Cat Garcia

Everything about this film screams modernity. Furthermore, it is copying trends other films have started, most notably, the recent adaptation of “Emma.” Yet “Emma” did it much better by not compromising the mood of the novel and the representation of the characters just to appear new. However, the modern take on Anne completely rewrote who she was as a character. In this iteration, Anne became a feisty, pre-alcoholic pixie girl who would seem more at home amongst Millenials and Gen Zers than the time this book was written for. I kept wondering, “How did this girl ever let herself get persuaded out of love? She’s a total badass that is strong and knows what she wants.” And was it just me or did Johnson and the actor playing Wentworth seem to lack any and all chemistry? I have never been anything except “mooning” over any of Austen’s lead ladies and their respective love interests. But this version had me, no lie, actually wanting to see Anne end up with Golding’s Mr. Elliot. Why? Because obviously Elliot is awful, but at least they had better chemistry (and let’s get real, Golding is…well, gold!). I thought, they’ve changed Anne so much, why not just completely change the story and have her “defy” expectations and end up with an equally altered Elliot. But no. It ended on a bland note… All in all, this was by far the worst adaptation of Ms. Austen’s work.