Persuasion [Blu-ray] [Region Free]

I agree with other reviewers on this version; it's not as faithful to the book (and therefore as 'good') as the Ciaran Hinds/Amanda Root version that was out a couple of years ago.
My gripes are:
1. The conversation Anne has with Captain Harville at the end of the book is the moment at which Captain Wentworth realises there is still hope. To have put that earlier in the play, addressed to Captain Benwick AND with no chance of Captain Wentworth overhearing was a pointless bit of interference with the storyline on the part of the writers and one that made no sense and made it harder for the characters to be reconciled at the end.
2. Some of the minor characters were, frankly, terrible. Mary was one of the worst - watch the Ciaran Hinds/Amanda Root version for the best way to play Mary. The actress in that was superb; this actress was very odd. Mr Elliot was wooden and that's about the best I can say for that actor - really terrible. He said his lines as though he had learned them by rote and had no idea what they meant.
3. What on earth did the script writers think they were doing having Anne rushing around Bath in pursuit of Captain Wentworth at the end and then brazenly telling him she accepted his proposal?!? Wrong, all wrong from the point of view of the storyline, characters and period of time the novel was set. No wonder he took so long to kiss her - he was probably repenting his decision to marry such a shameless hussy!
4. Then to crown it all; CAPTAIN WENTWORTH BOUGHT KELLYNCH HALL AT THE END!!!!!! What fairytale world was the writer living in??? He couldn't have done that as it was destined for the evil Mr Elliot and all tied up with legal entails...
Things that were right;
1. Rupert Penry-Jones. Phwoar!! What a wonderful Captain Wentworth he was ... it's worth watching just for him.
2. Antony Head. What a brilliant Sir Walter he was, although Colin Redgrave was equally excellent in the previous version.
3. The way it was structured did allow for a lot more 'explaining' than often happens; like when Captain Harville talls Captain Wentworth that he has entangled himself with Louisa and what to do to extricate himself. That worked well.
Basically, if you are in love with Rupert Penry-Jones (and who wouldn't be?!) buy this version and watch all the scenes with him in.
If you would rather have a version that is true to the novel, buy the one with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root in.

During the whole of this so-so adaptation, we spent our time saying "Close your mouth!". The drippy heroine goes around with her mouth half-open at all times, except when showing a formidable row of teeth. In fact most of the characters look just like rather uninteresting horses - presumably due to the camera angle.
For a comedy of manners there are far too many close-ups; the whole point of Austen is the interplay between people.
The Amanda Root version was so much better - because Ann put a brave face on things - whereas this Ann looks totaly browbeaten and dreary, with absolutely no backbone. She had caved in to family pressure when young, but that does not mean she was completely amorphous.
The ancillary characters were only sketched very roughly - also all the women looked very similar, so hard to follow the plot if you didn't know the story.
Curiously enough, it is only a few minutes shorter than the Root version, but much less detail is given about the events - probably because so much time is wasted on having Ann write in her diary, read the entries out loud and then look morose!

Firstly let me say that it has just occurred to me to wonder whether I'm biased against this version of Persuasion in favour of the 1995 Amanda Root/Ciaran Hinds version simply because I saw that one first and have loved it ever since; similarly I much prefer the BBC's version of Pride and Prejudice to the more recent film, so maybe that which we see first, we love best? That aside, I tried to watch this production of Persuasion with an open mind, particularly looking forward to Rupert Penry-Jones' portrayal of the very attractive Captain Wentworth.

In that respect, I was not disappointed; you could not hope for a more handsome leading man; what a beauty. I could even forgive Anne Elliot's uncharacteristic chase scene as she ran full pelt around Bath looking for Captain Wentworth; if my lost love looked like Rupert Penry-Jones I think I'd be persuaded to leg it around Bath in hot pursuit. But even so, it is uncharacteristic of Anne's restrained and resigned character which was portrayed so much more accurately by Amanda Root in the 1995 BBC version. A previous reviewer said that they felt Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds too old but let's not forget that in Jane Austen's time 27 was almost heading towards middle age, and Anne would have been considered very much "on the shelf" by that age.

I thought that the casting of Sally Hawkins was very good but in a way there was not enough contrast between the pale, plain Anne at the beginning of the book and the radiant blooming Anne at the end; she was just reasonably pretty throughout.

The ITV have also fallen for the old chestnut of dumbing down the script when there is really no need and from that perspective the BBC have always been streets ahead in their scriptwriting skills. The end result is that this version of Persuasion is just not quite faithful enough to the spirit of the book and has just too many deviations and liberties for my liking.

All in all, a very ornamental version but the BBC 1995 version is far superior in the writing, casting - especially of the peripheral characters, and sticks much more faithfully to the book, so if you only buy one version, buy the BBC version - but if you are happy with the shortcomings of this production and would like to see Rupert Penry-Jones looking gorgeous (and who wouldn't?), then this story of love lost and found with suitably Austen-esque misunderstandings along the way will appeal.