Jane Austen’s ‘Persuasion’ Is Revived Once More in Netflix’s New Movie
Who doesn’t love a good nineteenth-century romance? The perfect story to satisfy all romantic needs is Jane Austen’s Persuasion, her last novel to be published right after her passing. Fans of Austen and her work can enjoy watching this story come to life now that Netflix has revealed its production of the tale.
Persuasion delves into the lives of Anne Elliot, one of Austen’s mature heroines, and Captain Wentworth, who begins as an unknown and rugged naval officer. The two quickly become enamored with one another but are split apart shortly after. Elliot is told by a close relative to cut him off [Wentworth] after being swayed to believe the engagement was a poor choice.
Through a series of events, the couple encounters each other once more, now having matured but still dwelling on their love from the past. What stands in the way of their rekindling is the cold and calculating Mr. Elliot—a distant relative to Anne ,who she discovers wants to take over as heir to Kellynch Hall. While the focus on Austen’s novel gravitates towards Wentworth and Anne Elliot’s relationship, Mr. Elliot becomes a challenge to expel. These many ups and downs are to be rediscovered in the soon-to-be adaptation of the classic with actors Henry Golding and Dakota Johnson.
Johnson is famously known for her role of Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades series, while Golding is known from the box-office favorite in 2018, Crazy Rich Asians. Golding rose to the spotlight after the creation of this rom-com gem, popularized for its complete Asian cast. Since then, the Malaysian-British actor has starred in A Simple Favor and will appear in the G.I. Joe spinoff, Snake Eyes. Since Golding’s humble beginnings, he developed a large range of character profiles from charismatic love interest to a serious adventurer in an instant.
Can’t believe Henry Golding is cast in a modern-day retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion not as Frederick Wentworth but Mr. Elliot. He wanted to play against type. Yay for him, boo for me. https://t.co/CDyzME65ui
— Nancy Wang Yuen 王嵐芝 (@nancywyuen) May 5, 2021
This time, Golding gravitated towards Mr. Elliot’s role, having found an interest in playing a character against Austen’s protagonist archetype. Netflix is yet to release the actor playing Wentworth’s part in the film.
On the other hand, Dakota Johnson was revealed to be playing Anne Elliot in the series that is expected to begin filming at the end of this month. MRC Film, the studio behind Persuasion, is also known for its movies Knives Out and The Lovebirds. Persuasion‘s producers will be Andrew Lazar and Christina Weiss Lurie, and directed by Carrie Cracknell. She led both Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge to their Tony Award nominations in 2019 for Sea Wall / A Life on Broadway. This will be Cracknell’s directorial debut in the realm of filmmaking.
The public awaits the release of any more information on Persuasion, but sneak peeks will not air until much later in the filming process. For now, we must all sit patiently and wait for Anne Elliot’s love story to begin.
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