Persuasion (1995 Film)

Persuasion (1995 Film)

Persuasion is a 1995 BBC TV-film adaptation of Jane Austen's novel of the same name. It was directed by British theater director Roger Michell, and its screenwriter was Nick Dear. Amanda Root starred as protagonist Anne Elliot and Ciarán Hinds played Captain Frederick Wentworth. Nine years previous to the film's beginning their characters were in love, until Anne was persuaded to reject his proposal of marriage; the film's storyline follows the two becoming reacquainted with each other, as supporting characters and events threaten to interfere.

Persuasion was the product of an upswing in popularity for the works of Jane Austen, and was one of four Austen novels produced that year. It was shot on location at various English locales featured in the novel, including Lyme Regis and Bath. The film was co-produced by BBC Two, American studio WGBH-TV, and French company Millesime.

The film premiered on 16 April 1995 on television in Britain, but was released theatrically in the United States and other countries later that year and into the following one. The film received generally positive reviews, with many praising Root's performance and the film's "realistic" attention to the time period.