Persuasion or The Bride of Frankenstein - distinctly discombobulating

 The new Netflix 2022 Persuasion has been out for a week and has been ravaged by the critics.

In my opinion, it is mildly entertaining, a bit annoying in parts, and occasionally toe-curling embarrassing: still mostly an easy and intriguing watch. 

So mixed feelings on my side, I want to start by unpacking my problems with the film:

Stylistically it seems a bit of an odd mashup, I’ve only ever watched about 10 minutes of the hugely popular Bridgerton, but this Persuasion adaptation immediately made me think of Bridgerton. I don’t have a problem with Bridgerton, it is just I’m not into films and drama on the small screen. But I do want to give Bridgerton another go at some stage. 

I quite like the use of multiracial cast in Persuasion, it doesn’t seem historically accurate, but I particularly enjoyed the Nigerian-British actress Nikki Amuka-Bird, who played Lady Russel beautifully, one of several minor characters I thought this version of Persuasion portrayed nicely. The stylistic problems were the modernisation of the dialogue, lots of modern parlances, talking directly to the camera and a big dumbing down on Austen’s delightful dialogue, detailed descriptions, dry humour and inventive use of English. This was annoying.

There are a couple of toe-curling moments in the film. I struggle to imagine Jane Austen writing a scene with Anne Eliot struggling with peeing in public, behind a tree while she eavesdrops on Captain Wentworth & Louisa’s flirtatious small talk. Anne struggles with her ridiculous Georgian costume, which is absolutely unsuitable for peeing in public. Jane Austen’s humor could be quite near the knuckle, with the infamous reference to gay sex in the navy: her “rears and vices” joke in Mansfield Park. There is also a private letter where she makes a very embarrassingly bad dead baby joke. But these are highly atypical, and this public peeing scene feels so wrong for Anne Eliot: one of Austen’s more earnest and most loved heroines? 

And this brings me to the main problem with this adaptation which has been rubbished by the critiques and Janeites (Austen’s disciples and devotees): Anne Eliot is one of Austen’s most loved heroines and the film really needs to get this right . This is especially true for many Janeites who like the more mature romance narrative of mistakes, total estrangement for 7 years, torturous reconciliation and ultimately, second chances. Anne Eliot is probably a more interesting heroine to the youthful rollercoaster ride with Elizabeth Bennett. Unfortunately, this latest Frankenstein Anne Eliot is more like a SciFi time travelling Bridget Jones, teleported back into 19th Georgian society with an infinite supply of cheap red wine from the local supermarket. I like to think I'm pretty open-minded and enjoy radical perspectives and playful adaptions, but this Persuasion left me feeling distinctly discombobulated.

I don’t think this is all Dakota Johnson’s fault; she has great screen presence and style: a modern, sassy and sexy actress and fun to watch. Possibly a bit too much femme fatale. The script writing seems, and broader production seems largely responsible to me.

So what do I like about this adaptation? Well Austen’s novels also include a rich cast of minor characters: many of which provide comic relief and many of these are very well and pretty faithfully portrayed. 

At the London Jane Austen bookclub discussion (online this month) there was a lot of praise for Marry Musgrove and Sir Walter Eliot. I particularly like Lady Russel and Lady Darlrympe.

I also quite liked Captain Wentworth, he is a bit too present in this adaptation but well played by xxx and the tearful open scene of this film was beautifully played by DK and xx, my very first reaction to the film was : “well I would marry him!”, not a bad start for a Jane Austen film.

So like the Bride of Frankenstein, this Persuasion is entertaining but not in the same league as the original.

discombobulated [ dis-kuhm-bob-yuh-leyt ]

Informal. to confuse or disconcert; confound; bewilder:

The speaker was completely discombobulated by the hecklers.