Vacation Bachelorhood

Angela and David went to visit Michelle & family in Bellingham over the weekend. Her parents and brother also made the trip, but as we are in the middle of our fall busy season, I was unable to go along. I've been home alone since Thursday night (well, I have gone out and I did work on Friday and part of Saturday). I've spent my spare time watching movies. On Thursday night I watched the 2007 version of Jane Austen's Persuasion. I had previously seen the one filmed in 1995, and in fact watched the 1995 version on YouTube after seeing the newer one.

I must say that many reviews I read favored the 1995 edition as the better of the two, but I'm not so sure. I enjoyed both, and would perhaps give a slight nudge to the 95 version, but I couldn't really say quite why. I most material respects the films were very similar, though for whatever reason the actors in the older film look a bit more like they were pulled out of the nineteenth century, rather than modern pretty people in old-fashioned clothing.

The story focuses on Anne Elliot, the middle daughter of an English nobleman (a baronet - between a knight and a baron). At age nineteen she was falling in love with a young sailor nmed Wentworth (I forget his first), but was encouraged to break off the relationship becasue he had no money or family connections. He goes on to serve in the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars and earns a considerable fortune capturing enemy vessels.

In the meantime, Anne's father and older sister have insisted on a lavish lifestyle that has caused them to go deeply in debt. They must rent out their large estate and move to Bath, where they can live a fashionable life with less money. The tenant of the estate is to be an Admiral Croft, whose wife is Wentworth's sister. Wentworth himself returns home a captain, and finds himself thrown in the path of Anne again.

The story is as good as any of Austen's other work, but the plot is a bit simpler. There are the usual minor twists, including at least one major scandal. The story is not as comedic as that of Pride and Prejudice, but it does have some funny characters and some funny moments. Still, both film adaptations seemed well done to me and I would recommend either of them to fans of period drama or romantic comedy.