Netflix’s Persuasion Falls Short of Its Vision, But Isn’t All Agony
In our “Romanticism Beyond the Academy” series, we invite literature-lovers to reflect on the significance of Romantic-era writers and ideas in the contemporary world and/or in their own lives. In the following post, Bianca Hernandez Knight reviews Netflix’s Persuasion (2022) and discusses how criticisms of the film can play into white supremacist fantasies of a “pure” Austen universe. See more entries from this series here. To write for this series, contact us.
Netflix’s Persuasion Falls Short of Its Vision, But Isn’t All Agony
A review by Bianca Hernandez Knight
“I am half agony, half hope”– Mr. Wentworth, Jane Austen’s Persuasion
You know when you’re ordering dinner somewhere and you think “I know I always get my regular dish, but tonight I’m gonna try something new?” That’s the leap of faith Jane Austen fans who have a special place in their heart for Persuasion have to make in order to watch this new film.
Specifically, the folks who cling to the previous adaptations as pillars of perfection.
As you can guess, I don’t believe that Persuasion (1995, with Ciarán Hinds and Amanda Root) or Persuasion (2007,with Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones) are the ultimate adaptations. But I also don’t think Netflix’s Persuasion (2022) is either, though I do think Dakota Johnson and Cosmo Jarvis have moments we often don’t get in other on-screen adaptations.
Illustration by Max-o-matic for Netflix
Instead of delivering us another comfortable version of Persuasion (aka the dish we have already had many times), Netflix gives us something new. It’s a dash of EMMA. (2020) and yes… it’s very “modern” at times. It has modern language, modern movement and expression, but I don’t see that as a detractor. (Though do be aware of people who are using “modern” in terms of casting choices, because using it as a placeholder for “not-white” is reinforcing problematic and racist ideas of the Regency.) The few times when the filmmakers depict Anne with a 21st-century sensibility are like salt in a chocolate chip cookie: they bring out moments of Austenian writing that are still so keenly accurate to contemporary life and experiences of heartbreak, while making it far easier to digest for present-day audiences who are watching a fairly fast-moving plot in less than two hours.
That being said, as someone with a background in media (across many mediums) I have a few thoughts on the approach to Persuasion taken here. A movie is not a book, nor is it a miniseries. Netflix’s Persuasion is one hour and 47 minutes. When it comes to movies, especially adaptations, you have to decide what to keep, what is most vital to your vision. I know this seems simple, but the number of times I have to remind folks of this when talking about book-to-screen adaptations having different lengths is kind of sad. We cannot compare movie adaptations to the books they are attempting to adapt without nuance.
With that in mind, it is clear that this Persuasion made choices. And much like Anne, it has to live with them.
The choice to bring “modern” elements of language, expression and dating into this story were fun to see, but ultimately it would have been a more successful adaptation if it hadn’t held back on that. It’s only a partial commitment to a vision, a vibe of what Persuasion is at times, and I think that’s what contributes to this adaptation being hard to love fully. It was always gonna let down the Austen “purists” who demand each new adaptation somehow capture every single element of her books, but if the goal was to woo new, young audiences, I feel it only goes halfway.
It was also a choice to cast Dakota Johnson, and sadly I think this adaptation suffers as a consequence. This movie chooses to ditch a lot of the elements of Persuasion (Mrs. Smith, more discussion of economics, class issues, the tension of new money) to focus on Anne and Wentworth’s relationship, specifically through Anne’s gaze. I don’t have an issue with the shift of focus, and in fact see it as a strength, setting it apart from the other film adaptations that have to cram so much info into so little time. While class and economic questions are crucial to Austen’s world, an adaptation does not need to take on every aspect of her novels. It can stand alongside and in conversation with all the others. Giving audiences time to mull over tense interactions over melancholy music captures a critical part of Persuasion, because it ultimately is a novel that meditates on sadness, grief and the past.
