Persuasion

Persuasion is a 2007 British television film adaptation of Jane Austen's 1817 novel Persuasion. It was directed by Adrian Shergold, and the screenplay was written by Simon Burke. Sally Hawkins stars as the protagonist Anne Elliot, while Rupert Penry-Jones plays Captain Frederick Wentworth. Eight years prior to the film's beginning, Anne was persuaded to reject Wentworth's proposal of marriage. Now 27 and unmarried, Anne re-encounters Wentworth, who has made his fortune in the Napoleonic Wars and is looking for a wife—anyone but Anne, whom he has not forgiven for rejecting him all those years ago. Persuasion was one of three novels adapted in 2007 for ITV's Jane Austen Season. It was the first of the three adaptations to begin development. The drama was co-produced by Clerkenwell Films and American studio WGBH Boston. Persuasion premiered on 1 April 2007 in the United Kingdom and was watched by 5.4 million viewers. Persuasion received positive reviews from television critics. Plot The Elliot family face financial difficulties from the imprudent spending of baronet Sir Walter Elliot and his eldest daughter, Elizabeth. His lawyer proposes that the family estate, Kellynch Hall, be leased to Admiral Croft as a source of income, but middle daughter Anne Elliot is distraught at the prospect of having to abandon her childhood home. The admiral is married to Sophie, sister of Captain Frederick Wentworth, a naval captain to whom Anne was engaged eight years earlier. Wentworth was then penniless and without a ship at the outset of a dangerous career, and the union was discouraged by Sir Walter and Anne's surrogate mother, Lady Russell, who convinced her to break off the engagement. Years later, Anne is seemingly past marriageable age, while Wentworth, now risen in rank and wealthy from prize money, is eager to find a wife.