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Persuasion (1995 film)

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Persuasion
File:Persuasion1995cover.jpg
Region 1 DVD cover
Directed byRoger Michell
Screenplay byNick Dear
Produced byFiona Finlay
StarringAmanda Root
Ciarán Hinds
Susan Fleetwood
Corin Redgrave
CinematographyJohn Daly
Edited byKate Evans
Music byJeremy Sams
Distributed bySony Pictures Classics (USA)
Release dates
  • April 16, 1995 (1995-04-16) (UK)

  • September 27, 1995 (1995-09-27) (USA)
Running time
103 minutes
CountriesTemplate:Film UK
Template:Film US
LanguageEnglish
Budget£1,000,000
Box office$5,269,757[1]

Persuasion is a 1995 BBC TV-film adaptation of Jane Austen's novel of the same name. It was directed by British theater director Roger Michell, and its screenwriter was Nick Dear. The film was co-produced by BBC Two, American studio WGBH-TV, and French company Millesime. Amanda Root starred as protagonist Anne Elliot and Ciarán Hinds played Captain Frederick Wentworth. Nine years previous to the film's beginning their characters were in love, until Anne was persuaded to reject his proposal of marriage; the film's storyline follows the two becoming reacquainted with each other, as supporting characters and events threaten to interfere.

Persuasion was the product of an upswing in popularity for the works of Jane Austen, and was one of four Austen novels produced that year. It was shot on location at various English locales featured in the novel, including Lyme Regis and Bath.

The film premiered on 16 April 1995 on television in Britain, but was released theatrically in the US and other countries later that year and into the following one. The film received generally positive reviews, with many praising Root's performance and the film's "realistic" attention to the time period.

Plot

The film opens between scenes cutting back and forth of a naval ship carrying Admiral Croft (John Woodvine), and a buggy carrying Mr. Shepherd (David Collings) and his daughter Mrs. Clay (Felicity Dean) to Kellynch Hall. Shepherd and Clay are accosted for debts owed by the residence's owner, Sir Walter Elliot (Corin Redgrave), while Croft discusses the end of the Napoleonic Wars with fellow navy men. Sir Walter, a vain fopish baronet, is faced with financial ruin unless he retrench; though he initially opposes the idea, he eventually agrees to plans to temporarily move to Bath while the hall is let; this was thought of by Shepherd, family friend Lady Russell (Susan Fleetwood), and Sir Walter's second eldest, intelligent daughter Anne (Amanda Root).

Anne is visibly upset after learning that the new tenant of Kellynch Hall will be the admiral, who is the brother-in-law of Captain Frederick Wentworth (Ciarán Hinds), a man she was persuaded to reject nine years previously because of his lack of prospects and connections. Wentworth is now wealthy from serving in the navy during the Wars, and has returned to England to presumably find a wife. While her father and elder sister Elizabeth leave the hall for Bath, Anne remains to finish up directing the residence's preparation for its new tenants; after discovering old letters between her and Wentworth, she expresses to Lady Russell her unhappiness of her family's current financial predicament, and her past decision to reject the captain's proposal of marriage. Anne visits their other sibling, Mary (Sophie Thompson), who has married into a local family, the Musgroves. Anne patiently listens to the many various complaints confided in her by Mary, her husband Charles, sisters-in-law Louisa (Emma Roberts) and Henrietta (Victoria Hamilton), and parents-in-law Mr. Musgrove (Roger Hammond) and Mrs. Musgrove (Judy Cornwell).

Having now settled in at Kellynch Hall, Admiral and Mrs. Croft visit the Musgroves. Mrs. Croft's brother Captain Wentworth comes to dine with them, but Anne avoids going when she volunteers to nurse Mary's son, who is injured with a broken collarbone. The following morning at breakfast, Anne and Mary are suddenly briefly met by Wentworth, the first time he and Anne have seen each other since her rejection. Mary later tells Anne Wentworth thought she was so altered, he "would not have known you again". Wentworth becomes the focus of matrimony to Louisa and Henrietta, as the family is unaware of he and Anne's past relationship. Hurt and rejected by Anne's refusal years before, he appears to court Louisa, much to Anne's chagrin. In a later walk taken by everyone, Wentworth learns from Louisa that Anne also was persuaded by Lady Russell to refuse Charles' offer of marriage, and he instead proposed to Mary.

