұрын
Not related to Persuasion, but your hair is so cute!! I love the waves in the front and the pink bow! ❤️
@SoBeBun
6 ай бұрын
The reason Jane Austen is such a stellar figure in English literature is in the way she is able to move like a literary ninja, slipping in and out of topics with just a mere glance at political motive or intention. She never confused herself, mission to becoming a worthy writer, or tried to use her platform as a way to push a motivated or contrived political agenda. She stayed true to her love of writing without peg-holing herself as someone that is choosing to make a bold political stance. Yet I am sure that there are nuances in her depiction of life, that helped others to see the struggles. Unfortunately, if this new style of adaption takes off, I fear that as women, and men, we will lose a valuable level of intellectual conversation. Thereby, soon too, we will lose the ability to both witness, and enjoy, the brilliance of its delicately powerful, position of both proper-ness and restraint. After all - we all know that true power comes first - from being able to control one’s self. There has been a quiet and beautiful strength in women throughout history, which men understand, and have appreciated. After all… Throughout time, men have moved mountains in our world. But for whom did they move them? I wouldn’t want it any other way. 😍❤️ 👒🌹🥰
@MononokeLynn
2 жыл бұрын
I viewed it as a “Intro to Jane Austen 101” for Persuasion. I finally, after watching the Sally Hawkins version and 90s one a handful of times, understand the way characters are related to each other.
@stork51
2 жыл бұрын
Hi ellie, I see that Jane Austen's Persuasion has landed on planet Bridgerton. Seriously I do want to thank you for your site, the best when it comes to explaining the regency and victorian eras. Once again, Thank you Steven R. Nelson, Washougal Wa
@mimio008
2 жыл бұрын
I felt looked down upon by the screenwriters. For some reason they don't think we viewers can understand subtext, and kept pushing it with the innuendos and flat out anachronistic touching. I also found this Anne to be a self involved, moralistic jerk who loved the sound of her own voice.
@friendlyneighborhoodnecrom4556
2 жыл бұрын
this movie was physically painful to watch it was so embarrassing. I think you hit the nail on the head when you pointed out that collapsing the narrative voice with Anne's voice just destroys the original character--Dakota Johnson's Anne just comes off as mean and bitter. Overall it felt like the filmmakers didn't trust their audience to infer anything from context, so they modernized it, but in the laziest ways possible. It honestly seemed like no one involved actually read the book, just the plot synopsis on Wikipedia; they hit the plot beats, but failed to pick up on any themes or deeper meanings.
@kathydoi9768
2 жыл бұрын
“…Just the plot synopsis on Wikipedia” is too funny! And insightfully correct!
@agatarychlik8939
2 жыл бұрын
I think that it'd be better if the setting was in the modern times, not in XIX century England. It was too "American", views, manners, language were modern... I'd like it more if it was set in modern times. It was painful to watch as a fan of Jane Austen.
@TheBaronessBlack
2 жыл бұрын
Exactly! I couldn’t tell what the social rules were and therefore it destroyed what was interesting about the books and the time period. If they’d set it in the late 60s or something I’d be all over it.
@viniri
2 жыл бұрын
Same. I haven't watched it yet, but I feel like if they'd given it a modern setting, I would probably love it. I love Clueless.
@joyoung2483
2 жыл бұрын
This movie bothered me on a number of levels. First, it feels like someone decided to take advantage of the popularity of Bridgerton and Fleabag, minus the sex. If they had updated the film in the same way as Clueless, that would have been fine, but the way it is presented all the key plot points are lost. You can hardly imagine this Anne being 'persuaded' by anyone for any reason. You can't see her breaking free of convention to go ahead and take her chance at happiness when you feel she was never bound by convention in the first place and you never sense the near miss she avoided in not being ensnared by her cousin Mr. Elliot. What happens is you have a movie about a modern woman making modern decisions while dressed up in 19th century clothes. It's a weird sort of Cos' Play. You can't even say it is a showcase of how society has changed over 200 years because if a person doesn't know Austen, or understand the era, then this movie just leaves people thinking that people might actually have behaved that way. Loved the sets though.
@kcarter0265
2 жыл бұрын
To me modernizing the characters is awful because it happens TOO much. It falls into the trap of modern people thinking our ancestors were stupid. Or that we have to dislike temperaments that aren’t commonly portrayed anymore. And it also dampens the education young people can acquire from being exposed to historical points of view and ideas. Yes Austen can be difficult for many, but if we dumb down, and yes that’s what they are doing, then no one outside of those who read classical literature will grow from the experience. Her characters helped me embrace and grow as a young woman and even helped form and reshape my own values and perspectives. Going so far as to show me how one can expect the opposite sex to treat you with respect. How to be mature and respectful while shining a mirror on some personal flaws that I wanted to fix. Others deserves those possible experiences too. ❤️
@barbarafrings9231
2 жыл бұрын
Beautifully written, I agree. 🙂
@AJansenNL
2 жыл бұрын
It more a 'spot the similarities' than 'spot the difference'. I don't mind modernisation, but you have to stay true to the spirit and message of the story. They didn't. It's as if they read the summary, thought 'this sounds boring', and presumed to do better. Why not write their own Regency story then?
@DipityS
2 жыл бұрын
While I haven't seen the new version as yet, I thought your talk was fascinating. One of the reasons I love Austen is trying to understand what the past was like. . To watch people like you who help me understand the times Austen lived in allows me to know what went before - how different things are now - it's fascinating and one of the things I deeply enjoy about Austen's works.
@galllowglass
2 жыл бұрын
I felt that a lot of the stuff they did to Anne's character was pretty bad, but by far the worse has got to be that they made her rude and haughty. Anne Elliot would've died before being as rude as her 2022 counterpart. There is not only no essence of the original in the new character, but the new one feels morally reproachable and learns nothing by the end of the movie. If they wanted to do something else, they should've just done something else. Why bother calling it Persuasion if its gonna be something else? It all just shows (imo) that the writers weren't really familiar with the source material, or that they didn't appreciate it.
@aenglish8615
2 жыл бұрын
I think your commentary nailed it! And, in my opinion, you are the only YT commentator speaking about the new Netflix Persuasion that goes into detail on what the creators of this adaptation might have been aiming for. Nonetheless, when you explained the dissonance that is created by the change in the deep culture while maintaining the surface culture intact, I knew you had just expressed what I felt but couldn't put into words! (Kudos to you for a well thought out commentary!) Therefore, had they made this adaptation as a MODERN version, it may have probably created a little less controversy... maybe... Lol! All things said, since reading Persuasion would always make me sad, I actually enjoyed seeing Dakota Johnson's Anne as an alter ego. It allowed me to enjoy Persuasion from another angle, from the angle of "what if". What If Anne had been a little more vocal. So I loved this Netflix adaptation of Persuasion. Did anybody else feel that way?
