I finally got to watch the new Masterpiece Theatre version of Persuasion Thursday night. I rented the old version with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root from the library so I could watch it first and compare the two. It has been years since I have seen the old version because I didn't like it the first time I saw it. I liked it much better this time. The storyline seems to drag in some places and go by too quickly in others -- if I hadn't read the book, I wouldn't have known who most of the characters were. At first, Ciaran Hinds didn't seem to fit the book's description of a handsome young sailor, but I got used to him and enjoyed his portrayal of Captain Wentworth. Amanda Root as Anne was harder for me to get used to.
When I watched the new version, I saw the good things about the old version a lot better. Amanda Root, though she made it plain that she lived with heartache, was a living character that touched people's lives and sought to make the best of her life. In the new version, Anne (don't know the actress's name) hardly said a word and seemed to live in a daze. All her feelings were shown to us through watching her write in her journal. I did appreciate some scenes that really showed her "anguish of heart", but she had no personality. Most of all, she had the worst hairstyle I've ever seen in a Regency movie. It looked like she'd dunked her head in water and put it up while it was dripping wet, but it never dried through the entire movie. Ugh. Captain Wentworth was okay. I've heard other reviews say he looked too "pretty" to have been at sea for ten years. I did like in this movie that the secondary characters' roles were clearer, her sisters' personalities were more true to the book, and the beginning of the story is explained clearly enough that you aren't left in confusion.
Final verdict: I like both versions. The Ciaran Hinds version is slower and quieter. The newer version is more dramatic with better filming. I'll be watching both again. :)
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