Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Persuasion - Jane Austen

I read the book first and then watched the movie. It was a bit difficult to get into and figure out who was who, but after that I was hooked. I felt so bad for Anne. She was constantly getting stomped on. I could just feel her frustration of being so close to Wentworth and not knowing if he still loved her or not. I LOVED his quick desperate letter to her near the end. I have to quote it again here b/c it's just so good. Page 223 in the Barnes and Noble Classics version, "You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own, than when you almost broke it eight years and a half ago. ...I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone I think and plan." You know she was reading that letter super fast. So excited to get to the end and see what the heck he was trying to say, but at the same time trying to savor each word. Good stuff.

Okay now the movie. Really good representation of the book as a whole. I liked all the actors. The annoying girls were perfect! I just wanted to slap them the whole time (which was the idea I think). The main girl had some issues with her eyes. She was like wide-eyed the whole time. She had one expression the entire movie. I mean she was supposed to be acting like that, but it got really annoying. She was awesome except for the eye thing. Otherwise the movie was great.

1 comment:

Angel said...

You took the words right out of my head, HD! This is my most favorite of Jane Austen's works! Great second-chance-at-love story. I love it all! The passage you quoted from the book is the best. It's actually kind of sexy, too. I love Wentworth's desperation, and Ciaran Hinds does a perfect voice over in the movie when Anne (big eyes) is reading the letter. So good! I think the movie is one of the best Jane Austen translations to film.

I, too, had a problem with her eyes, but I do think she is supposed to be that way as well. All the characters were perfectly cast.