@aleeson887
2 жыл бұрын
Yours is the first review I’ve seen that even gave this movie a chance and I appreciate it! I went in with the same mentality as you after seeing the trailer and (even though the negative feedback was already influencing me) I enjoyed it a lot more for it. That said, there was definitely a lot of cringe in there - I had to fast forward when she started talking about Charles wanting to marry her first at dinner, yikes - but there were things to enjoy too. Actually one of my favorite things to come out of it is the original song at the end, Quietly Yours by Birdy. When I listen to it I almost want to watch it again... Anyway, it seems this movie wasn’t made for us. It’s made for a general audience that likes quirky cool girls in period clothes. I understand the outrage, I identify with book Anne a lot myself, but we just have to take it for what it is 🤷♀️
@charc9009
2 жыл бұрын
I feel if they want to modernize it, do it all the way. I hate that people unfamiliar with the Regency will think that’s how it was. They’ve changed Anne so much she’s unrecognizable. I guess I’m a purist when it comes to historical periods. I guess I’m just disappointed that this was so far removed from what I was hoping for.
@MissMarie1377
2 жыл бұрын
They take everything we love and ruin it. There is NOTHING wrong with Anne. She doesn’t need to be a “girl boss” to be a great main character. Now only women who emulate “traditionally make” characteristics are acceptable women. Women who are more traditionally male=good, women who are even remotely feminine=bad….according to 2022 people in charge. I can’t stand it. I’m so over all of it. The reason I LOVE period pieces is FOR the way of life, everything about life from the past(this is almost impossible to write because I’m trying not to get in trouble with the word police) This movie sucks. The source material is amazing. Today’s society sucks, I’d go back to Jane Austens time in a heartbeat if I could. Netflix can take their woke crap and …..well…….I’ll quit here:)
@Theagingequestrian5335
Жыл бұрын
I really enjoyed hearing you break this down fairly. Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel, so I was interested in seeing this one. On the whole, it was entertaining in a way, as long as I didn’t hold on to what I wanted to see in the adaptation. I didn’t like the wine drinking, spilling, swilling aspect of Anne. I thought it was disrespectful of the character she was meant to be. I didn’t like how they took away a lot of the dignity and strength of Wentworth. I did really like how they adapted Mary to be much more narcissistic and annoying, and allowing everyone to know that and say it to her face.
@MishezzieMay
2 жыл бұрын
I just watched it and absolutely L-O-V-E-D it!! Dakota sparkles as Anne! And I love the whimsical, satirical tone. I know they took liberties but for me, I'm very glad they did, it's everything I wanted from a period drama. I don't really like book Anne Elliot, this one is basically Elizabeth Bennett, loved it.
@BelenAntonia1004
2 жыл бұрын
this Netflix adaptation was ✨pAiNfUlL✨
@gisawslonim9716
2 жыл бұрын
I am not going to watch it at all but have taken my copy of "Persuasion" off the Jane Austen shelf in my library to re-read for the 20th time...it has indeed been too long and it will help me deal with the overheated days of July here in the Middle East, where I live.
@salvadorzulueta5901
2 жыл бұрын
Very insightful review. Thanks. They should've just made an adaptation set in the modern era if they wanted the characters to have the mindset of the 2000s.It worked in Clueless, and adapted from Shakespeare romcoms like Get over it and !0 Things I Hate About You. 10 things even using some of the actual Shakespeare dialogues.
@gcooper642
2 жыл бұрын
We still have landed gentry over here in Britain in 2022. Also naval captains. They could have modernised it and still used class as a driver. But then that would take some research. I doubt Netflix have many Lords and Ladies in their writing staff.
@stephaniebrown5982
2 жыл бұрын
I tried to watch Persuasion, but could not finish it. I had not watched the trailers in advance and was not expecting the major changes that were implemented in the adaptation. After the Gravy scene and the following breakfast scene, I just couldn't keep watching. Persuasion is one of my favorite Jane Austen books, in part because I really relate to Anne's character in the book. I had been hoping for a Persuasion version comparable to the Pride and Prejudice (2005) adaptation and this movie certainly was not it. I wouldn't have minded the "modernization" changes if they had kept Anne more similar to her book counterpart.
@lexkeating5741
2 жыл бұрын
Do I love all things Austen? Indeed, I do. Do I support adaptations, modern or otherwise? To a degree, yes. Fantasy is one thing, but unrealistic things that shatter the "willing suspension of disbelief" ceiling are another. (For example, the Bollywood Bride & Prejudice was surprisingly fun and lavishly dramatic.) How do i feel about this Netflix adaptation? I agree, they modernized it to a outtlandish degree. It's not as absurd as some other "period dramas" that Netflix has been putting out, but it is too much. We already had an excellent adaptation (Sophie Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones). I wanted to like this Neflix thing. I was open to sarcasm. But this went the route of telling instead of showing (such as Anne calling her sister a narcissist, rather than letting the audience come to that conclusion on our own). What would I like to see? Maybe a modernization of Northanger Abbey. Stories like Mansfield Park or Sense & Sensibility belong in their period. There's a delicacy to their themes and values--they need to stay in a realm where we can revel in those details. But I think Northanger Abbey is overlooked.
@jacquelynlane7905
2 жыл бұрын
I appreciate your measured review of this movie. I didn’t think it was a home run, but I also didn’t think it deserved all of the hate it got. I was entertained and I enjoyed watching it, which is good enough for me. That being said, I haven’t read Persuasion or seen the other movie adaptations of that book, I didn’t go into it with a lot of expectations. However, as I have read some of Austen’s other books and seen many movie adaptations, it was clear they were doing a lot of things in this movie that were not very Austonian. There were definitely moments where the characters were behaving in such modern ways that it took me out of the story. I wish they had dialed back on the modernization of Anne’s character just enough so it felt like she was a woman of the era. I also thought they did a bad job building up the suspense of what was going to happen. Anyway, it wasn’t a great movie in general, but not because they took some artistic liberties. It just wasn’t great storytelling.
@jenniestevens1166
2 жыл бұрын
Your description of deep culture vs. surface culture gave me a huge light-bulb moment. I'm from a religious culture that is trying to change its surface culture without addressing its problematic deep culture. This creates the same disconnect we see in this movie, albeit backwards. Thank you for your insight!
@sarahmwalsh
2 жыл бұрын
You make some really good points that I hadn't considered, especially about the deep culture and surface culture (great terms!) and why it was so jarring that this movie placed them at odds with each other. I think Austen is perfectly suited to modernization, with characters and conflicts that are completely timeless, which everyone deals with. But trying to place *such* modern cultural references into a very clearly Regency-era situation just didn't work for me. If they're going to be in the settings and grand houses and costumes (ahem...except for the main character??) of the era, in adapting novels that use such beautiful language to describe these universal themes, I just don't understand the desire to use everything *but* that language.
@carriemoscoe3159
Жыл бұрын
22:16 I am not Jane Austen or an expert but I can 100 percent guarantee Anne Elliot would have loved having a pet cat 🥺🥺🥺🥺
@carterconnell81
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for actually analyzing this film, instead of just being a Jane Austen purist bashing it for liberal adaptation. You made some great points!
