Anne Elliot (played by Dakota Johnson), Austen’s most retiring and internal heroine, spends much of the movie chatting to the camera, even giving sarcastic glances and eye rolls in the middle of the action. But though the film has the same basic plot as Austen’s novel (her last completed book, published in 1817), it’s also filled with self-aware flourishes that have drawn comparison to present-day British comedies like Fleabag. It’s replete with tasteful gowns, dashing military uniforms, and the like. Aesthetically, it’s straightforward enough, a period-appropriate costume drama set in early-19th-century England. These remain, to me, the twin poles of what can be done with Austen’s vivid body of work: a faithful reproduction that draws directly from the author’s clever dialogue and rich characterization, and an arch, modern masterpiece that captures her comedic spirit.Ĭarrie Cracknell’s Persuasion, which debuts today on Netflix, tries to take both approaches at the same time, and the results are downright bizarre. That same year also saw the release of Amy Heckerling’s Clueless, a loose take on Austen’s Emma that transposed its action onto the spoiled teenagers of Beverly Hills. That year, the BBC aired Andrew Davies’s Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, a pitch-perfect, six-episode version of Austen’s novel that remains one of the best miniseries in the broadcaster’s history. The banner year for onscreen Jane Austen adaptations will always be 1995.
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