#persuasion adaptation

[visualsandvoices]

You know what I love about the andor show? What is so insanely refreshing?? I’ve been finding with phase 4 marvel and even some non-disney stuff that either 1 of 2 things happens

1. We get walked through all the emotional pacing of the show. The characters over explain, completely on the nose, how they feel to each other constantly. Going on about breakups like yeah it does suck but the attempt at making it relatable comedy just reminds me of watching zoey 101 back in the day like you’re full grown adults that have ruled kingdoms, run businesses, performed life saving surgeries and now you have the emotional coping skills of someone who’s only just discovered hot topic?? Like, zero nuance, subtlety, room for subtext. I’m sorry conversations don’t sound like that. How often do you hear people over explain their exact emotions??

2. Fourth wall breaks where all of the above more or less happens, but character speaks directly to audience to walk us through, rather than other characters. (2022 persuasion a great example of this done poorly).

Do you assume your audience has ZERO emotional intelligence? Why is stuff being written like an episode of blues clues like “can you spot what hurt them? There it is! Good job!”

Like BRO. Stop assuming I don’t freaking understand what you’re feeling. Stop assuming we are too lazy or dense to parse conversations (that are visual and so we have body language to work with too!) for subtext. For hidden meaning. For nuance.

And Andor did not fall into that trap. There is so much behaviour to analyze. He’s a fast learner, he pays attention to his surroundings and adapts to his circumstances. Someone made a comment on here that said “and it isn’t with a quip or a wink that we’re told he’s a fast learner” we just get to watch. Someone else pointed out how when he’s young we don’t get translated/subtitles we just watch the body language and know what’s up on his home planet bc we don’t need someone to hold our collective hand in order to understand a scene or it’s gravity.

And and and that’s not to say they decide not to deal with heavy things, whether personal or social etc. We have the rant from the techy dude can’t think of his name just now about how the empire distracts you with 40 incidents instead of one atrocity. But it’s written into the characters and scenes so well it doesn’t feel like we are in a classroom. It’s a group of radicals and rebels of course they have strong beliefs and it’s being explained to the new guy. It works.

Freaking. Thank. You.

Andor is probably the best Star Wars thing I’ve seen in years. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk lol

[boltlightning]

Anne was tenderness itself, and she had the full worth of it in Captain Wentworth’s affection. His profession was all that could ever make her friends wish that tenderness less, the dread of a future war all that could dim her sunshine. She gloried in being a sailor’s wife, but she must pay the tax of quick alarm for belonging to that profession which is, if possible, more distinguished in its domestic virtues than in its national importance.

[bethanydelleman]

Even the smooth surface of family-union seems worth preserving, though there may be nothing durable beneath. - Persuasion, Jane Austen

One problem I have with the adaptions of Persuasion is the removal from Kellynch. Both the 2007 & 1996 movies show Sir Walter and Elizabeth go off in the carriage and then Anne go in some cart like a peasant. It's movie shorthand for neglected child, but it's not right. Lady Russell takes Anne and Sir Walter would never let his daughter travel that way.

The Elliots neglect Anne's mind and don't value her input, but I am sure she has fine gowns and everything else that makes her look her station. Because Sir Walter wants them to appear as a happy, prosperous family. Anne's neglect is emotional not material.

When Anne gets to Bath, the Elliots want Anne at every party, whether she wants to go or not. She's not like Cinderella in that way, neglected and left out, she's unloved and not listened to, which is harder for a movie to demonstrate.

[lily-s-world]

RIP Jane Austen, you would have loved korean dramas.

[intothestacks]

I want someone to make a movie of one of Austen's novels but from the servants' perspective.

Like, I want the Bennets complaining about how poor they are while their servant is in the background serving them food just like

Or someone is dropping some piece of gossip and the servants are dusting something in the background while going

I don't care if it's a comedy or treated seriously or if it's a crossover between Austen's novels and all the servants of her characters know each other or something.

I would also accept this for any classic story about rich people.

I just wanna see things from the servants' perspective.

[tooquirkytolose]

Like I dunno, if you REALLY wanted to make a more "modern" interpretation of Persuasion it wouldn't even be hard if you gave it more than a 2 second thought. All you have to do is plop the characters in a different time period, say the late 60's jumping to the early 80's, make Frederick black and have Anne's godmother persuade her not to marry him because an interracial marriage in, what, 1968? or something would just be too difficult for the both of them. You want him to stay in the navy or whatever have him enlist in Vietnam boom jump cut to the early 80s he's a decorated war hero or something we can have a laugh at her father and sister because now they're the walking talking embodiment of Reagan era consumerism, they're stupid empty headed rich yuppies, like it's not hard :/

[paper-daisy]

[typewriter-worries]

There could have been no two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison, no countenances so beloved. Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement.

Persuasion, Jane Austen 

[itsawritblr]

The best "Persuasion" ever!

Someone uploaded the entire movie!!

This adaptations is AMAZING! The script perfectly captures the novel! The actors perfectly capture the characters! The period costumes, hair, setting, all fantastic and accurate! The characters act as they would have in that period, with the customs and courtesies their society would have expected, instead of modern characters dropped idiosyncratically into 1815.

This was shortly after new cinematic technology allowed scenes to be filmed in only candlelight, so we get to see how it would have looked then. The quiet pace is how the period would have felt; no quick cuts and ridiculous drone shots.

OMG, I love this adaptation so much! I will accept no other!

If you want to study screenwriting, acting, and period costumes/sets, this is perfect.

[visualsandvoices]

Re-watching Persuasion on Netflix and it’s no masterpiece of an adaptation but hey the colour palette itself is gorgeous so many blues and greens it’s a great silly lil comfort movie

[mrdarcygenderenvy]

Recent Austen adaptations yelling

Ok I DID make this blog to review historical-set Pride & Prejudice adaptations (with an exception made for iconic B&P). But for everyone who was DEFINITELY WONDERING, yes I have also been storing away a lot of opinions about other recent Austen adaptations that I Must Tell Someone.