@YarnatPlay
2 жыл бұрын
Honestly... I loved it. For what it was trying to be, it did it well. I know it isn't faithful to the book or the culture of the time, but if you don't go into it with those expectations, it is a really enjoyable movie. Yes... I love really faithful adaptations of Austin's work, but I still liked it. 🤷
@suonatar1
2 жыл бұрын
Awesome content, as always. 🌹 I was so shocked by the trailer, that I've decided not to watch the movie, because it could be a waste of time for me and more clout to Netflix. But now that I've seen your review, I feel like I have to watch it. Great. 🙄
@crystalspencer6396
2 жыл бұрын
I liked the breaking of the 4th wall. I agree with others that the movie doesn’t sit right. Anne isn’t as …outgoing? Gregarious? … as they portrayed her. She is more subdued/reserved than they portrayed her. She is thoughtful and quiet. I know most people disliked the movie. I enjoyed it but one cannot call it a Persuasion adaptation. Even the tension (between Anne and Wentworth) I feel throughout the book and other adaptations is disappointingly missing in this movie. I live for the tension and all I got was a Wentworth that seemed to be constantly pining after Anne while always being in another woman’s company. The beauty of the book was you knew he still cared (he wouldn’t be angry if he didn’t care) but was the hurt from the past too much for him to love her openly again. It was really questionable until he writes the letter to her at the end of the book. That missing tension was the largest disappointment I had. Regarding the rest…I liked it as a movie but, it isn’t a good adaptation of the book.
@merce8074
2 жыл бұрын
Excellent video, Ellie! 📚😊🙋♀️
@denisadellinger4543
2 жыл бұрын
I almost didn't watch this video because it was "just another young person reviewing this trainwreck and calling it good. But I was pleasantly surprised. I learned something. The comparison of deep culture of society and the times, compared to today was very enlightening. What is modern society willing to accept of history and old stauchy 200 year old books compared to perky acceptable actions of women today. For what it was, I didn't hate the film. Taken for a rom com and what the story was. It was not Jane Austen. It hit that middle of going too far or not far enough. They could have done a Clueless version and been fine or they could have stuck with the book and only changed minor things that didn't change the overall story. As you said, this movie was not made for me. That makes sense. Thank you for sharing.
@colleenbaten2482
2 жыл бұрын
I tried to watch the movie, but I couldn't get past the dinner scene at the Musgroves. When Anne started making a fool of herself I was SO done. Anne is a completely respectable person. She is constantly watching her family act like idiots and maintaining her composure. I found Anne's behavior in this scene completely out of character and was unable to continue watching the film.
@Sunshine.Sister
2 жыл бұрын
This is what is frustrating about regency movies and modern adaptations of anything Jane Austen, it shows an inability or a perspective by those undertaking the production of this film that views are incapable of appreciating or knowing the differences between how things were then, that we’re incapable of relating to a story that doesn’t fit the narrative of our time or relate to our own experience. Though I see it being a societal issue, transposing our culture perspective, values, feelings on to characters and writings to divulge meanings we want and completely disregarding the massive differences between the thoughts, feelings, actions, culture in these different eras. It’s frustrating, especially when they do it so blatantly. I can maybe understand subtle changes or adjustments. But this makes my skin crawl and I’m not sure I could bring myself to watch it. And Persuasion has always been my favorite. Also after hearing Ellie’s suggestions that they made Anne to fit the more modern woman makes me want to cry, cause I felt like I related more to the 2007 version a whole lot more. Desire to remain loyal and true to family, that really doesn’t get you or appreciate you, finally finding the courage, even in her quiet way to finally stand on her own feet and go looking for Wentworth at the end. Not every modern woman is the same, and it feels like society is trying to crush out a certain type of woman and that breaks my heart.
@NinetiesBB
2 жыл бұрын
Started it, but I couldn’t stand that they changed Anne’s character and the deep culture so much. Went and watched the tv miniseries version instead, which also seemed deeper in terms of feeling. Like, it grated on my nerves watching Netflix Anne talk about her emotional suffering in such a casual way; I didn’t like her and didn’t know why I should care.
@alexandria1663
7 ай бұрын
What this tells me about modern society most of all is that we love the surface cultures of eras past and spit on the ideas that made them what they were. We prefer our ideas but are bored of and even depressed by what those ideas have produced. Ugly clothes, ugly buildings, ugly art, unhealthy food, societal turmoil.
@marydeco6708
2 жыл бұрын
I hated it! I hated everything about the adaptation: the dialogues, the chemistry, the Jim-Harlpert style camera staring.. I felt like there was no flow in the storyline..They were trying to take Emma 2020 one step further in terms of humor but the result was really bad.
@deborahflynn1708
2 жыл бұрын
what I love about Jane Austen is that she knew people and their charactor in all her books you saw an assortment of people's personalities (the consequences of their charactor flaws,) book to adaptation can be a field of flowers or a minefield the question I always ask is is an adaptation honoring Jane Austen and her writings or is an adaptation saying I don't like your writings or your charactors so I'm going to write and direct something completely 2022 what this adaptation did was to go into Jane Austens book didn't like what was written and completely changed the book and it's charactors if Jane saw this adaptation what would she say nothing good im.sure
@rachieface88
Жыл бұрын
One thing it really has going for it is captain wentworth’s letter. Both the 90’s and 2007 versions shaft that climax 😅
@SkunkyLorrie
2 жыл бұрын
You articulate all these issues so well! I was really amused by all the modern language in the movie while also being very confused. 😂 You’re very spot on that this is exactly what they did with the latest Little Women. I enjoyed this Persuasion better than that one but still the message of Jane Austen is really lost. It really goes to show that modern society cannot handle differing world views and appreciate a story coming from different ideals and values. Movie makers won’t stay faithful to the historical stories because they won’t make money. Unfortunate. At least we will always have the books!
@monicacreator3168
2 жыл бұрын
In a way, Jane Austen had much more diversity with her female characters than we have today. Bashfull, mature, "feminist", wallflower, moral, realist... Nowaday, if a woman can't throw a punch or stand up for herself, she is concidered badly written, it's quite sad
@donnakennedy430
2 жыл бұрын
Add in that clutzy is considered a characters personality now. It's like, if the lady became graceful then no one would love her anymore. As if unable to keep yourself from accidentally knocking your tea cup off the table is somehow endearing. My biggest issue with this adaptation is what they did to Wentworth emotional journey. When the reader first meets him, he is hurt and lashes out. Anne feels all these little slights. She knows he is slighting her and why, while it's done in a way that wouldn't raise suspicion in any of the other characters. Then, when he is told his actions have created an expectation towards another, he finally realizes how wrongly he's been behaving with others while trying to hurt Anne back for rejecting him. He is not a love sick fool from the moment he walks back into her life clearly hoping she is still in love and wants him. No, is a man who is hurting and angry. There is even some talk in some editions of Wentworth stating that he might not of tried as hard to prove himself and increase his wealth if Anne had accepted him. Wentworths anger, his actions because of that anger, and the eventual change of thinking is important to Wentworths character arc.
@QueensThief76455
2 жыл бұрын
This is one reason why I moved to watching Kdramas because a variety of female characters are shown and I could recognize myself among them.
@moiramoore3304
2 жыл бұрын
@@donnakennedy430 Yeah, they killed his character as much as they did Anne's, and in the process killed a lot of the tension that's necessary to make the story interesting.
