If the truth be told, I am not really a huge Jane Austen fan. There is something of female writer respect and solidarity, but the novels themselves are not swoonworthy in the way that say, the Brontes or Henry James are for me. I once took an entire semester-long class devoted to her work my final semester of undergrad hoping, amidst a slew of mid 90's adaptations, to find more to love, but while I can't say I hated the novels I was less familiar with, they didn't sparkle quite enough, certainly not as much it seemed every female young undergrad English major thought they did. There was more to love in the adaptations, which I did love, for their period drama, sets and costumes. I would give it to Jane, they translated well--not only into period pieces, but modern ones like Clueless.
So when I saw there was a new adaptation of Persuasion on Netflix that looked historical, but felt contemporary, I was in, despite having already glimpsed a lot of handwringing over whether the more contemporary overtones and quotes worked or besmirched a classic. I like period pieces in general, and if I had to choose one of Austen's novel that was my favorite, it would be that one. Despite the quotes from the movie that Austen fans have delighted in hating, I actually felt like its tenor was very Regency.
Then again, I may have been spun by the sets and costumes which had to be the stars of the movie despite convincing, layered performances from Dakota Johnson and others who are new to me. I actually liked it more for those modern touches and think Jane Austen would have approved in terms of addressing social etiquette and feminism.
