I love Jane Austen, as in read the books, seen the movies, and so on. As much as I wanted to like this, there was no flow to it, this film seemed to stumble along rather than flow. I am not sure that the Owen character was miscast as I felt zero connection with him as a human being, and even less between him and other characters. This could have been beautifully sad, funny and uplifting, but it is not. That makes me sad. If you want to honor Jane Austen's writing and a particular book, please do it with more life and more joy than this. I would say, if you love Jane Austen, watch it, but know that it is not what you are hoping for.

I haven't read the book, and I acknowledge that the leads could have had better chemistry (it wasn't zero as some have claimed), but this is one of the best romantic comedies that I have watched in ages. Sure, it didn't have a high budget, but unlike most low budget attempts, this one had good directing, talented actors, and a fantastic script. It didn't have money, so it used what it did have to wonderful effect. It hit all the right beats at all the right moments. I'm not claiming that any of the actors should get academy awards, but each one pulled off its character perfectly. The supporting roles start out as mild caricatures, but as the movie progresses they all get enough depth to be touching. Your typical Oscar winning film doesn't manage even half as much bang per buck as this movie got on its shoestring budget. If you are searching for a masterpiece, then move on. But if you're looking for good romantic comedies that don't suck, give this a try. It fights well above its weight class and is terribly underrated. I would gladly choose it ahead of at least 90% of the romantic comedies put out each year that probably have 10 times its budget.

Clearly the idea in "Modern" Persuasion is to replace the cast with vacuous degenerates and expect it to be successful. The contrast only serves as a sad commentary on modern society.