Posted by Mary on June 14, 1997 at 11:37:31:
In reply to Re:Other thoughts on Persuasion posted by Jane O on June 12, 1997 at 00:32:15
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] " I have to confess that I didn't mind the kiss on the street, although it certainly wasn't in the book!!!"
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] * * * * Barbara, I'm with you, here! It was such a dramatic build up, particularly after the way the story is broken into two parts: The first half when Anne is wounded over not being included by Wentworth and the second half when he's wearing his heart on his sleeve and after her! Lovely dramatic change. So it all builds to the climax of that gentle and wouldn't-you-just-die-for-one kiss!
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I agree, Barbara and Jane. The kiss would probably not have been "the done thing" during the Regency period but it was so beautifully executed in the film and they needed to release the dramatic tension in that way. I would have loved to see them kiss on the grounds of Kellynch, however, as in the movie poster. I like to think that they had the wedding at Kellynch
] But I guess this board is to discusss the books moreso than the movie adaptations? (I'll happily discuss either!)
] * * * * Oh goodie! Meeeee toooooo!
] For me, the book and the adaptation are so close to each other in my mind it is hard to separate the two.
One thing I didn't like in the adaptation, as opposed to the book, was the way that Anne practically chased the Captain around the concert hall. I find that a more serious breach of propriety than a chaste kiss between two people who have just become engaged.
] * * * * You weren't alone here, Barbara. Check out all the people in the back row of the concert craning around to stare in utter disbelief.
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] I agree. I always fight with myself over whether to fast forward through that sequence. I wonder if the filmmaker was trying to show the change in Anne from being totally passive as in the first half of the book to the decision that this was her man and she was going to get him no matter whether her family disapproved or not.
Also, I have always wondered why the script for the movie included material from the cancelled chapter? When Captain Wentworth goes to Anne to ask her on behalf of the Admiral whether she and Mr. Elliot will want to live at Kellynch after they are married---JA decided to cut that part of the story, and I just can't see a reason to put it back in. I suppose it does add a bit of dramatic tension, and another opportunity to see our hero and heroine squirm and suffer a bit, but I still don't like it.
] * * * * Again, I suspect you must be right about why Nick Dear chose to include it. And for those same reasons, I loved the inclusion of the earlier draft of the novel. It worked for me visually. It also gave the captain a chance to "tell off" Lady Russell, which I for one enjoyed as she certainly deserved it.
But did you ever notice that she leaves the Assembly Room from that meeting, wearing her pink jacket and dress, goes to her invalid friend's house -- where she drops a coin in the old sailor's hat, and then emerges from the house moments later wearing her green jacket and dress? I noticed that too. Perhaps it was supposed to be a different day. I wonder that the scene where Mrs. Smith tells how Mr. Elliot had ruined her husband financially is not in the film. Maybe it was cut and it is from this visit that Anne is shown leaving in the green outfit. She then proceeds directly to Mrs. Musgrove's and her letter from the Captain. Interesting mistake, don't you think?
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