Torn from her beloved home due to her father's spendthrift practices, and long neglected by her self-centered sisters, Anne could be read as a perennially pathetic and downtrodden figure in the hands of less capable actresses, but both Root's and Hawkins' performances get to the truth of her character. As an unmarried woman in her late 20s, she is entirely dependent on her family for economic survival and is alternately treated as nurse, confidante, and servant. At the beginning of both films, Anne is largely silent and ignored. Indeed, the most successful film adaptations of the novel - from Roger Mitchell's lavish 1995 rendition, starring Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds, to Adrian Shergold's poetic 2007 version, led by Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones - have been anchored by their strong, and faithful, interpretations of Anne Elliot's character. RELATED: An Ode to the Cinematic Jane Austen Fathers
The narrative closeness to Anne's thoughts and feelings permits a psychological intimacy that, though challenging to replicate onscreen, is critical to the story's success. When Wentworth returns to England newly rich and in search of a wife, both characters are forced to come to terms with the past: Anne regrets her youthful indecisiveness and vulnerability to the opinions of others Wentworth struggles to overcome his lasting anger about their breakup.
It's the tale of 27-year-old Anne Elliot, persuaded to break off her engagement to penniless sailor Frederick Wentworth eight years before the novel begins. Persuasion, published in 1817, is arguably Austen's most sophisticated and emotionally resonant story, hence its enduring hold on the literary and film imagination. With fanciful shows like Bridgertonreviving public interest in Regency-era England, it's no wonder that Jane Austen's novels continue to be a source of inspiration for film directors.
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