@reikun86
2 жыл бұрын
@@donnakennedy430 Yeah. I couldn't the stand the scene when he and Anne are at the beach, and he says that he just want to be friends. That blew all the emotional tension out the window, which made the payoff of his letter and their reunion fall flat.
@DizzyBusy
Жыл бұрын
That's not true in modern fiction though. Not even in fantasy (an often maligned genre) written by male writers, like George RR Martin or Terry Pratchett, in whose books a lot of women don't throw punches and aren't snarky, but are still very strong characters in their society. It may be like that in studio movies, but probably not in the novels these movies are based upon.
@mrosestep
2 жыл бұрын
The modern media idea that the only type of woman worthy to be on the center of her story is the type of woman who is bold, confident, and empowered is so distasteful. If you are shy, victimized, or reluctant to act you must become a girl boss before you are deserving of attention.
@AMinibot
2 жыл бұрын
On this note: if they even TRY to come for Fanny Price to make her into a present-day 'marketable' heroine I am throwing hands
@auntyjo1792
2 жыл бұрын
@@AMinibot Fanny Price is unrepresentable at the moment.
@babsb9889
2 жыл бұрын
It gets into the only loud (extroverts) women (and men) are empowered and bold and that if you are introverted and quiet you can't be. Where in actual truth, there is a power in being quiet and self-contained.
@AMinibot
2 жыл бұрын
@@auntyjo1792 I mean hell, apparently so is Anne Elliot let's be honest
@kcjd8659
2 жыл бұрын
@@auntyjo1792 to her benefit. Poor Anne Elliot isn’t even in her own story. Because that was definitely not Anne Elliot.
@annafife9094
2 жыл бұрын
"Women in the 1800s were viewed as irrational, sentimental, emotional and dumb". Sounds like an apt description of 2022 Anne. This is why lovers of Persuasion feel so betrayed. Anne Elliot IS rational. She is reasoned, compassionate, humble and introverted. It's so rare to have a heroine like this. The fact that this new version stripped Anne of these beautiful characteristics only proves that we haven't moved on from 1800s attitudes about women at all, because the makers of this version clearly don't value Anne's actual characteristics either.
@kohlinoor
2 жыл бұрын
Seriously!! They can claim to love Austen and her novels until they're blue in the face, but their actions, but their actions speak volumes.
@barbarafrings9231
2 жыл бұрын
Anna Fife, you hit the nail on the head! This Anne was so unlikable, the whole movie made no sense. Octopus?? 😱
@Authorsophiespruce
2 жыл бұрын
I have studied Austen and all her characters are either rational or learn to be rational by the end of her books. Marianne might be the only case, although Catherine also tends to have a romantic worldview. In Pride & Prejudice for example, Elizabeth asks Mr. Collins to view her as a rational creature when rejecting his proposal. Directly before the letter scene in Persuasion, Anne has a conversation about love and rationality. To say Austen’s female characters are irrational is ridiculous and to shame them for having emotions is sexist. Darcy is arguably one of the most irrational characters and he has never been obliterated for the sake of modernity. Anne is my favorite Austen character because I do highly relate to her. To see a completely different character in the movie was so disheartening.
@cmm5542
2 жыл бұрын
Or maybe women in the 1800s weren't viewed as so irrational, sentimental, emotional and dumb as modern producers think. Or maybe there are SOME women like that in EVERY era, but that's not Jane Austen's characters!
@girlwithoutpearlearring
2 жыл бұрын
Beautifully put.
@Zaft_K
2 жыл бұрын
Jane Austen can absolutely be modernized. "Clueless" proves this. But the modern take needs to be in a modern setting. Modernizing Austen but putting it in a Regency setting is too jarring. The real crime of this version of "Persuasion" is not that it is modernized, but that they changed who Anne Eliot *is.*
@laurent1144
2 жыл бұрын
You don't even have to put it in the modern times. Look at the 2020 adaptation of "Emma." It modernized the humor without sacrificing the story or characters. It's witty both in a Regency style and a modern style. I feel like the 2020 Emma TRUSTS its audience to get the jokes while 2022 Persuasion DOESN'T trust its audience.
@reikun86
2 жыл бұрын
@@laurent1144 You hit the nail on the head. It's not the modernization of the characters that jarrred me (I actually liked the supporting characters in this version), but the complete transformation of Anne Elliot. I was rooting for Anne in the book because of her quiet inner strength. Turning her into an embarrassing wino was a slap in the face.
@milagros5659
2 жыл бұрын
I absolutely agree.
@27seaglass
Жыл бұрын
And that there was no romance between Anne and Wentworth.
@charlesiragui2473
Жыл бұрын
It's an interesting idea that the modernization might have left in place her personality from the book (and the logic of the plot). Ellie started out going down this hypothetical: what if they just modernized the language, like a Shakespeare cleaned up for a youthful audience to understand? Would a dutiful, introverted, polite Anne Elliot be acceptable today as a heroine? Given, in the book, her outstanding management skills (see: what to do if someone hits her head), her language and musical abilities, her generosity, all traits that people admire today, it might work. Road not taken. I think there are a lot of women who would be happy to see this type of quiet goodness portrayed. She is quiet but she does not lack courage (she wishes she had been Mrs Croft).
@angelicagutierrez7317
2 жыл бұрын
I hate this movie, they changed Anne and made her like a Briget Jones 2.0 (Btw I love Briget Jones don't get me wrong), and they also cut one of my favorite parts in the book and made it flat , wich is when Anne is talking about why women love and suffer for love longer than men. In the book Anne says is because women have nothing else to do but to stay at home with their feelings, while men have the opportunity to work, study and travel, so they can focus their mind and feelings on something else. I always thought that was a tremendous criticism of the society of that time and how women were treated.
@amyquinn4141
2 жыл бұрын
This was also my favorite part of the book and it definitely fell flat! The whole scene also made it harder to see why Wentworth took the conversation the way he did and wrote his letter. I almost didn't expect it to be there anymore. I was surprised to see his letter on the table.
@JR-sx3gl
2 жыл бұрын
I also thought it was Bridget Jones like. One is enough.
@katieboyum
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah that’s weird. You’d think if they are modernizing the story, that is one of the lines they would definitely keep in! 🙄 did the writers even read the book?!
@karenland9174
2 жыл бұрын
Yes!
@annetteandhercrafts
2 жыл бұрын
THEY DID WHAAAAAT? Haven't seen the movie and this persuades me not to even more.
@clown-cult96
2 жыл бұрын
I’m absolutely sick of this new narrative of “girl has to be a sassy, outspoken and (tbh) complaining, meanspirited #girlboss to be valid now”. It’s the same mindset that sees Cinderella as “weak” and not an abuse survivor. Millions of women around the world are in varying degrees of undesirable situations where, for a myriad of reasons that vary person to person, they CANNOT SPEAK UP. Maybe they aren’t comfortable with it, maybe they don’t get the chance, maybe they’re worried about hurting others, maybe it literally affects their safety and maybe it just isn’t in their personality. Constantly having this narrative of needlesly #girlbossing things, much akin to the toxicity of confidence culture, forces it into women and perhaps even some men that unless you can be that quippy, mouthy, sassy little self-loving queen (who never faces any retorts or consequences because she’s a fictional character), who stands up for herself and gets rewarded with what she wants all the time, you aren’t worthy of the same respect and admiration. Being a quiet, reserved, introspective person who will remain quiet to keep the peace, keep their thoughts to themselves or not have the confidence to act on their every whim now makes you inferior, despite that being the exact opposite of Anne’s arc in Austin’s story.
