It is a truth universally acknowledged that “Persuasion” is not the most beloved work of Jane Austen. I have never yet met an Austen fan, let alone a casual reader of hers, that would state it to be their favorite book. Therefore, when Netflix announced the new movie adaptation of it, there was not much uproar or anticipation, though voices were raised that the platform would most likely butcher it. 

After the picture premiered, all the reviews that I stumbled upon were ranging from lukewarm at best to very critical. None of them were enough, though, for me to check the movie for myself. I have never revisited “Persuasion”, in comparison to the probably dozen times I have read “Pride and Prejudice” or “Emma”. Anne Elliot failed to entice me in a way similar to the rest of Austen’s heroines. However, on one particularly gloomy evening, I found myself scrolling through various streaming services, unable to decide on a movie and this was when the “Persuasion” miniature caught my eye and I yielded.

I must start by disclosing that I am not a purist and saying that, if we can have “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”, we can have Anne Elliot saying “We are exes”. In my opinion, modernizing or adapting stories should not be considered sacrilege, no matter how famous, important, iconic, or masterfully written the original is. If, in the process, we are able to interest younger generations to reach for a two hundred year old novel, then it is even better. I am stating this so clearly, because it was the most prominent critique of this version – that it took the original and ran with it to the borders of offending it by modernizing. This movie has several issues but modernizing is not the most offensive one.

“If we are going to wing the world of the story, we may as well wink at the camera,” said the director, Carrie Cracknell. Now, I do not have any proof that it happened, but it is quite likely an explanation for breaking the fourth wall, which took me by surprise. Although I did not mind it very much. The technique helped to immerse the viewer in a world that was somewhat familiar but very different at the same time. I felt like the main character had my back and would explain what was going on when necessary. It was either helpful or annoying, depending how well one is accustomed with Austen’s storytelling.

We are thrusted into Anne’s life quite abruptly and we need to catch up on the whole backstory of her loneliness and heartbreak. Dakota Johnson is adorable in the main role, quite reserved but full of sarcastic energy at the same time. I feel that she breathed new life into Anne Elliot and I started to wonder why I have ever considered this character boring. And it is not only because of Dakota that the story breathes deeply. Everything that I liked about the movie, I liked about the women in it. Mia McKenna-Bruce is absolutely amazing and wonderfully entertaining in the role of spoiled but surprisingly self-aware Mary Musgrove. Each of the female characters are bringing distinct energy to the screen and it is just joyful to watch them interact.

Sure, costumes are all over the place. Towards the end, the script is so congested that the resolution seems rushed and one could easily be confused about who ended up with whom exactly. I have an impression that when it comes to constructing the story, creators really only focused on the main plot and decided that, as long as we can follow Anne and Wentworth, it does not matter if we get confused about the rest. 

Speaking of Wentworth – I am afraid that Cosmo Jarvis was told to compete with Darcy. And not even Colin Firth or Matthew Macfadyen, which already would be very daring, but with the character of Fitzwilliam Darcy. This felt absolutely unnecessary and took away from exploring the character of Wentworth on its own merit.

Austen’s stories are filled with ridiculous personas who work great as foil characters. However, as silly as they can be, they never come out cartoonish or unbelievable. And that is what unfortunately happened to Anne’s father and sister in this adaptation. Fourth-wall-breaking did not spoil my immersion; those two definitely did.

Taking all the flaws into consideration, it is still not a terrible movie. The main theme of the story, the heart of it, is preserved and presented pretty well – hurt feelings, pride, and social norms standing in the way of people opening up, speaking their mind, resolving issues, and being happy. These are universal. That is exactly why Anne can refer to people as “tens” in 2022, while 200 years ago she would most likely describe them as “enthralling”. It does not change the tale of human disposition. Whatever dress, bonnet, or makeup we put on it.

That said, I do think that 2022 “Persuasion” suffers from quite a serious case of “swoon-worthiness” or “Bridgerton factor”. It is discussed that the “swoon-worthy” category on Netflix was introduced mainly to manage the cataloging of productions that do not fit into one specific genre but share certain characteristics like a romantic storyline, historical setting, or dramatization in docuseries. However, it seems that since its introduction, it gained a life of its own. 

Especially since “Bridgerton”, we see the influx of usually vaguely historical, modernized romantic dramas where characters talk in ways that suggest they may as well hide smartphones in between folds of their not at all accurate dresses. But as long as we do not even know which year the action takes place in, then how can costumes be inaccurate?

I do give credit where credit is due – the re-imagined worlds that give space for more diverse representation in historical settings are much needed and simply enjoyable, they are fresh and daring. However, in cases like adaptations of classical novels, it is not enough to go only for a swoon-worthy vibe. Austen stories are intricately built, full of vibrant characters, and firmly set in the time period they were written in. Of course, Anne Elliot does not have to wear a bonnet to convey her story, but when we remove all the restrictions of the era, it is more difficult to understand “Persuasion” and many other classic tales.

When we watch Anne agonizing over lost love using social media slang, we could think – why did she not text him, though? When we watch a group of characters whom Jane Austen wove together to influence each other with their very distinct storylines and we focus all “swoon-worthiness” only onto the main couple, we lose so much of the story that we could ask – why are all these other people here? Sometimes adaptations need to be more attentive to the source material to be truly great. “Persuasion”, of 2022, did not disrespect the source material per se. It just swooned a bit too much.

Photo: Haley Lawrence