''Persuasion'' is a 2022 American

romantic drama Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

film directed by

Carrie Cracknell Carrie Cracknell (born 1980) is a British theatre director. She was Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre, London from 2007–2012. She was Associate Director at both the Young Vic (2012–2013) and the Royal Court (2013–2014). Background ...

from a screenplay by Ron Bass and Alice Victoria Winslow, based on the novel of the same name by

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

. The film stars

Dakota Johnson Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989) is an American actress. The daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, she made her film debut at age ten with a minor role in the dark comedy film ''Crazy in Alabama'' (1999) with her mothe ...

Cosmo Jarvis Harrison Cosmo Krikoryan Jarvis (born 1 September 1989) is a British actor, musician, and filmmaker. In 2015, he auditioned and was cast to portray the character of Sebastian in William Oldroyd's debut feature film ''Lady Macbeth'' (2016). Ea ...

Nikki Amuka-Bird Nikki Amuka-Bird (born 27 February 1976) is a Nigerian-born British actress of the stage, television, and film. Early life Amuka-Bird was born in Delta State, Nigeria, where her father still lives. She left there as a young child with her mo ...

Mia McKenna-Bruce Mia Sasha McKenna-Bruce (born 3 July 1997) is an English actress. She gained prominence through her role as Tee Taylor in ''Tracy Beaker Returns'' (2010–2012) and ''The Dumping Ground'' (2013–2018). She has since appeared in the iPlayer s ...

, Richard E. Grant, and

Henry Golding Henry Ewan Golding (born 5 February 1987) is a Malaysian-British actor and television host. Golding has been a presenter on BBC's ''The Travel Show'' since 2014. He is known for his film work, playing the role of Nick Young in ''Crazy Rich Asia ...

. ''Persuasion'' was released in the United States on July 8, 2022, before its streaming release on July 15, 2022, by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. The film received generally negative reviews criticizing the film's modernization of the source material and the main protagonist Anne Elliott

breaking the fourth wall Breaking or breakin' may refer to: Arts * Breakdancing (also breaking), an athletic style of street dance * ''Breakin, a 1984 American breakdancing-themed musical film * "Breakin, a twelfth-season episode of the American animated television se ...

by interacting with the audience.

Cast

Production

In April 2021, it was announced

had joined the cast of the film, with

directing from a screenplay by Ron Bass and Alice Victoria Winslow, based on the novel of the same name by

, with

set to distribute. In May 2021,

Suki Waterhouse Alice Suki Waterhouse (born 5 January 1992) is an English model, actress and singer. She began a career in modelling at the age of 16, and she would go on to model for several major fashion labels. Her first feature film as an actress was a min ...

, Richard E. Grant,

, Ben Bailey Smith,

Izuka Hoyle Chantelle Izuka Hoyle (born 18 January 1996) is a Scottish actress. She began her career in theatre. She won a Scottish BAFTA for her performance in the film ''Boiling Point (2021 film), Boiling Point'' (2021). On television, she is known for her ...

and Nia Towle joined the cast of the film. In June 2021, Edward Bluemel,

Lydia Rose Bewley Lydia Rose Bewley (born 9 October 1985) is an English actress known for her roles as Jane in ''The Inbetweeners Movie'' and ''The Inbetweeners 2'', Metella in '' Plebs'' and Bunny in '' Drifters''. She trained at Oxford School of Drama before wo ...

, and

Yolanda Kettle Yolanda Kettle (born 1988) is an English actress known for playing Camilla Fry in ''The Crown ''(2017), Dolly Wilcox in ''Howards End '' (2017), and Joy Pelling in the BBC political drama ''Roadkill'' (2020). Early life Yolanda Kettle was born ...

joined the cast of the film.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began in May 2021.

Reception

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 42 out of 100 based on 37 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' 's Peter Debruge found Carrie Cracknell to have "gone and done a strange thing with the book", by trying to "modernize it, borrowing heavily from ''

Fleabag ''Fleabag'' is a British comedy-drama television series created and written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, based on her one-woman show first performed in 2013 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It was originally produced by Two Brothers Pictures for d ...

'' with its fourth-wall-breaking gimmicks", while "casting a free-spirited, fully liberated American star, Dakota Johnson, as Anne — all of which strips the novel of its core tension." Christy Lemire from the Roger Ebert website found Dakota Johnson offering in the film "a taste of her under-appreciated comic timing", though she claims "it's impossible to care about whether Anne ends up with Frederick Wentworth because, as played by Cosmo Jarvis, he is so stiff and uncharismatic." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

s Stuart Heritage wrote that the "attempt to modernize the classic novel has led to a disaster of anachronistic dialogue and annoyingly wry glances at the camera," while '' Vox'' critic Constance Grady found the film an "absolute disaster." ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' went so far as to proclaim in its review that "everyone involved should be in prison."

References

External links

* * {{Persuasion 2022 films 2022 directorial debut films 2022 romantic drama films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films American romantic drama films English-language Netflix original films Films based on Persuasion (novel) Media Rights Capital films