@sarahb4104
2 жыл бұрын
This is so very well said. Thank you for that
@abigailtrumbo178
2 жыл бұрын
It’s also a failure to recognize and represent the basic personality types! There are 9 Enneagram types and several have diffidence, or difficulty speaking up, or avoidance/distaste of conflict, as defining characteristics, which btw is also true of male characters!
@reikun86
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you. Somebody said it.
@kathyp1563
Жыл бұрын
Correct. I also forces a lack of creativity. All women are cookie-cutter
@amysill3815
10 ай бұрын
Modern screenwriters also erroneously assume that the sassy, mouthy girl boss is superior to a sensitive thoughtful woman as well as something all modern women aspire to or should aspire to. I personally do not admire the modern boss girl stereotype. I find her shallow, grating, and obnoxious. Traditional femininity is still very appealing to many of us.
@rosamcdonald1221
2 жыл бұрын
I never found Austen's characters hard to relate to, quite the reverse. Austen shows Mary to be a bored wife who only moans about her health when she has nothing to do. She is not very bright and needs lively society to keep her entertained. Anne is highly intelligent (the only person in her family who is intelligent), she sees all that is wrong with her family, but as a woman of the time, she has no ability to act on what she sees. Although forced to be passive she has moral lines that she will not cross. Lady Russell persuaded Anne to break her engagement by convincing her that it was to Wentworth's benefit as much as to her own. Anne is unwilling to enter a loveless marriage (she turned down an offer from Mary's husband) and that is pretty brave and radical for her era. I think that this production suffers from lazy screen writing. They are calling this Persuasion, but they have thrown out the subtlety of the novel and kept the character names and relationships, done some pretty cinematography, and given everyone modern attitudes and trite speech. I think that I will just go and reread the book as a better use of my time!
@artemiciat566
2 жыл бұрын
yes, that kind of threw me as I think Austen , even if you don't know how the women were treated at the time, gives you an understanding of it . The rest are simply personality characteristics of her characters and its not unbelievable to have a person that acts like Mary or Anne or whoever .
@nancygoodwin6989
2 жыл бұрын
me, too, girl. 😊
@agospei
2 жыл бұрын
Now that you mention it, I think Dokota's Anne would absolutely have married Charles. This Anne doesn't have a strong moral compass or boundaries. We're talking about a woman who out right said at the table that Charles wanted to marry her first. That's unthinkable for the real Anne. I think this version of the story would never happen because the Anne from the 2022 movie would absolutely be married to Charles.
@sengarics
2 жыл бұрын
@@agospei Correct, while in book we see Anne suffer due to Wentworth's growing fondness with Louisa, she is never jealous or objects of tries to secure his attention for herself.
@lizjoyce5
2 жыл бұрын
I agree. Well said.
@CapriUni
2 жыл бұрын
I used to have a Netflix account, and let it lapse. When I heard they were doing an adaptation of _Persuasion_ I thought about getting a new one. Then I saw the trailer.... I couldn't even sit through that the whole way through. I have no problem, *in theory* with modernizing the story. My problem is that I found it *insulting* that they thought people today can't understand or identify with a main character (especially a woman) *unless* she's "Sassy," and sarcastic, and quirky. As if there aren't middle daughters alive in 2022 who are reserved in temperament, sensible in mind, patient, and the responsible one in their family. Not every single woman of seven and twenty can be a manic pixie dream girl (which is a dated trope, now, even in the 21st Century)
@maryhamric
2 жыл бұрын
10000% agree!!!
@ella7637
2 жыл бұрын
Couldn't agree more! I love Ann Elliot's character, she's so thoughtful, intelligent, perceptive and considerate. I identify strongly with her (although I don't have her qualities). If the new Dakota's sassy version should be a role model for women today, then it is a really FU world...
@CapriUni
2 жыл бұрын
@@ella7637 I can understand the filmmakers wanting to do an Austen adaptation that *wasn't* yet another take on P&P, and instead do one that fewer people know. But if they *also* wanted a film with a self-aware, satirical, comedic, and over the top narrative feel, then _Northanger Abbey_ was right there! Originally published in the same volume, too. _Northanger Abbey_ would have fit so well with the tone they wanted here. And it's a novel I also love. And it's a novel that also deserves more recognition.
@Mei-Ling-Li
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah, I would have maybe been able to get over the modernization. Especially since I love Henry Golding. But I cannot forgive them making Anne a completely different person. She's one of my favorite Austen characters, and there was no need to change her personality to modernize. Like you said, there are plenty of women like that today and they're not lesser than just because they're not outwardly sassy. As such, I can't even bring myself to watch this. Sorry, Henry.
@truthwhatisthetruth
2 жыл бұрын
@@CapriUni I’m big fan of Tolkien’s world, and currently, Amazon is destroying his world by shovelling 21st century mindset
@caitlinmarie8261
2 жыл бұрын
Pride and Prejudice is my favorite Austen novel, but I identify with Anne Elliot more than I ever could with Elizabeth Bennet. It's sad that Anne Elliots personality needed to be "modernized" when so many women can relate to Anne.
@barbarafrings9231
2 жыл бұрын
Same 🙂
@merciavandervyver8188
2 жыл бұрын
Yes they not only ruined Persuasion they butchered it and then spat on the corpse! It is beyond awful. I hate that they made it a modern take. Why not set it in modern times. I loved Clueless. This...I loathe.
@lovetolovefairytales
2 жыл бұрын
Clueless was great.
@kimmyisgreen2929
2 жыл бұрын
Clueless is an amazing modernization. I appreciate that they didn’t call it Emma or keep trying to remind us that we were watching an adaptation of Jane Austen. It lets the viewer see parallels between the stories and draw their own conclusion. It isn’t continuously dumbing things down and assuming the audience won’t be able to follow the story. Persuasion doesn’t seem to acknowledge their audience is capable of understanding what’s happening in the story. I think clueless was more clever and respectful of their audience.
@hadrianryan4179
2 жыл бұрын
Because some producer somewhere saw Bridgerton, and immediately following that, big ol' dollar signs is why, if you ask me.
@sengarics
2 жыл бұрын
@@hadrianryan4179 fair point. Felt like Bridgerton influence a lot many times
@mariemakesstuff
2 жыл бұрын
I couldn't agree more. It was absolutely horrendous.
@introgirl5
2 жыл бұрын
I'm surprised no one has mentioned how they actually REWROTE his letter. As if Austen didn't write well enough to be understood. They took something that was already romantic, tried to make it seem more romantic and failed completely. It also baffles me that they tried to make it so modern that a character actually says "the Universe has a plan" instead of saying something about God or Providence. I'm not even religious but that was ridiculous. Other than the cinematography (and Ellie providing us with interesting commentary on deep culture) this movie was a waste of time.
