- Hi, guys!
So in today's video,
we're going to be comparing 1995 "Persuasion"
versus the 2007 version of "Persuasion."
Yeah.
So these are both film versions, so they're not mini series.
Though I do think "Persuasion" needs its own mini series.
Needs more time on screen just because it's awesome.
So my name is Ellie Dashwood and this is my channel
where we talk about history and literature.
If you like either of those things, please subscribe
and also let me know in the comments down below,
what is your favorite version of "Persuasion"?
Also just a disclaimer,
I'm going to be probably doing spoilers of "Persuasion"
both the movies and the books throughout this whole thing.
So if you don't want "Persuasion" spoiled
for you, probably don't watch this video.
I'm sorry.
It's been brought to my attention
sometimes I assume everybody knows
how Jane Austen's books end.
I feel like they're so famous,
the people know, but alas, not everybody knows, I guess.
That's "Persuasion" spoilers.
Today we're going to be talking about the overall film,
also the storytelling and different changes they made
in these adaptations and all of that.
So first up, let's just talk about the films
in general with their overall aesthetic and appeal.
So I feel like the 1995 version is very 1995
has the same exact look
as 1995, "Pride and Prejudice" as the 90s,
"Sense and Sensibility" as the 90s "Emma"
I feel like everything
that came out in the 90s just looked kind of the same.
And there we have "Persuasion" 1995.
I have to say the 2007 version
is just very specifically aesthetic to something.
I don't know what.
It has a high grain ISO
so everything's very grainy, a lot of stuff is very dark.
Everything is like super color graded
to give it this very specific look.
Not only that,
but they were doing a handheld shaky camera thing throughout
the entire film that I'm like,
"Somebody just get these people a tripod!"
And also super zoomed in.
I feel like half the shots are like this zoomed
in and then they're also shaky.
I don't know who thought that was a good idea, but alas,
I do think that it might have something
to do with their interpretation
and the way they're portraying "Persuasion".
But I'm gonna talk about that in a little bit.
So overall, I don't think either film is actually winning it
when it comes to like overall, I don't know,
prettiness level.
Neither of them are the prettiest film I've ever seen made.
When it comes to the casting
of the films, I feel like neither of them are cast
in a way that was of course,
as seen in my head because of what film is.
But I have to say that I'm not a super
big fan of either of their casting.
I think the Wentworth of 2007 is more believable
than the Wentworth of 1995.
I know so many of you guys out there love 1995's Wentworth,
but this is I think the biggest issue I had
with the guy they cast in 1995.
Which is he, looks old enough
to be Henrietta and Louise's father.
And I'm just like, "this is so awkward", when you have
these really young teenage girls running after
this guy who looks old enough to be their dad.
This isn't super believable.
Well, what's causing this?
Are they that man starved out there
in the country that they're like,
"yeah, it's time to hit on this guy who could be my dad!"
Anyway, so I mean, there's
that problem in the 1995 "Persuasion".
Meanwhile, I feel like the Wentworth
in 2007, is much more believable
for these teenage girls to be going after.
As for an Anne Elliot,
I feel like both actresses did a good job.
I don't think either of them are the Anne of my imagination.
Though I'd have to say
in 2007, what is going on with her hair?
Like it's the weirdest bangs ever.
They don't look good on her and they could have went
with a Regency styles and they didn't, and I'm like,
"were they trying to make her look bad?"
I do know that there's this underlying theme
of Anne Elliot's appearance changing throughout the book.
Where she sort of wilted in the beginning of the book.
And then she comes back
into her beauty by the end of the book.
However I don't think that any of that
had to do with her bangs
and her bangs don't get better throughout the whole show.
So I felt like they could have done something else
with her hair that could have either added
to this beauty transformation storyline
or could have just looked better or different.
Because of when reviewing a film,
you definitely need to review Anne Elliot's bangs.
Now I'm going to talk about the different ways they approach
telling the story of "Persuasion".
And I have to say it's super interesting
because I think there,
we see this huge divergence in where they're coming from.
I think 1995 does a really good job of sticking
to the book up to the point where they go to Bath.
After that, it seems to go rogue.
What's really interesting about '95 as they try to
keep a lot of the original dialogue as it is in the book.
While that's obviously a great attempt
in honor of Jane Austin, "Persuasion" the story
is not told a lot through its dialogue.
It's told a lot through Anne's feelings
and thoughts that we get from the narrator.
And so I think trying to tell the story visually and
through dialogue leaves so much of "Persuasion" out.
And that the dialogue by itself unsupported
by Anne Elliot's inner world is very hard to follow.
Which made the 1995 version a hard-to-follow film
if you had never read the book before.
Meanwhile, if we look at 2007,
they changed a lot of the dialogue.
They simplified a lot of stuff and more importantly,
they took basic story plot lines and they put it
in the dialogue in a very simplified way.
