While I'm loathe to criticize any adaptation of Jane Austen's novels, simply because I love them so much, I have to say this is a very disappointing production. Random thoughts:
In sum, I don't understand filming this story yet again and not trying to produce something truly wonderful. I hope the upcoming films of Austen's novels are better.
- The interpretation of Anne as a weepy, fluttery, diffident woman misses the mark of Austen's character (IMHO). Contemporary screen writers seem to miss the true strength of characters like Anne (and other Austen protagonists). They don't seem to understand the context of the times. Just because Anne rejects Frederick's offer of marriage doesn't mean she is some weak and weepy creature. In fact, it required great strength for Anne to walk away from the man she loved. Rather than being a bundle of nerves, in the book Anne is more stoic and self-contained - full of emotion but unable or unwilling to show it. As a young woman, she knows (or so she believes) her duty to her family and makes a decision to walk away from her heart's true desire. As she matures, she realizes her mistake and it takes (again) strength to realize that and to take steps to right that earlier decision.
- The interpretation of Sir Elliot as (primarily) an angry man. Again, in the book he is so self absorbed and filled with such a languid ennui you rarely see him rise above a burst of petulant whining. Here he is presented as almost someone to be afraid of with his tirades. This screen adaptation, like so many recent others, misses the humor of Austen's character(s). Sir Elliot is a vain fool, not an angry tyrant.
- Sister Mary. Such a cartoonish interpretation of this character. The facial expressions and strange vocals, I for a moment thought I was watching Molly Shannon from Saturday Night Live doing a take-off. Now here was a character that could have been interpreted with a modern edge and still have remained true to the character. A woman with no discernible focus in her life, she appears bored and unfulfilled - her petulance, hypochondria, and need for constant attention could have been subtly played and connected on a more sympathetic level with the audience.
- This abridged version of the book left out some of the minor characters and it suffers for it. The version I watched on Masterpiece Theater clocked in around 90 minutes. Gone are the relationship that develops between Louisa and the Captain, the Musgroves (what a waste of Stella Gonet and Nicholas Farrell!), and, yes, even the burgeoning relationship between Anne and Capt. Wentworth. Criminal omission -- Capt. Wentworth penning his letter to Anne while surreptitiously listening to her speak about a woman's constancy to Capt. Harville. Critical scene and curiously excised from this screenplay.
In sum, I don't understand filming this story yet again and not trying to produce something truly wonderful. I hope the upcoming films of Austen's novels are better.