That was so bad AHAHAHA. \*hides behind a tree and cries\*

I think I read somewhere that the creators behind this were going to take on some of the other Austen romances and HAHAHA (I’m scared).

Early in this film, Lady Russell tells Anne: _"I say this with love: abandon all hope."_ Coincidentally, this is my advice to people who watch this movie with the expectation of enjoying it.

I have a file on my Notes app full of complaints but I'm going to do the healthy thing and delete it soon. But before that, there's one thing that I just have to say (and please keep in mind that I was pretty excited for this movie after the trailer released because we already have two absolutely perfect & straight from the source material versions of _Persuasion_ - which for the record, is one of the best & angstiest Austen stories - i.e. the 1995 and 2007 adaptations, and modernizing the story is such a cool idea...if only it's done well):

Ben Lloyd-Hughes who played Mr. Colbourne on _Sanditon_ season 2 pretty much hit the nail on the head when he said the following:

> "Playing any good Jane Austen scene is all about what’s not said. It’s all about the subtext and the ellipses and the unrequited aspects of it, and I really loved that. I love that dynamic. ==I love not having everything in the text that just spells it out, and having to almost tell one story with your eyes, and another with the words,== and then another with your physicality, your body language, and your interacting with that person."

A large part of what makes _Persuasion_ compelling is the restraint, and the inability to say everything that you feel due to the constraints of communication, expectations of propriety, and honestly: straight-up shame & embarrassment. It's the disconnect between what you want to say and the itty little bit that you _can_ say. Not only does _Persuasion (2022)_ in fact spell out everything through the text/dialogue, but in case you didn't get it, Dakota Johnson will also break the fourth wall and go through it even more explicitly in case you're a bit hard of understanding — this film simply does not trust that audiences are smart enough to grasp what's going on. I swear: this film could've been a whole lot better if only Johnson didn't talk to the screen so much. :upside_down:

TL;DR: Ever wondered what Austen's angstiest love story would be like without the angst & chemistry? Well, you no longer have to guess.