Jane Austen indeed wrote some plucky, sassy protagonists. Anne Elliot was not one of them.
The introductory chapter of Persuasion, Austen's final novel, describes Anne as having the elegance of sweetness of character.
Anne's interest, the dashing Captain Wentworth, later claims there is no one so proper, so capable as Anne.
The Anne illustrated in Austen's novel sounds sophisticated and gracious. The Anne in Netflix's 'Persuasion,' the initial straightforward film adaptation of the book since 2007, is described similarly by her dearest friends.
And perhaps in an attempt to make her relatable in our current resurgence of messy female characters, she conjointly spends much of the film breaking the fourth wall and cracking wise.
The plot of 'Persuasion' hews to the novel. Anne is the middle child in a family of wealthy, vain snobs commanded by her father and older sister, Elizabeth Yolanda Kettle, 'The Crown.'
When Anne visits her selfish younger sister, Mary Mia McKenna-Bruce, 'The Dumping Ground,' she becomes reacquainted with Captain Frederick Wentworth Cosmo Jarvis, 'Lady Macbeth,' her One That Got Away.
Anne is still pining for Wentworth more than eight years later and worries they will never reconcile, especially when Wentworth starts cozying up to her sister-in-law Louisa.
Johnson's Anne is imperfect. She embarrasses herself times and addresses other characters with, at worst, harmless drollery. However, the film goes to different, less sensible lengths to make her #relatable.
Though Anne is good, her character unquestionable, she regularly turns to the audience to wryly narrate or snark about the people around her.
It is a pitch-perfect comedic device in 'Fleabag,' where the protagonist is just as un-self-aware as those around her. Here, it grates.
Second, there are anachronisms scattered throughout the script. Early in the film, Anne mourns Wentworth by weeping in the bathtub and drinking wine straight from the bottle.
She calls this 'thriving,' like a millennial girl on Twitter. She explains a collection of sheet music Wentworth gave her as a 'playlist.'
In any other film, these odd attempts at pandering might be distracting. However, the winsome cast, stunning visuals, and capable direction by Carrie Cracknell make it an overall appealing adaptation.
The absolute star here is Johnson. She balances Anne's dissonant sweetness with aplomb's usual soft-spoken, sarcastic shtick, perfectly suiting the character.
Wentworth and Anne's initial confrontation happens in a field of wildflowers against the backdrop of a soft-focus forest. After a conversation, Anne shrugs off her knit cloak and dives into the ocean fully clothed.
'Persuasion,' the novel, is a message that lends itself to irony. It is an earnest tale of lost and reclaimed, not so much a sweeping comedy romance as a character study.
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