David Peters

I am a huge Jane Austen fan and after the savage reviews of this film was resolved not to watch it. But I am so glad I did. Yes, her perfect prose has been mangled a bit but the spirit and the power of the story are faithfully depicted. Dakota Johnson was hauntingly engaging as Anne, and the casting of the other characters was excellent, especially Richard E Grant as the trivially loathsome Sir Walter Elliot. Anyone who, like me, was put off by purist Austen reviewers, should watch it and judge for themselves.