The story follows a relatively “mature” protagonist in the form of Anne Elliot, who is (gasp!) 27 years old when the book starts, seemingly doomed forever to be an unmarried spinster after rebuffing her one great love (Captain Frederick Wentworth) years earlier after being persuaded by her family and friends that he wasn’t good enough (read: rich enough) for her. While the broad shapes of the story are familiar enough to Austen lovers - a headstrong heroine tries to make her way in life and love against the backdrop of Regency era manners - “Persuasion” offers some compelling twists on the formula.

(For now, however, an exclusive clip of the film, available below, might assist in smoothing any ruffled feathers.) When the film’s first trailer was released earlier this month, Austen acolytes took to social media to rage about it (and a wide range of publications, everything from Harper’s Bazaar and Cosmo to ScreenRant and The Daily Mail, packaged up a variety of those reactions as quick-hit stories), ranting about the entirety of the film after seeing just two minutes and 35 seconds of glossy promotional material meant to make it appeal to a wide range of potential viewers.Īt issue: that this lightly modernized version of the story was simply too modern, thanks to fourth wall-breaking chatter from star Dakota Johnson as Anne to the use of non-Regency era slang like “exes.” Cracknell gets it. “I think people have a really deep feeling of ownership over Austen and, rightly, have a really sort of strong connection to the book,” the director said.īut the trailer isn’t the entire film, and the filmmaker encourages her audience to reserve judgement until they’re able to see the full feature on the streamer next month. That also made it a bit “bruising” when fellow Austen fans expressed dismay over an early look at the film. Her favorite Austen? “ Persuasion,” the final novel the author completed before her death in 1817 (it was published, alongside her earlier “Northanger Abbey,” six months after she passed away), which was why Cracknell opted to helm a fresh adaptation of the novel for her feature directorial debut.

Where to Watch This Week’s New Movies, from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.

Persuasion ciaran hinds