Anne, the Musgroves, and Wentworth go to Lyme to visit two of his old naval friends, Captain Harville (Robert Glenister) and Captain Benwick (Richard McCabe). While there, Louisa rashly jumps off a staircase in the hopes Wentworth will catch her, but falls before he can reach her and sustains a head injury. Wentworth, Henrietta, and Anne travel back to the Mr. and Mrs. Musgrove and tell them about their injured daughter, leading them to hurry back to Lyme; Anne soon goes to Bath to stay with her father and sister. Sir Walter and Elizabeth reveal they have repaired their relationship with a previously disreputable cousin, Mr. Elliot (Samuel West), the heir to the Elliot baronetcy and estate; Anne is introduced to him, and they realize they briefly saw each other in Lyme. Much to Lady Russell's pleasure, Mr. Elliot begins to court Anne, but she remains uncertain of his true character. Louisa having recovered and become engaged to Captain Benwick, Wentworth arrives in Bath and encounters Anne on several occasions, though their conversations are brief. Anne learns from an old friend, Mrs. Smith (Helen Schlesinger), that Mr. Elliot is bankrupt and only interested in marriage to help further ensure he inherit from her father and keep him from possibly marrying Mrs. Clay to provide a son.

Wentworth overhears Anne talking about the constancy of a woman's love, and writes her a letter declaring he still loves her. The two walk off down a street, arm in arm, and he announces his intention to marry Anne at a party later that night, much to Mr. Elliot's consternation. The final scene shows Wentworth and Anne on a naval ship, happy to be together.

Cast

Starring

Production

Conception and adaptation

"It's written by a woman who died presumably a virgin. We know she had two proposals in her life, both of which she turned down. Maybe there's a kind of yearning in it ... [Persuasion] is an erotic love story which is full of sexual yearning."

— Roger Michell commenting on the novel.[2]

Producer Fiona Finlay had for several years been interesting in making a film based on the novel Persuasion, and approached screenwriter Nick Dear about adapting it for television. Dear however stated his preference to work on either Sense and Sensibility or Pride and Prejudice, two other productions then occurring, instead; he agreed to work on Persuasion after reading the novel, as he considered it to be a much more mature work than the others. Dear spent the next two following years working on a script.[3]

As a young child, English director Roger Michell was a big admirer of Jane Austen, which set him apart from the other boys in school. "I was the only boy in my class who took Austen as a special paper," he has said. Michell explained that Persuasion attracted him because he believed it to be Austen's most emotional and poignant novel, as well as her most autobiographical.[2] Previously a theater and serial director, Michell was chosen to direct Persuasion, in what was to be his first feature film.[4]

Michell attempted to be as faithful to the novel as possible, in particular avoiding what he felt was the "glossy, artificial feel" of other 19th century depictions. Michell explained, "I was desperately trying to make it feel like it could be happening in the next room. I tried to make it something which is absolutely about real people and not about dressing or hairstyles or carpet." Consequently, because he felt the realistic look of the age would make the film more dramatic, Michell chose to depict the actors without make up, and disallowed them from looking too hygienic.[2] English actress Amanda Root, who played Anne Elliot, commented about the film's natural look in an interview, "I basically didn't wear any makeup [in the movie], and my hair was obviously set in a very unflattering way. That was it, really. I suppose the lighting was quite harsh, as well. None of us looked good".[5] She continued in a separate interview, "[Michell] didn't want the picture-postcard look, really. And I wanted to make Anne Elliot a somewhat plain woman who was not really miserable but had found a way to be content somehow, and yet emotions are buzzing around her all the time". Root believes the film's realistic depiction of the age is a key aspect of the film's appeal.[6]

"The difficulties in adapting Persuasion for the screen were firstly, finding a structure which allowed us to stick very faithfully to what happens in the novel; and then secondly having a central character who hardly speaks for most of the first half and therefore can't motor the action along as a central character conventionally does. That's quite tough. And I think one of the major difficulties was trying to replace the wit that's in Jane Austen's narrative, but which you can't use because it's almost all in the author's voice telling us about characters, with a certain wit or lightness that came from the characters themselves. It's a craft job, interpreting the novel for oneself and then finding a film language for it."