They would always be like,
"Here's currently what's happening."
"Here's what happened."
"Here's what's going to happen next."
Very explicitly in the dialogue,
but they made it seem like it's flowing naturally.
And I feel like that ultimately did a
better job of telling the actual story.
I feel like if I had watched the
2007 version of "Persuasion"
and had never read the book,
I would understand what was going
on just because they did a good job
of storytelling and letting the film stand on its own.
Meanwhile, of course the 2007 version
often moves dialogue around like
very famous quotes are being put
into different characters mouths in a different scene.
Which all of this comes down to something very important
that I think 2007, did which 1995 didn't.
Which I think 2007 did an amazing job of capturing the
spirit and the essence of "Persuasion" the book
versus perhaps sticking to the dialogue line-by-line.
Now here is why,
I feel like 1995 version is as if we were somebody
in the room or we were an acquaintance
of Anne Elliot watching Anne Elliot from the outside.
We could catch a very subtle hints of her inner emotion.
We could see the events that go down
in front of everybody just sort of watch Anne.
While I feel like in 2007,
because we have Anne writing in her journal,
we have a lot of voiceovers of what she is thinking.
We see her physical tears is more like being Anne Elliot.
We understand her inner world, we're let
in on the deeper side of her existence
and her part of the story that's going down.
I did completely reread "Persuasion"
before making this review,
which is, I feel like that's what we see in the book.
We see Anne Elliot's inner world explored
throughout the book.
And to try to make a film that completely leaves out
that inner world is leaving out one
of the hugest aspects of "Persuasion".
So basically we get Anne's inner world
in 2007 and I feel like that explains some
of the stylistic choices like these shaky
camera work and the very cropped in visuals.
Because I think they were trying
to create sort of this unsteady super, almost overwhelming,
sometimes a sense that might have been how Anne Elliot felt
while going through these situations.
Both stories also sort of follow the book mostly,
until they get to Bath.
And then like once you're in Bath in "Persuasion",
you can do whatever you want if you're a movie maker.
You can be like,
"I am just changing the whole plot line now."
And here's a few examples of that.
How Mr. Elliot is approached is different in both films.
I think in 1995 where they say, Mr Elliot is actually poor,
when that is the opposite
of the problem in the book, is very misleading.
I think it undercuts the whole plot line of Mr. Elliot.
Mr. Elliot in the book is rich.
He just totally has a black heart and is scheming.
And I think that is cast aside in order for this much more
simple and easy to understand plot line of,
"oh, he lost all his money."
Meanwhile, in 2007, they completely simplify
Mrs. Smith's whole situation.
We see her literally running after Anne,
which she's supposed to not be able to walk.
But they also completely cut out
her entire backstory with Mr. Elliot.
But at least Mr. Elliot's main motivations remain the same.
Something super interesting
about both the versions is the fact
that they include the alternate ending to "Persuasion".
So if you're watching "Persuasion", there's the scene where,
Anne ends up talking to Wentworth and Wentworth is like,
"My brother-in-law and sister are willing
"to give up Kellynch if you and Mr. Elliot,
"after you're married wanna live there."
And she's like,
"Who told you that? We're not engaged."
And Captain Wentworth's like, "Oh, she's not engaged."
Maybe I have a chance, anyway,
that scene in both films is not
in the final version of "Persuasion".
It's actually the alternate ending to "Persuasion".
So the very first ending Jane Austin wrote
to the book was the scene
where Anne ends up having this conversation with Wentworth.
Yeah, like, if her and Mr Elliot are gonna
move to Kellynch after they're married.
And she's like, "We're not getting married."
And he's like, "Really?"
And she's like, "Yeah."
And he's like, "Great, you want to marry me?"
And she's like, "Okay."
End the book.
And so that's the original ending to "Persuasion",
but apparently Jane Austin was unhappy with this ending.
And so she scrapped it and she wrote the current ending we
have where he writes that dramatic letter and all of the
great romance at the end of "Persuasion" happens.
Anyway, I think it's interesting
that both film versions tried
to incorporate that alternate ending into them.
But I do feel like it doesn't really work because it was
originally an end, it completely, it brings down any,
I don't know, what is the word for this?
Anne and Wentworth both have all of these
feelings and emotions of like, "Do they like me?"
"Is she really engaged to that guy?"
"What's happening?"
And then they have this conversation, and at that point,
they both understand that they're neither engaged
to anybody else and that they like each other,
the end should just naturally follow,
all of that emotional tension should be gone.
And yet they try to keep it going after that scene.
And so I do feel like I'm sorry,
but if you include the ending that kills the emotional
tension, you can't have two endings.
And yet I feel like it does, but this is just me rambling.
Yeah.
Now lets actually talking about the endings of "Persuasion".
Both of these have been criticized for valid reasons.
Okay, so let's start with 2007,
which we just see Anne Elliot running through the streets
of Bath with no bonnet on, she's just going for it.
