The Netflix adaption of the Jane Austen novel Persuasion was released on Friday 15 July, placing itself in the Top 10 films on Netflix. Austen fans have waited a while for the 2022 adaptation to be released, with high hopes of Dakota Johnson doing Anne Elliott justice. However, after watching the film, not everyone was pleased with Netflix’s modern take on the classic novel.
Some Appreciated Netflix’s Interpretation
This tweeter seems to be both a fan of the book and the new adaptation. It looks like Netflix has pleased at least some of the Austen lovers out there!
If we sit back and judge it on what it is – a Netflix film for a popular audience – then it’s actually good! If more people can access Austen’s work through the power of film then this can’t be a bad thing, right?
An adaptation is an adaptation for a reason. If every one of them recited Austen word for word there would be no differentiation. Netflix’s version is a modern and refreshing take according to this tweeter!
It certainly wasn’t a heavy and hard-hitting love story but had comical elements that spoke to the modern day viewers.
Whether you thought it like the novel or not, there is not denying that the film followed the same romantic plot as Austen’s. The love story between Anne and Captain Wentworth was truly beautiful to follow.
The film really did encapsulate a beauty of the time and transported us to a place far away from the hustle and bustle of the modern world. If you love history then you will certainly appreciate the cinematography.
Some Fans Thought The Film Did Jane Austen an Injustice
Austen’s message and efforts sometimes got lost in the flaws of the script. This tweeter clearly didn’t appreciate the inclusion of the language of the modern day, seeing it as an injustice to Austen.
If viewers wanted Fleabag then they’d watch Fleabag. Anne Elliot certainly wasn’t meant to be the comical character that Netflix portrayed her as being.
Emma and Anne’s personalities are extremely different meaning that what worked for Emma should not be applied to Persuasion in the same way. We live and we learn, but did the producers ever read the book?
Clueless was never set in the same time period as Emma and wasn’t meant to be an exact copy of the novel’s plot; Persuasion, however, was clearly aiming to be similar to the novel with a sprinkle of modern relevance that made for a questionable combination.
Movie-makers are not historians and it shows. If nothing else, this just adds to the comical nature of the film.
What was Anne doing with that rabbit? What relevance did the rabbit have to the plot? Where was this rabbit in the novel? SO. MANY. QUESTIONS.