Skip to content
Connect
Stories

‘A wild misreading’: where Netflix’s Persuasion went wrong, and what it got right

People in this story

“Awful,” “awkward and lifeless,” and “a tough sell,” are just a few of the ways critics have described the latest adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1817 novel “Persuasion.” Critics and Austen fans alike have widely panned the film, which premieres July 15 on Netflix, for diluting Austen’s language and altering the characterization of its heroine, Anne Elliot, played by Dakota Johnson. “It warms the cockles of my heart to see how Austen lovers have risen as one and condemned this monstrosity,” wrote one user in a comment on the YouTube trailer. (The film has received some positive reviews, but holds a 36% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.)

What went wrong with this iteration of “Persuasion”? Nicole Aljoe, professor of English and Africana studies in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, teaches classes on Austen, including Austen in film. She says that while it’s not possible to achieve full accuracy in a film adaptation, from what she’s seen, this one does fall short of expectations.

Continue reading at News@Northeastern.

More Stories

Alessandro Vespignani working at his desk

Northeastern receives $17.5 million from CDC to launch infectious disease prediction center

09.19.2023
US citizens Siamak Namazi (C-with glasses) and Morad Tahbaz are greeted upon their arrival at the Doha International Airport in Doha on September 18, 2023.

Ransom payment or effective negotiating? How the US freed five captive Americans in Iran

09.19.2023
Selenis Leyva attends the 'Orange Is The New Black' Final Season Premiere in New York.

Stand-up comedy and academic research converge in new speaker series ‘Latinxs and Comedy’

09.20.23
Featured Events