Netflix's No. 1 Movie Right Now Is Certified Rotten
'Worse Than Strangers'
Jane Austen: “There could have never been two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison, no countenances so beloved. Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement.”
Netflix: pic.twitter.com/9E9EXs6fYo
— Julie Johnson (@AuthorJulie) July 16, 2022
jane austen crying shaking throwing up in her grave after dakota johnson said “now we’re worse than exes, we’re friends” in persuasion on netflix
— biryani (@whysopain) July 15, 2022
Without a doubt, the most commented-upon line of dialogue in this movie was the phrase: "Now we're strangers. Worse than strangers. We're exes." Critics condemned this line not only for being corny, but for failing to even be a modern analog for Austen's words.
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you could not convince me this is a period drama movie let alone a JANE AUSTEN adaptation with this dialogue… #Persuasion pic.twitter.com/r0JXg3Eqcs
— ً (@darcyslizzy) July 15, 2022
Some fans were wary of the dialogue from the first trailer, but when the movie itself came out viewers found plenty of other lines to be disappointed in.
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I feel like there’s this whole problem where kids are given Jane Austen in high school before they understand her sense of humor and then never read her again so they think she’s serkojs. I hated Austen when I was a kid and now I love her to death.
— Tea Berry-Blue (@teaberryblue) July 16, 2022
What is (preemptively) pissing me off about the new Persuasion is that it speaks to a much, much larger problem in adaptations of classics where studios seem to think all these female characters need to be glossed with a zany millennial girlboss patina to become Relevant™️
— meha (@chaipters) July 8, 2022
Many long-time fans of Austen's writing felt that the screenwriters of this movie misunderstood her work on some fundamental levels. They felt that modernizing her language did not have any of the desired effects regardless of stylistic preferences.
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I think the closest they should have gotten to was The Great coz look at Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult they’re really thriving with the modern humor , but it doesn’t sacrifice the writing of the series
— cj (@dekuryk) July 17, 2022
There’s a big difference btwn a movie like clueless which is loosely adapted (with name changes and all) and thrust fully into the modern era, and persuasion, which keeps the aesthetics of the time period but gives a sparknotes version of austen’s dialogue
— mina le (@gremlita) July 16, 2022
While some critics generalized that adaptations of period pieces should be done in a certain way, others pointed out adaptations that took a similar approach to Persuasion that they thought were more successful.
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I thought the Dakota J Persuasion was cute, idk why people are being super purist about Jane Austen, we’ve seen modernized adaptations of plenty of classic novels before, just chill out and enjoy brother
— caitie delaney (@caitiedelaney) July 16, 2022
Of course, this movie had its defenders, and many of them had strong arguments to make. For example, some fans felt like the "modernized" adaptation was a valid approach, and that fans who were more interested in a faithful adaptation should hold out for that instead.
prevnextLife Imitates Art
No, but this truly is the superior "updated" version of PERSUASION to drop this week. https://t.co/V7xGLQQOgg
— Meghan O’Keefe (@megsokay) July 18, 2022
It just so happens that in the same weekend Persuasion dropped, real-life exes Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck cemented their reunion by getting married. Many fans remarked that this was the "modern" adaptation they really wanted.
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i need everyone involved in the netflix persuasion to not work on anything jane austen related ever again https://t.co/SjXqdo4srj
— darcy 🌹 (@darkestdarcy) July 17, 2022
Finally, there were some reports this weekend that the team behind Persuasion had similar projects in the works. Many fans feared that Netflix would greenlight this project based on the viewership of Persuasion without taking into account how many people disliked what they saw.
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