@irenalovesart4064
2 жыл бұрын
Omg yes that was so obviously batty
@misstweetypie1
2 жыл бұрын
I noticed that too! It was jarring.
@brighidmcmullen9577
2 жыл бұрын
They changed his letter?! Oh no they didnt!!! 😱 that's it! I am never, ever watching it! That part had me in tears! The book was not easy for me to read and it was my first time reading anything by Jane Austin but that part made it worth every bit of it for me and they butchered it!?! The vile monsters!!!
@gisawslonim9716
2 жыл бұрын
I doubt if the word "Universe" was even in use in Austen's day. Had it been coined? Wouldn't one have said "world"...what did the people of Austen's day know about a "Universe"?
@annek3296
2 жыл бұрын
@@gisawslonim9716 They must have known about "the Universe", since the novels are filled with "universal truths"!😊
@wynnewhitten-holmes5090
2 жыл бұрын
This is definitely not the first adaptation to attempt to 'save' the heroine by infusing her with Austen's personality and wit ('99 Mansfield Park is the most egregious example of this) but it always betrays a lack of imagination and creativity. If you aren't up for the challenge, don't make the film!
@kenna163
2 жыл бұрын
I mean I doubt they thought about Austen at all while making Persuasion
@kohlinoor
2 жыл бұрын
@@kenna163 I've read interviews where the writers claim that the whole team behind the film love Austen deeply, but they don't back that up with their actions and choices.
@amyquinn4141
2 жыл бұрын
I immediately got Mansfield Park vibes
@lizajane2971
2 жыл бұрын
@@kohlinoor You can't love someone's work if you completely alter it the first chance you get! Maybe they love her popularity and ability to draw an audience, but they don't love her!
@kcjd8659
2 жыл бұрын
99 Mansfield made me so angry I’d paid to see it.
@AllTheArtsy
2 жыл бұрын
I am so offended ny the way they butchered Anne supposedly in the name of "modernity." They completely misunderstood her character and turned her into someone unrecognizable. The thought that someone shy, reserved, insecure, neglected and abused by her narcissitic father and sisters turning around to be this girlboss, one-line swinging, banter machine is absurd. Anne is not dull. But she is shy. She's more internal. She has suffered from constantly being bandied about by the more outgoing, large personalities in her life. But she is sweet, kind, and intelligent. She cares about the feelings of others. There is absolutely a way to make that character work- because I dare argue most people are like that, and not Fleabag, Emma or Lizzy. That's what it feels like they wanted. To adapt Persuasion, but with a different heroine- in which case the story fails, because Persuasion is only Persuasion because Anne is Anne. It's maddening!
@krissyk9767
2 жыл бұрын
Yes they completely changed her personality - trying to make her more like Emma or Lizzy Bennet because that type of character is perceived as being more exciting and interesting to a modern audience. I can understand changing her a bit for the film, but they went too far and made her a totally new person.
@donnakennedy430
2 жыл бұрын
@@krissyk9767 Hubby was in the living room while I watched. So, he sorta had to watch too. He turned to me at one point and asked what was the big deal with Anne that any man would want to marry her, let alone all the men she meets. I explain book Anne, and what wasn't being shown in the movie about each man. He got it then, but said the movie did a very poor job of covering that stuff.
@katherinealvarez9216
2 жыл бұрын
Movie people: We're modernizing Persausion! Us: Oh, so you're setting it in a contemporary period? Cool. Movie people: No. We're updating the dialogue and Ann is a free spirit. Us: 😐
@hannahmdearest
2 жыл бұрын
One of the biggest mistakes I feel this rendition of Persuasion made was that in attempting to modernize Anne and her response to the events of her life, they inadvertently stripped her of agency. An important distinction about the end of her engagement to Wentworth is that she was persuaded to end it, not forced. A passage that has always stuck out to me in the novel is near the end, after Wentworth and Anne have (finally!) reconciled, Anne reflects on their history and says; "I have been thinking over the past, and trying impartially to judge of the right and wrong, I mean with regard to myself; and I must believe that I was right, much as I suffered from it... 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...nothing to reproach myself with; and if I mistake not, a strong sense of duty is no bad part of a woman's portion." In the novel, Anne accepts that it was her decision to take this path in life and acts with maturity, despite her continuing longing and heartbreak. In the Netflix version, Anne wallows in her circumstances and doesn't seem to acknowledge her own role in the past, thereby passively putting blame on Lady Russell. One thing I love about Jane Austen's works is that her heroines get to have their cake and eat it too. Anne doesn't have to sacrifice her relationship with Lady Russell, her family or her self in order to find love. If that doesn't align with modern feminism, I don't know what does.
@andreataylor5983
2 жыл бұрын
That was one of the most infuriating parts of the movie for me. In the book she never varies from accepting that it was her decision to break things off with Wentworth. It was the right decision at the time and she acknowledges it at every turn. She may regret it, but she never thinks to blame Lady Russell for her choice. This Anne not only blames Lady Russell, she doesn't even have the guts to say that to her face. Just kinda shrugs and lets her friend blame herself. Excising Mrs Smith from the narrative robs Anne of another act of agency. In the book she refuses to social climb at the Dalrymples and instead chooses to spend time with her chronically ill disabled friend instead. It showcases not only Anne's good heart, it shows that she has grown and will not be persuaded to drop an acquaintance because her family wants her too. She also chooses outings with the Musgroves and Crofts over the Viscountess. No, this is not a modernized Anne in 2022, it's a butchered buzzwordy Anne who hasn't half the original Anne's strength of character. And seriously? How is cutting a canonically disabled character a good look in a modern adaptation? Netflix, Cracknell and the writers should be ashamed of themselves for that if nothing else.
@hannahmdearest
2 жыл бұрын
@@andreataylor5983 Yes!! Why cut a female friendship from a supposedly feminist adaption, especially one that could give good representation to a group that doesn't often get it in period pieces!?! Also, please tell me how this Netflix version of Anne is feminist when she spends the majority of the movie rolling her eyes at and cutting down the adult females around her in the asides to the camera.
@EdithEsquivel
2 жыл бұрын
Regret is complicated. I'd say the book portrays a weaker disposition in Anne, unable to turn regret into remorse for the suffering she also caused her lover. The Anne in the movie is understandably regretful, and struggles with that, and tries to put some blame on others, but that is more human. The Anne in the book is missing that realness. I Don't know if you have ever regretted something fundamental, but it is very very hard.
@DizzyBusy
Жыл бұрын
Riddle me this, if Anne is so confident and can be outwardly witty with people she barely knows, why was she persuaded by Lady Russell and her family in the first place? She seems to know her own mind, what was the big deal? This Anne would have eloped and simply proved everyone wrong. I don't understand the underlying concept the Netflix adaptation is trying to sell us here.
