I know quite a few of you were planning on watching Persuasion, as presented by Masterpiece Theatre on Sunday night.  I TiVoed it, and ended up watching it last night.  I have decidedly mixed feelings about it.

On the one hand, Captain Wentworth was just adorable.  I think he looked quite young to be playing the part, but he was definitely attractive!  On the other hand, Anne seemed completely lacking of any Austen-esque features.  I really enjoyed the book, and Anne in the book is so quietly competent, whereas in the movie she felt just this side of a nervous wreck.  While I thought it did help to convey the urgency of the period in her life, I didn’t sympathise with movie-Anne at all, so I wasn’t really too concerned about how her life turned out (fortunately, I was ever so concerned about Captain Wentworth!).  I thought her younger sister, Mary, was played in a way that went beyond annoying-invalid into the realms of creepiness.  What was with her hunching over all the time?!

Oh, and can we talk about the camera work?  I thought it was trying to be way too artsy for a Jane Austen film, and oftentimes the jiggling made me downright naseous.  The chaos of it reminded me a bit of that second Bourne movie, and it seemed out of place in a drama of manners in Napoleonic Britain. However, to give the director credit, I did enjoy all the wide shots of Britain; I felt like I was in the scenery at times.

All in all, I was less than pleased.  Fortunately, there’s another film adaptation that I absolutely love. So, for anyone who was less-than-impressed with last night’s offering, definitely try this one out instead! Wentworth is played by a much older, more dashing actor (not that I didn’t enjoy the more puppy-dog take on him that Masterpiece offered), and Anne feels much closer in spirit to the book. Also, there’s so fancy camera work to detract from the story. Now, of course, I think I’ll have to go read the book again!