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Rating:  - Okay, 3.5
I rate this higher than "Becoming Jane" (3.5) just because it's "Persuasion", and the story is just fantastic - though Austen should get credit for it. Overall, it wasn't terrible, it just wasn't fantastic.
Sally Hawkins didn't do horribly, and she conveys the gentleness and patience of Anne Elliot well. When she's happy to see Wentworth, you can tell the difference between her sadder moods, but I don't remember quite feeling Anne's despondency as much. If Amanda Root hadn't gone before her, I doubt we'd all beat up on Hawkins as badly. It's really not a bad performance.
So Rupert Penry-Jones is the finest looking Wentworth I've seen yet, though not the best Wentworth I've seen. Like Hawkins, he's not bad; I loved how Penry-Jones played it when Wentworth sees Lady Russell again for the first time since she separated him and Anne. Unfailingly polite, he does manage to convey the necessary emotions at the necessary parts. His concern and slight panic when he discovers people expect him to offer for Louisa is well done. Again, same problem; he was preceded by Ciaran Hinds, and it's a little bit like Macfayden attempting Darcy after Firth.
No real opinion on the script...again, liked the inclusion of the conversation where Wentworth finds out that people expect him to offer for Louisa. I have mixed feelings about how the writer moved the Benwick-Anne conversation about how men and women love: it fits where it is in the movie, but in the book it's a key factor in Wentworth's offering again for Anne at the end. Anne running the "streets of Bath" marathon - CHEESY AND DUMB.
Really liked Finlay Robertson's Benwick; I found him more memorable than Richard McCable's 1995 version. This Benwick looked truly lovesick at the loss of his fiancee. Alice Krige's Lady Russell was well done as well. How she did the conversation where Lady Russell and Anne discuss Wentworth at the start of the movie was very good. It's easy to believe that Lady Russell is really just looking out for Anne; Krige delivers all the maternal warmth while maintaining a regal bearing. Hard to go wrong with Anthony Head as Sir Walter Elliot.
Go with the 1995 if you only want to watch one, but this is worth watching.
Rating:  - Don't bother.
I have never before recommended that a fan of Jane Austin and fans of the BBC productions not buy a dvd, but this one is really horrible. I am impressed with the previous review by Merkeet who lists the good and bad points. Much more diplomatic than I am right now. I bought the dvd based on positive reviews that I read at this site, and I'm not sorry that I've seen it - Jane Austin is always good, I just can't understand how this one was allowed to have been produced. The direction is dubious at best, which I can only assume is what caused all the over- acting. There are some wonderful actors who are aren't given a chance in this version. I recommend spending your money on the Amanda Root version which is absolutely beautiful, and while you're at it, look into Elizabeth Gaskill's North and South, which just came out in dvd, and is as close to perfection as a BBC production can be, and that's saying a lot! I love Jane Austin, but unfortunately this production of her Persuasion is surprisingly, and just simply, very badly done.
Rating:  - Really tugs your heartstrings
A lovely adaptation of an Austen classic. Poor Ann is portrayed wonderfully and her despair over her lost love will bring tears to your eyes. The scenery is gorgeous and the other cast of characters is perfect. If you liked Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility, you will like this as well.
Rating:  - Beautiful take on Jane Austen's classic
Of the six or seven BBC classics I have seen, this one is special on the grounds that it is, independently from the literary original, a extraordinarily well made film. Five stars to the people who created this fabulous film! The film music is also amazing.
Rating: - Persuaded me...
This was an amazing adaptation of Persusaion--the best I have ever seen. I am a loyal fan of Masterpiece Theater and was thrilled when they decided to adapt most of Jane Austen's novels. I have to say that I was very glad that they didn't do another version of Pride and Prejudice-nothing will ever top the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle version (no matter how good Keira Knightley is). Anyway, I actually happened upon this on the second showing and was amazed. Sally Hawkins is a very gifted actress and completely makes you feel the quiet sadness and reoccuring broken heart that is Anne Eliot's. And Rupert Penry-Jones as Captain Wentworth was seductivley unmoving and unfeeling--or so you are taught to believe until the steel wall around his heart begins to evaporate. I find myself catching my breath more than once hoping that Captain Wentworth will forgive and love Anne as he once did before with the fervent urgency as if it was my own love story. I highly recommend it.
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