@tarihatari
2 жыл бұрын
I watched 15-20 minutes of the new adaptations and was so annoyed with the modernization of behavior I had to stop. Period drama lovers KNOW it sucked for women back then, but we still enjoy reading/watching more accurate period dramas! We don’t need to make all heroines girl bosses just to appeal to non-period drama lovers or the modern viewer with no appreciation of period pieces. I enjoyed your dissection video so much! ❤️
@sophieruby9135
2 жыл бұрын
Exactly! I'm all for women being bold and confident, but when I watch a period drama, I want to see how things really were back then, not how some people wish it was. It's like this version takes place in the same alternate universe as Bridgerton.
@hadrianryan4179
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah, what you get when you make a Jane Austen movie for audiences not interested in Jane Austen is... no audience.
@gibbersking6575
2 жыл бұрын
Yes. Mrs. Croft's statements are among my favorites. It's not in-your-face or so outlandish because of the life she's lived. She's clearly a rational lady, AND... Austen makes sure the Crofts have a solid and mutually respectful relationship. Same for me with Jane Eyre's declaration to Mr. Rochester that she won't be seen and treated like a machine, that she has a heart and soul, equal with Rochester before God, regardless of society and class. I am instantly irritated by female characters who sport too much sass or perhaps have a morning ritual, reminding themselves that they're "fierce."
@CynDiaz
2 жыл бұрын
I only got to 4 mins. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a heroine like Anne. She is what she is because of her time period, but still strong enough to fight for her happiness in her own way, like a true protagonist!
@banannakis6723
2 жыл бұрын
I always found it annoying, that the writers are trying to "correct" history instead of seeing that those types of women were just as impressive and awesome in their own rights outside of the modern woman today.
@McMillenLibrary
2 жыл бұрын
I think one of the main reasons I hate (yes hate) this version is because I have always connected with Anne Elliot. She is a quieter heroine and I appreciate her personality. Not everyone is a Jane Austen or Elizabeth Bennett.
@nds.gdspts
5 ай бұрын
What adaptation do you recommend? 🙏 thx
@ΛΕΜΟΝΙΑΤΑΣΟΥΛΑ
2 жыл бұрын
I haven't watched Netflix persuasion but I think that accepting and appreciating only one type of woman, nowadays the extremely dynamic, self-confident, assertive woman, is as problematic and actually misogynistic as its equivalent of the regency Era, that is to self-sacrificing, super religious, self-effacing. I find both these perspectives equally non feminist because they both negate the multifaceted personalities of real women. Real women as well as real men can be both dynamic in certain aspects of their lives and shy or introverted in others and that doesn't diminish their strength one bit. It actually took a lot of strength on Anne's behalf to put up with her family and help them as she invariably did or to stand up to Lady Russell the second time although she was the closest thing to a mother she was going to get.
@thepresence365
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you.
@Spaced92
2 жыл бұрын
It's the boomers writing for millennials thing, strong female character means eliminating "feminine" traits like sensitivity. This actually just ends up making every female protagonist a one-dimensional girl boss character, not to mention a pivotal trait about Anne is her lack of agency, she's a non-traditional protagonist. If Anne wasn't as sensitive to other peoples needs and wants as she was, there would be no story to begin with.
@thepresence365
2 жыл бұрын
@@Spaced92 That makes a lot of sense.
@cmm5542
2 жыл бұрын
Absolutely spot on!
@funkyfranx
2 жыл бұрын
Can we stop throwing around the word 'misogynistic' like it has no meaning? This film used short cuts to make the main character more 'likeable'. That is not hating women. That's lazy writing. All sorts of films do it for all sorts of characters, because the film industry cares more about cash grabs than art.
@jenka3119
2 жыл бұрын
The whole thing had 'Yikes' written all over it for me ever since I saw the trailer. I love a modern adaption. I love an update. But set it in the era you feel like representing and DON'T change the heroine in a way that makes her the character she is based on in name only. Anne Elliott isn't Deadpool, she has no business smirking into the camera and talking about '10s' & 'playlists'.
@auntyjo1792
2 жыл бұрын
They wimped out on the portrayal of Wentworth: in the book he shows a degree of bitterness to Anne that wouldn't be out of place on today's internet (and hates the idea of women on a ship!)
@juanitajones6900
2 жыл бұрын
He did express bitterness toward Anne, until he made that attempt to put her in the "friend-zone" at Lyme. Frankly, I rather liked that scene.
@kohlinoor
2 жыл бұрын
@@juanitajones6900 I liked the intent of friendship, but the script was so stilted in that part... If your main male lead is going to pour his heart out to Anne halfway through the movie, what's the point of the letter scene? Where's the suspense?!
@juanitajones6900
2 жыл бұрын
@@kohlinoor Oh for Pete's sake. Are you referring to the scene in which Wentworth tried to put Anne in the friend . . . you know what? Never mind. It's obvious we don't agree on this matter. The next time I express my opinion of a movie or a film, I will not engage in a debate over my opinion. I just it irrelevant and not worth the effort.
@meretchen
2 жыл бұрын
They left in the letter scene? I wonder why he didn't just text her on Snapchat?
@juanitajones6900
2 жыл бұрын
@@meretchen Snapchat didn't exist in 1814-1815.
@justincheng5241
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for mentioning Jane Austen's faith, as a Christian, I feel her deep Christian faith is often minimized or ignored outright by critics and commentators.
@cmm5542
2 жыл бұрын
True. The same thing happens with Shakespeare, a lot. I had a class I was covering for another teacher once, and all the girls (it was a girl's school) were completely confused about the issues and connections they were supposed to be exploring and answering questions on in Macbeth when they completely didn't get it. I gave a five-minute explanation on how the religious views of the times informed the concepts of the witches, kingship, ambition and hierarchy, and even the weather (that was what one of the questions in the curriculum was on, believe it or not). The students were literally beaming at me and exclaiming 'Miss! That's the FIRST TIME this has made any sense! Oh, and can you be our teacher all the time now?' Darlings.
@mo-sl4bj
2 жыл бұрын
short: yes they did long: it wasn't a totally modernized version of the movie, it was so anachronic it turned bizarre. the movie makes it clear that we're supposed to take this 'cool modern' anne as intelligent and insightful. but to me, she just seemed to be an unlikable loser. how am i supposed to take this ~modern anne~ as someone who is still pining for a guy she dumped 8 years ago? and then this same modern anne being completely unable to tell him how she feels? it doesn't make sense. it makes sense for jane austen and the regency era, not for a woman who rolls her eyes when another character says marriage is a woman's greatest achievement. you either decide to go 'modern' or you don't. i couldn't suspend my disbelief once during this movie because of the bizarre anachronistic effect caused by it all... idk also, i hated every single second of anne's weird hairdos. would it really be that unattractive to not have seemingly dirty bangs covering half her eyes for the entire movie? is it that cheesy and gauche to give the heroine hair that doesn't look 100% disheveled all the time? it's like movie anne has never had the opportunity to spend some time with a nice hairbrush... i don't get hollywood, i really don't *oh, and why did they change anne to a drunk? and yes, i didn't like modern anne's wardrobe, but could have gotten past it if i had liked the story and how it was told
@lizajane2971
2 жыл бұрын
They made her a drunk?! Good grief. 😒
@bailegatita
2 жыл бұрын
Agreed. How the screenwriters thought a drunk and bitter Anne is an aspirational heroine really says more about them than anything. I don't think anyone involved in the screenplay ever finished a Jane Austen book. Let alone enjoyed it. The source material is treated with contempt.