.

Fire island (2022)

A modern gay party cheesy rom-com P&P that genuinely made me laugh. Having seen some other (whiter) cheesy gay romcoms that were extreeeemely PG & playing it safe, I was pleasantly surprised.

Also Bowen Yang and his story just came across really earnest in a way I was into - would watch this man cry again, 10/10.

Personally as an extremely disabled british nerd (now tragically unable to travel and/or go to the club...) this gay scene is a long way from my queer scene. But I still had emotions, you know?

Kinda wanted more of the Mary analogue and generally just normal looking people (almost everyone is so ripped) but I appreciate that's how beautiful smooth people often look in mainstream american films, we can't have everything.

DARCY WATCH: I do not want to dress like this adaptation's chinos Mr Darcy. But Conrad Ricamora was generally great and very hot and awkward and understood the assignment. Good ice cream throw.

.

Emma (2020)

I know I know, it's pretty... but I don't think that's enough!!!!!

Lovely production, beautiful costumes, a candy wes-anderson cinematography that really suits the story, and it's fun to notice references to actual outfits and prints from the time but lads. LADS. UNPOPULAR OPINION TIME: Where is the chemistry???

You can’t make Mr Knightley a nice sweet boy (so funny to have cast a posh folksy singing man) and leave the plot the same and expect it to work!! Also I was personally pissed off that a lot of the promo/ ads for this made it look like ~forbidden love~ when it's the 2 richest white people in town getting together?? ? There's actually not even a class difference in this one, guys.

Basically this romance was nothing to me!!! I felt nothing!!!!!!!! WHERE'S THE DEPTH

I did like the bit where he lies down though. Relatable.

Also why are you drawing so much attention to the servants when you don’t seem to have anything to say about class...? 'Wow look how many servants they had! Anyway, they don't get any speaking lines'... it's 2020 guys!!! like what are we saying here. 'isn't it cool to think about how people were rich'??

kind of the point of Emma (character) is she's pretty superficial, but the story does not, in fact, have to be

.

Persuasion (2022)

Weeping softly into a pillow........ did you know this version meant a version with Sarah Snook and Joel Fry got cancelled?? we could have had it all

(standing on a table yelling) THE MODERNISATION WAS NOT THE PROBLEM WITH THIS FILM!!!

Honestly I actively liked all the entire secondary cast in this. Louisa and Mary were extremely charming fun takes to watch. ('I'm an empath' IS right for the character if you're doing modern jokes!!!) And nobody can deny this was a correct and powerful use of Richard E Grant.

Henry Golding was naturally great. Apparently he got offered the lead and took the villain instead, which DOES mean the villain is super charming and fun to watch which is... hard to match and.... kind of shows up.... the main man.

It's been said before but the main two were WOEFUL imo. I have no beef with the actors I just question the DIRECTION and whether anyone making this knew (or cared) why people... enjoy things.

Book Anne is the quietest gentlest loser and I LOVE HER and so does basically every Austen nerd. Making her a quirky wine-bath girl who's honestly just cruel sometimes fully stops the main romance chemistry and plot from working.

And it means the main boy is still like 'god I'm so horny for how KIND AND CAPABLE YOU ARE' which is just 100% no longer true. You can't transplant a personality in a romance but leave the plot the exact same and expect it to work. The chemistry IS the plot in a romance..........

you can't act morally superior to your siblings and still rate people out of ten.... also so funny to me that everyone else gets period outfits and hair whereas this protagonist looks like she just glanced at a picture of any time in the past and grabbed a couple shirts from primark. it doen't even look good or build character!!!!!

Anyway, not to be an elderly man like 'ohhh why does nobody care about character these days' but the reason something like Clueless works is because it has the heart of the story right, instead of just copying the surface level stuff.

[bethanydelleman]

I know that pretty much everyone agrees that the Netflix adaption of "Persuasion" was terrible, but do you have an opinion on the other adaptions? I haven't watched any of the Persuasion movies, so I was wondering which one is the best/most faithful.

My personal favourite is the 1971 BBC adaptation (you can find it free online). Once you get over the hair, it's nice that with a full mini series the story has room to breath. And lots of my favourite character, Sir Walter!

Persuasion 1995 is the most popular, it is very well acted and manages to condense the story well into movie length. I enjoyed it as well.

Persuasion 2007 is okay. I think it has the hottest Wentworth (personal preference) but it does have some flaws, most importantly, the Bath Marathon and the longest, most awkward kiss of all time. Also, implied at the end that Wentworth bought Kellynch? (literally impossible)

Honestly, they are all pretty good, except for 2022...

I have not watched the webseries or any modern adaptations to my knowledge, if anyone wants to recommend those please let me know!

[pvkhtana]

“I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach.

You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope.

Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you.

Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant…”

- Jane Austen, Persuasion

[ennaih]

Not Every Film I Watch In 2024

6. Persuasion (1995) -- eleventy-billionth rewatch

and bonus:

[thirddeadlysin]

it was probably not entirely intentional but there's a shot in the 1995 Persuasion at the end of the introduction visit at the Harvilles where Wentworth reaches out to hold/dandle the baby's hand and barely makes it before the cut to Anne smiling at him/the camaraderie between shipmates and it only tonight became absolutely devastating to me because it's on for noise and I was last in the room when Mary told Anne that obviously she has no motherly feelings 😭😭(🔪)😭

[oscar-is-wild]

Mansfield Park (1999) might be a fairly dated and inaccurate Austen adaptation, but Henry Crawford is literally the hottest man on this planet