Which you know, how much decorum there is
in this is questionable, I do feel like, again,
they're trying to go with that angle of this is
Anne Elliot's inner world, this is how she feels
while she's trying to find Wentworth.
She's just running around out
of breath in her own heart and head.
And they're just visualizing
that to us through having her actually do it.
And other thing about this ending is
then when she eventually does find Wentworth,
they kiss, eventually,
it is the most dramatic, almost kissing moment.
I think I've ever seen.
Like literally it lasts forever.
Okay, so here's the thing.
I used to be a wedding photographer, which is super random.
I know, actually in wedding photography,
one of the most romantic poses you can do
is not the kissing pose.
It's the almost kissing pose because it does create this
emotional tension of where,
when you see two people almost kissing, you're like,
"Are they going to kiss?"
"Are they really going to kiss?"
"Do you think they're going to kiss?"
And that is one of the reasons the almost kissing pose
in wedding photography is quite popular,
because it's a image that's both romantic
and it does carry this romantic tension within it.
But there's a limit to it right?
In the film, it's like,
"Okay, a little bit almost kissing is all right."
"But how long can you almost kiss!?"
They took a good thing and they just took it way too far.
Meanwhile, let's talk about the ending of the 1995 version.
This one always has me so confused
because out of nowhere, there is a street circus.
The street circus is not in the book.
I specifically looked for a street circus in the book.
It's not there, but for some reason,
when finally Anne Elliot
and Captain Wentworth are going to get together,
they're going to kiss in an appropriate amount of time.
There was no extended, almost kissing
in this version at least.
But there's just a random circus
that everybody's standing there staring at.
So if I was Literary Analysis Ellie right now,
I would say that
"The circus was a physical representation
of their exuberant love
for each other upon their reunification.
Really the filmmaker was trying to portray their inner sense
and emotions by having this happy
and joyous circus, go down the street around them."
I do have to say this though,
if ever in Anne Elliot's position
and I'm reuniting with my long lost true love,
and we're about to kiss.
I genuinely hope, whatever I'm feeling inside has nothing
to do with random circus performers.
I like the circus as much as anybody else, however,
I find absolutely nothing romantic about it.
Why is that the representation
of their true love being reunited?
I don't know, It's not romantic, I understand now
why usually people are like
"(sighs) Us kissing was like fireworks going off."
That's such a more romantic visual
than random circus people going down the street.
That's the only possible explanation I can come up with for
why there's a circus, the end of "Persuasion", 1995 version.
But of course we know that the true end to 1995 "Persuasion"
is Anne Elliot sailing off with Captain Wentworth.
When of course he has to go back to war because
Napoleon escapes, Napoleon just ruins everybody's life
back in the day, he ruins Anne Elliot's honeymoon.
He ruins, I don't know what else he ruins.
He ruins the French countryside with random dead soldiers.
So obviously that ending is not in the book,
but I do feel like there's a lot of foreshadowment
that gave them artistic license to go there.
I think with her earlier conversation
with Mrs Croft about her being on the ship,
however, it's not in the book.
My personal opinion is I would love my husband back then,
but I would not love him enough to live
on one of those ships back in the day, I'm sorry, but no,
it's just not going to happen.
This is why I ended up married
to Mr. Darcy and not Captain Wentworth because guys,
life on Navy ships at the time was incredibly hard.
It was incredibly brutal.
I would not want to be stuck on a ship of very ill soldiers
where one of them is being flogged to death, right?
I mean, that is not a fun experience.
I'm just throwing that out there.
Meanwhile, the end to 2007 "Persuasion" also goes rogue has
Captain Wentworth buying Kellynch for his wife as a wedding
present, which I've already gone into in a separate video.
Is that even legally possible, which at the time it wasn't,
but yeah, again, so that didn't happen,
but I think it was sweet and romantic ending
to the movie if completely not possible.
And preferable to being on a ship of disease and flogging.
So basically just to sum all of this up,
I don't think either "Persuasion" fully captures
the greatness of the book,
but they both have their own strengths and weaknesses.
For example I think 1995
does a great job of capturing "Persuasion".
If you want to watch Anne from the outside
and see only subtle hints of her inner emotions,
until a circus breaks out.
And that's the ultimate imagery of love right there.
Meanwhile, 2007, I think does a great job of capturing
that inner world of Anne Elliot that we have access
to throughout the entire book.
And if you think that the ultimate romantic look
is almost kissing forever. 2007 has got you covered.
Anyway let me know in the comments below, what is
your favorite version of "Persuasion" and are you looking
forward to the new adaptations I've heard are coming out?
I really hope they come out.
Every once in a while,
I'll hear of an adaptation coming out
and I'll be all excited and then it never comes out.
So we will see if these really come out.
Anyway, thanks so much for watching and keep being awesome.
'Cause you're awesome.
Bye!
(gentle music)