The sad truth is casting Dakota Johnson as the lead in a film so much more focused on Anne’s gaze and performance was a mistake. She does not have the range to pivot from intense sorrow, to patient management of her insufferable family, to grappling with a lingering passion for Wentworth. Johnson nailed the awkward moments of trying to regain a foothold in Wentworth’s life, but she has no tension with Cosmo Jarvis’ superb Wentworth. Johnson can sell an audience on Anne’s sorrow, but leave us feeling just as confused as Wentworth on where she really stands. I think the most damning moment is Dakota reading Wentworth’s letter to the camera, utterly lacking in believable shock or relief or joy.
However, many of the cinematic choices that modernize Persuasion translate so much of the interiority of the novel into the film medium. Anne breaking the fourth wall by looking at the camera and making a joke about her sadness and situation is… relatable. Would the Anne Elliot on the page do that? No, but if folks want that Anne they have three movies that give us the more silent and reserved version of her already. For me, the Anne who jokes about being “single and thriving” is relatable. I was once 27, single and trying not to be bitter. I’m pretty sure I can dig up similar comments I made about my relationship status, or lack of one.
Yes, I loved Persuasion in my mid 20s. I still do, but I also am no longer 27. I think that the filmmakers giving Anne language and characterization that speak to modern 27-year-olds is frankly refreshing. We constantly see headlines of new “gritty” versions of classics, but what about just making them more clearly relatable for modern audiences? I know some folks will scream that it’s wrong to change Anne at all, and that it’s a basic misunderstanding of the novel to do so, but don’t we as Persuasion fans want more folks to read this book and see all the things we see too?
I’m not saying Netflix’s Persuasion is like Wishbone. I don’t think it’s suddenly going to make waves of young adults read this book, but I do wonder why some are so adamant that modern movies cannot take liberties in order to weave a story more accessible to modern audiences? When I think about how Jane Austen would be categorized today, I know most of her works would be in the YA section (which ranges from 13-18), with Persuasion classed as having an older outlook (Anne is 27 and Wentworth 31), I think it works to incorporate devices we see in movies that center similarly aged relationships. Anne’s much-maligned line from the trailer about being “exes” is delivered after a painfully real interaction with Wentworth, making me immediately think of conversations I’ve had with friends about the pain of someone you’re really interested in dating deciding to friend-zone you.
For all the little self-deprecating moments from Anne, to me the major appeal of this film is how it centers Anne and Wentworth’s relationship, specifically their pain and their baggage. This film doesn’t spend a lot of time articulating economics or class issues (though they are mentioned), and instead gives an audience plenty of time to see all the ways these two people are still trying to heal, even as they both feel the slashes of new wounds. There’s a scene in Lyme where Anne and Wentworth are talking in that tiptoeing way you do with someone who you are vulnerable with, but also hurt by. I felt like the script did such a good job conveying that these are two people trying to figure out where they stand without giving up too much of themselves again.
Who among us hasn’t been more cautious with a broken heart?
The first trailer from Netflix (which elicited people lamenting the “Fleabag era” or “Bridgertonization” of Jane Austen) was flawed, but the movie isn’t as extreme as that trailer suggested, and I understand why the marketing team tried to convey a less dreary story. A trailer is an ad, it’s a way to sell tickets or subscriptions, and after years of misleading trailers I’m not really sure why folks rely on them to be the true representation of a movie. (Like… folks know that trailers are made by different teams than the ones that made the film, right? They’re legit an ad agency.) Regardless, I think presenting Anne as not just an ideal, but someone with flaws who is clearly still going through some shit is nice to see.
Honestly, before I read Persuasion the first time I felt like it was too depressing for me because of how folks described it, but was so pleasantly surprised by all of the moments of complicated feelings and relationships that I was hooked once I read it. I’m glad I didn’t let first impressions (a term very familiar to Janeites) scare me away from Persuasion, but I do think this first trailer from Netflix was an attempt to convince audiences who don’t want to watch another depressing film that this is different. Considering the state of the world and the continued effects of the pandemic on our overall health, I haven’t been clamoring to watch sad films either.
The choice to try to market this as a Fleabag-ish adaptation was shaky and could ultimately tank the film. I don’t feel like that first trailer accurately represents the film, but I think the damage was done when Austen communities decided to dogpile on it.
