Last week, the trailer for Dakota Johnson’s new film Persuasion was released.
The film is based on the 1816 Jane Austin novel Persuasion, a classic that has been praised for decades for its depiction of love, second chances, and emotional depth. Austin wrote the novel shortly before passing in 1817.
When I watched the 2022 trailer — which shows the film as a cute comedy — I was like, “OMG, this looks really cute and witty.”
But people disagreed with me, criticizing the trailer for making the film look like a comedy with slapstick elements:
One viral tweet from writer Brandon Taylor simply read, “Absolutely not.”
“Looks like they’ve removed the most interesting part of Jane Austen stories: the social settings of the time, and the women forced to navigate in them,” one person wrote.
People especially disliked how a famous passage from the novel was simplified into “Now, we’re worse than exes. We’re friends.”
Like any good Austen love story, though, Persuasion hinges on a romantic dilemma. Anne’s first option is to try and rekindle the flame with her first great love, Captain Frederick Wentworth (Cosmo Jarvis), who she spurned at age 19 after being persuaded by her godmother that he wasn’t a suitable match due to his low social status. On Frederick’s return from the Napoleonic Wars as a military hero (and with a great fortune), the two would have to overcome their resentments around how their initial relationship ended in order to reconcile. All of that is thrown into question with the arrival of William Elliot (Henry Golding), however, a distant relation of Anne’s whose louche charm may be hiding some more nefarious ulterior motives, as he is a direct heir to the family fortune whose position may be in jeopardy.
Dakota Johnson and the filmmakers have not responded to the backlash.
WATCH TRAILER
Meanwhile, Dakota Johnson is all geared up to put her stunning acting on display as the actor can’t wait to get into the avatar of Madame Web.
During her conversation with Entertainment Tonight, The Lost Daughter actor talked about her upcoming film of the Marvel universe.
“I can tell you pretty much nothing that isn’t already on the internet,” she said.
“It’s pretty cool to be in the Marvel world, especially with a character that’s not so known.”
“There’s a lot of space for us to make her very cool, and I’m so excited,” she added.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to do some kind of massive action movie,” Johnson shared.
“I always wanted to do, like, a female Indiana Jones… There’s something about those movies that you’re like, ‘Wow, a real human being can do that!'”