— Nick Dear on writing a screenplay.[7]

The shooting of Persuasion coincided with a sudden resurgence of Jane Austen adaptations. The last feature film made for theatrical release that was based on an Austen novel was 1940's Pride and Prejudice.[8] Director Michell described the author's sudden popularity, "It's not a fever but a typhus in the U.K. at the moment".[9] The BBC provided more production funding in its adaptations of the 1990s, and Persuasion consequently benefited, allowed the film to be shot at on-site locations like Lyme, Bath, and in the southeastern English countryside.[10] Persuasion was initially budgeted as a BBC Two production at £750,000, but received further funding after it was made a co-production with WGBH Boston for theatrical release in the United States.[3][11] Persuasion thus inadvertently became Roger Michell and Nick Dear's first feature film.[4] French company Millesime also co-produced the film in exchange for airing it on television in France.[3][11] As a result of this additional funding, it was shot on 35 mm film, and its funding was increased to £1,000,000.[3] Mobil Oil Corporation, as a sponsor of Masterpiece Theatre, also contributed to the film.[8] WGBH gave the BBC detailed notes, which were then integrated into the script, while Millesime was unhappy with certain aspects of the story, for instance wanting the entire Lyme sequence removed because they considered it "too boring".[12]

Casting

"[Anne] slipped into a passive role because she'd given up the love of her life. I felt in the psychological sense she had decided that, although she had lost this love of her life, she was going to get on with her life and be very strong and not become self-indulgent in any way, in the sense of becoming maudlin or a hypochondriac. But while she gets on with her life in a very strong way, it's a muted way."

— Amanda Root on her character, Anne Elliot.[5]

The film's main protagonist, Anne Elliot, was played by English actress Amanda Root in her theatrical film debut.[4] By her own admission, "every actress in England" read for the part; having worked with the director previously, Root won the role by writing a letter to him to gain an audition.[6] The American production company had wanted a better known actress for the part, but agreed to Root's casting after seeing her screen test.[12] On her character's appearance, Root explained that "If you feel unhappy inside, you'll look it. We shot the movie in chronological order, and it made me realize what a difference that sense of unhappiness can create. Because obviously at the end of the film she's happier and looks better. At one point late in the shooting we had to go do one of the scenes that takes place earlier in the action. Having done the rest of the film, it was quite a shock to realize what it felt like to be that insular".[5]

Irish actor Ciarán Hinds, who depicted Captain Frederick Wentworth, commented that Austen "understands a man's heart and how delicate it can be sometimes," and appreciated the fact that though Wentworth was a "competent leader of men in his profession" he was "socially inept" in Anne's presence.[13] Susan Fleetwood, the actress who played Lady Russell, died soon after filming. Persuasion was her last movie role.[14]

Filming

The film's final scene was shot on the retired naval ship HMS Victory (pictured).

During shooting, Persuasion often had to compete for costumes and props with the BBC production Pride and Prejudice, which was being filmed at the same time.[15] Persuasion's crew consequently had to send for replacement items from Italy and Australia.[16]

The film was shot on location in the English counties Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire, and in the cities Bath, Lyme Regis, and Portsmouth.[11] Nick Dear desired to have the opening sequence be on board a Royal Navy ship of the period, but the only authentic vessel available was the retired HMS Victory. It was dry docked in Portsmouth, and was only available for short periods, as the ship was meant to be for entertaining tourists.[12][10] The subsequent shot, in which Anne and Wentworth gaze into the ocean, was taken from the 1984 historical film The Bounty.[12][10] The film's low budget also resulted in one of the opening shots, depicting Admiral Croft's ship on the ocean, being taken from The Bounty.[17] To display the climax when Anne and Wentworth finally approach each other with their feelings, two different scenes were shot, one in which they kiss and one in which they do not.[18] The scene where they kiss was inputted by the request of the American distributor for its US release, and was retained for the British version because Michell liked the scene.[19] Rebecca Eaton, one of the film's American producers, thought "A kiss would be an emotional pay-off".[18]

Reception

[Persuasion] did not enjoy nearly as much publicity or success at the box office as [Sense and Sensibility]... It was not a particularly popular selection among critics looking for films to review. But as soon as the public fascination with Austen adaptations became obvious, critics hurried to include reviews of Persuasion, which they had previously ignored, in their film reviews of Sense and Sensibility. This juxtaposing of the two films led to a curious trend among critics to praise the "pretty" the 1995 film version of Sense and Sensibility and to condemn the "gritty" 1995 film Persuasion. This seems to indicate a public privileging of the romantic over the realistic. It also seems to indicate a preference for the "hyperreal" over the "real".