Despite its shortcomings, I love so many little things in this movie. Mary Musgrove being *that* white lady who misuses, even weaponizes, mental health terms to justify their own selfishness is spot on, and I think anyone who is offended by this portrayal has some serious soul searching to do. Louisa’s fall is violent, shocking in a way the other adaptations handle clumsily. In previous iterations this fall is delivered through shaky camerawork and strategic cuts, but in this version we get a raw, visceral fall that immediately pulls audiences out of the serene seaside walk. Sir Walter Elliot, as played by Richard E. Grant, is perfectly self-absorbed. The music is spare and melancholy. Henry Golding is just superbly seductive on screen as Mr. Elliot. Lady Russell admits her past mistakes and hints at some fun tours she takes (good for her).
The ire for this adaptation makes me sad because it overshadows the fact that we should be celebrating the diverse casting of this film. I will never get tired of seeing BIPOC folks on-screen in period drama, especially after so long being excluded from those spaces while very much existing. Persuasion has a diverse case but chooses not to engage with discussions of race or racism. I personally don’t have an issue with that, having seen many diverse stage adaptations, but I do wonder what a Persuasion that engages with race and racism would look like. And perhaps the loss of the Joel Fry/Sarah Snook adaptation will be our personal lost love, the adaptation we almost got and never will now.
Indeed, I think Austen audiences are eager for an adaptation that centers race and racism, even as the Janeite community continues to struggle with decentering colonialism in how people are “allowed” to interpret and interact with her works. There are already many harmful remarks about the Musgrove sisters being Black in this Netflix adaptation. Before it was canceled, there was a firestorm of people insisting Wentworth could never be Black in the Joel Fry adaptation, using flimsy “historical accuracy” arguments that had less basis in reality and more basis in the whitewashing of history. We desperately need to continue to push adaptations to not only represent the world we live in, but the one Austen herself inhabited, one with a diverse population.
Which brings me to my final thoughts, though I could go on forever about so many details in this movie (the bunny! the “playlist”! the nod to stalking your exes feed!). I don’t hate this adaptation, and I firmly believe some of the anger at it is inflated. It’s fine. It had ample chances to do something unique and never-before-seen, and failed to. It chose to be safe despite trying to be different.
What is successful here is how the film portrays a complex relationship that begins in the characters’ early 20s and resumes on different terms eight years later, when they’ve had time to think about the long-term ramifications of their choices and have experienced a lot more of the world. There’s palpable anxiety and awkwardness, sometimes Anne’s outbursts of comments go a little too awkward (I could bear to watch this without the Uppercross dinner or tea with the Dalrymples), but I there was a wonderful attempt to bring to the screen a very layered relationship.
While this is still not the Persuasion I feel in my heart when I read the book, I think a valiant effort was made to portray parts of the book that get rushed in other on-screen adaptations that are more concerned with checking off points on a “book accuracy” checklist than with an original vision. Cosmo Jarvis is the first Wentworth I’m really sold on, vacillating between cutting words to Anne or Mr. Elliot when necessary to reflections about his time at sea or longing to be settled (a Wentworth who isn’t fully in love with naval life? Who seems a little jaded by how the government treats him and his crew? I want more.).
It’s been wild seeing some folks act like Netflix came into their homes and burned all their copies of Persuasion. No one is taking away your Ciarán Hinds honey. He’s always gonna be there, much like your go-to meal at your favorite restaurant.
But if you’re in a mood for something different, something that might even surprise you in a good way, give this a try when it drops July 15 on Netflix.
Author Biography
Social media mage by day, and nerd of many fandoms by night, Bianca Hernandez-Knight is a lady of many interests. From fighting for a more inclusive Jane Austen community, to ignoring her TBR pile, she is always ready for her next nerdy project. She works professionally in social media, mostly in brand marketing and around audience engagement. You probably saw her iconic memes on Drunk Austen (RIP), but can now enjoy them on Bookhoarding, which can be found on most social media platforms. You can read her article “Race and Racism in Austen Spaces” published in the academic Journal ABO here.
