An awesome Jane Austen adaptation, courtesy of director Roger Michell, writer Nick Dear and
a splendid cast. Set in the early 19th century, the movie is both a superbly nuanced social
comedy and a yearningly open-hearted romantic drama. At the ripe old age of 27, Anne
Elliott (the marvelous Amanda Root) is facing - gasp! - spinsterhood. Then Captain
Wentworth (Ciarin Hinds), the man she foolishly rejected years ago (a family friend
insisted he lacked family and finances) comes back into her life. But now, he's a wealthy
war hero and besieged by a bevy of available beauties. Meanwhile, Anne herself is being
pursued by a flirtatious dandy (Samuel West) whose bloodlines meet the approval of her
insufferably snobbish father, Sir Walter (a tremendous comic turn by Colin Redgrave of
those Redgraves). Can true romance overcome the idiotic clutter of social pretensions and
repressed emotions? Will Anne and her Captain be granted a second chance? True, the
Merchant-Ivory/Masterpiece Theater set will be entranced. But so, too, will anyone who
loves beautiful acting, a bracingly literate story and, best of all, bitingly funny
dialogue. As gloriously romantic as it is giddily hilarious, "Persuasion" gives you a
ruefully knowing smile as it sides with the wise heart. You leave the theater feeling
better about everything.
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