— Amanda Collins comparing both films' reception.[20]

Release

Persuasion aired on British television's BBC Two in 16 April, 1995, on Easter day to 3.8 million viewers.[3] Two other Jane Austen adaptations, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, were released in late 1995 to great success in the United Kingdom. Their success lifted Persuasion out of "potential obscurity", as the film's theatrical release occurred on 27 September solely in the United States.[21] The film earned $56,000 in its first week of release in New York, and grossed $150,000 in Los Angeles.[3] The total US gross was $5,269,757.[1][22]

Critical reception

Critical review website Rotten Tomatoes calculated the film at 83%, which refers to the percentage of positive reviews.[23] Caryn James of the New York Times rated it a "critic's pick," praising the actors' performances. James elaborated, "[The novel] is brilliantly captured by Mr. Michell, with the screenwriter Nick Dear and a cast completely in sync with Austen's warm but piercing style. Their "Persuasion" is profoundly truthful in many ways: in its sense of emotional longing; in its natural, unglamorized visual beauty, ranging from drawing rooms to the sea; in its fidelity to the delicate tone of Austen's satire and romance".[24] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, critic Ken Tucker graded the film with an A-, writing it should "should enthrall even those who haven't read the Jane Austen novel on which it is based... A clearheaded love story, Persuasion is the sort of passionate yet precise comedy that reminds me why Austen remains such a vital writer".[25] Susan Ostrov Weisser, a professor of nineteenth-century literature, called the film a "faithful parade of Austen's world", and praised Root as the film's "crown jewel" for playing a "fiercely intelligent, regretful, and frustrated Anne Elliot with subtlety and nuance".[26] James Rampton of The Independent rated it in 2008 the fourth best Austen adaptation of all time.[27]

Of the many productions of Austen adaptations that appeared in the 1990s, Carole M. Dole noted Persuasion was the only film to "insistently draw attention to class issues," and "provide striking visual testimony to the workings of the British class system".[28]

Awards

1996 BAFTA TV Awards

References

  1. ^ a b "Persuasion (1995)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 25 March 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b c Masters, Kim (10 December 1995), "Austen Found; Hollywood Rediscovers the 19th-Century Writer", The Washington Post, Washington D.C.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Giddings and Selby, p. 100.
  4. ^ a b c La Badie, Donald (10 November 1995), "Picture perfect 'Persuasion' Film does justice to witty Jane Austen tale", The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN
  5. ^ a b c Sheehan, Henry (30 October 1995), "Theater Star Taking Root in First Film", South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, FL
  6. ^ a b Stack, Peter (11 October 1995), "Art of `Persuasion' Brings Root to U.S. / English actress asked for role in Jane Austen film", San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, CA
  7. ^ "Nick Dear". Sony Pictures Classics. 25 September 1995. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  8. ^ a b Parrill, p. 5.
  9. ^ Rickey, Carrie (13 November 1995), "Jane Austen, A '90s Kind of Gal; Austen on the Big Screen! Austen in Mini-Series! Why All This Ado; About an Author Who Wrote 200 Years Ago? Because She Wrote Brilliantly; And Timelessly About the Only Things That Matter: Love. And Money.", Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, retrieved 2011-03-10
  10. ^ a b c Parrill, p. 165.
  11. ^ a b c Closing credits (DVD). Persuasion: BBC Films. 1995.
  12. ^ a b c d Giddings and Selby, p. 102.
  13. ^ Parrill, p. 155.
  14. ^ Johnson, Sharon (5 January 1996), " (PERSUASION) absolutely delightful production", The Patriot, Harrisburg, PA
  15. ^ Parrill, p. 6.
  16. ^ Giddings and Selby, p. 103.
  17. ^ Wilmington, Michael (27 October 1996), "Adaptation of Austen's 'Persuasion' Entertains Seamlessly", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL
  18. ^ a b Banks-Smith, Nancy (17 April 1995), "Powers of persuasion Weekend TV", The Guardian, Manchester
  19. ^ Pearson, Allison (23 April 1995), "The fine art of `Persuasion'", The Independent, London
  20. ^ Greenfield, p. 81.
  21. ^ Greenfield, pp. 1, 81.
  22. ^ "Persuasion - Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 24 March 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ "Persuasion (1995)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
  24. ^ James, Caryn (1995-09-27). "Persuasion (1995) Film Review; Austen Tale of Lost Love Refound". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
  25. ^ Tucker, Ken (1995-10-06). "Persuasion (1995)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
  26. ^ Ostrov Weisser, Susan (2003). Persuasion. New York: Fine Creative Media, Inc.
  27. ^ Rampton, James (2008-7-24). "Bonnets and bustles: the best Austen adaptations". The Independent. Retrieved 2011-03-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ Dole, Carole M. "Austen, Class, and the American Market". In Jane Austen in Hollywood, p. 60.
  29. ^ a b c d e f "Past Winners and Nominees; Television Nominations 1995". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 2011-03-09.

Sources

Further reading

  • Dear, Nick (1996). Persuasion: A Screenplay by Nick Dear. Methuen Drama. ISBN 0413711706. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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