@gracie9658
2 жыл бұрын
I've only skimmed the trailer but yeah the hair is truly atrocious 🤢 Also THEY MADE HER A DRUNK ??? huh ?
@andreataylor5983
2 жыл бұрын
@@lizajane2971 I wouldn't say she's a drunk, more of a (barely) functional alcoholic. She constantly has a glass or bottle of alcohol in hand, drinks alone on the regular and is shown at least once trying to hide that she's stealing entire bottles of wine. Not to mention her hangover scene. Oh, and she drinks in the bath too. She'd fit right in on Sex and the City.
@lizajane2971
2 жыл бұрын
@@andreataylor5983 That's awful. They've made her ridiculous and cringy, like everything else in entertainment these days.
@luniasta
2 жыл бұрын
I think the deep v shallow culture part is the biggest issue with the movie. The deep culture would not let them discuss their feelings so Wentworth only realized how Anne felt when he overheard her at the end of the story on a seemingly unrelated topic. Them discussing their feelings multiple times in the movie makes that realization make little sense and makes it very difficult to understand why they do not get together much earlier.
@hayleigh7354
2 жыл бұрын
I like modernised versions of classics, but I really didn’t like the way they modernised Persuasion. I feel like if you’re going to modernise a movie you need to stick to it, not modernise some dialogue and keep almost everything else set in the regency era. It’s all right to make the dialogue more accessible, but “we were worse than strangers, we were exes” is just ridiculous
@rebeccaholcombe9043
2 жыл бұрын
You can absolutely modernize but if you butcher the personality of the characters than you've murdered Jane Austin's work because the entire story revolves around the accuracy of the characterization
@sengarics
2 жыл бұрын
Hehe yeah
@athag1
2 жыл бұрын
This quote was the last nail in the coffin of any curiosity I might have had to see this movie. Thank you for sparing me the agony.
@AmatistaMoon
2 жыл бұрын
The most painful part of this was Wentworth's letter. Not only because of the horrid delivery, but because up until this point, there had been no attempt to maintain that type of speech, and the alterations they made to it were so ill-fitting even if they were not as egregious as the example above. That said, though, I would've loved Mary's character if she'd been in a different movie.
@cheri-gh6jc
2 жыл бұрын
Right, I think this would have been interesting if they had modernized it like the movie "Clueless"
@lindaliriel
2 жыл бұрын
What is utterly infuriating about this version is the way they took away Anne's growth, and they stole the qualities that many people could identify with (and that we so seldom see in good heroes or heroines): Anne is a person people don't think of as the heroine. Anne at the start is meek, overlook and emotionally neglected. She is a victim of emotional starvation, always having to serve a family that doesn't appreciate her. Because of this, she clings to the approval of those she feels actually do care about her (like Lady Russel). She isn't "strong" at the start of the story. Anne, when 19, of course was persuaded: she had been so utterly downtrodden that it was easy for her to listen to others, to not trust her own judgement (and, maybe, it was hard to beieve anyone could truly love her). Years later, she is still downtrodden and neglected by her family, but she has had to live with the consequences of her actions. Throughout the book we see her grow: she begins standing up to her family (visiting friends instead of the Viscountess), her self sacrifice and experience caring for others makes her the level-headed person in a crisis (from the martyr with Mary's son to the assertive leader after Louisa's fall), Anne sticks to her own intuition against Lady Russel's endorsement of Mr Elliot, and resists the emotional manipulation she gets from multiple sources. Finally, she gives herself permission to listen only to herself and to what she wants. This is also made extra poignant and noticeable with the fact that Wentworth declares himself through a letter the second time around: it gives her time to think, to collect herself (she is even upset there are people talking around her so she decides to go home! She starts protecting her mental wellbeing). By the end she is still meek, still self sacrificing, but she has learned to trust herself, to believe in her own thoughts and to know her own mind. They stole that growth from her, and from the audience, with this version
@AJansenNL
2 жыл бұрын
Yes, yes, yes! 🎯
@reikun86
2 жыл бұрын
A thousand times Yes!
@AJansenNL
2 жыл бұрын
@@reikun86 Someone's been watching Pride and Prejudice 2007 a few times? 😉
@reikun86
2 жыл бұрын
@@AJansenNL Maybe...🥰 It’s my favorite movie.
@atrelanor4876
2 жыл бұрын
so well said
@AH-yi3rl
2 жыл бұрын
I was waiting for this review. You did not disappoint. I rarely stop watching movies partway through, but this was so bad that I realized I would never stop cringing and it wasn't worth continuing. When Anne tactlessly blurted out at the dining table in front of everyone present that Charles wanted to marry her first...I was done. It wasn't funny or cute. It was incredibly rude and thoughtless and made the character unlikeable to me. When Jane Austen's Emma was rude in public, she felt guilty and tried to make amends in every film version I've ever seen of the book. This character didn't.
@wpa83646
2 жыл бұрын
I know what you mean. I stopped at the 3 minute mark, where Anne is introducing her family. It was just too disconcerting. I could sit through the 2020 version of Emma but this was too difficult for me. The Anne Elliot in the first 3 minutes of the movie is entirely unlike the character in the book. You can modernize the way she acts and talks but don’t change her character and personality completely.
@JR-sx3gl
2 жыл бұрын
It was the same moment for me. 5 minutes before I paused when Louisa explained her flirting method of acting dumb about cutlery. I thought I'll give it another chance and that dinner scene happened. 🤦♀️
@rachellerachelle2931
2 жыл бұрын
The dinner scene was the exact moment I stopped watching as well. It was so horrible - not only for an adaptation, but even if this had been it's own original rom-com movie, it was still cringe-worthy.
@TerribleLotus
2 жыл бұрын
Yes, I also couldn’t watch the whole thing. I started skipping and then just gave up
@jogilcab9616
2 жыл бұрын
Mine was when she said “we’re worse than strangers, we’re exes” and I only got that far because my friends and I were having fun roasting their Wentworth.
@pm6730
2 жыл бұрын
I love your balanced review of the movie! I'm not sure how I feel about Anne being "empowered" or relatable in this movie with so-called modern traits. I didn't find her an empowering, strong female in any way. Who would? She was essentially a lemming. She pined for a man for 7 years, is full of bitterness and remorse, has a subtle victim mindset, stoppled living, drinks all over the place to cope with her feelings and can be condescending to those around her she doesn't consider her equals. Anne in the book is discerning, sagacious, pragmatic, resolute, kind and selfless. To the end, she is confident she made the right choice based on the dicey circumstances at that moment in time and while she does have conflicting feelings and some self-doubt throughout the book (and who could blame her?), she doesn't live in a sea of remorse and self-deprecation. I find her characterization in the book more empowering. The writers and producers must not have thought people relate to or admire that or are smart enough to understand this. Great video, as always!
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