If you're anxious for "Sense and Sensibility" to come to town and have become frustrated by all the national press coverage of critics awards and Golden Globe nominations, knowing the film isn't scheduled to play in Salt Lake theaters until Jan. 12, here's some bad news — the date has been pushed back a week, to Jan. 19.
However, you can take heart in the knowledge that there is another Jane Austen cinematic fix available to you — "Persuasion," which opened Christmas Day at the Tower Theater.
This new film is every bit as charming and engrossing as "Sense and Sensibility" — it just doesn't have a star-name attached. What it does have, however, is the luminous Amanda Root, who is simply marvelous as Austen's heroine Anne Elliot.
The story of "Persuasion" revolves around Anne, who is approaching spinsterhood — she's in her late 20s, after all — as the family has relegated her to a low-rung status.
This is a real blow, as Anne lives with regret over an incident in her past when she allowed her family to interfere with her engagement to a young naval officer named Wentworth (Ciaran Hinds) in her youth. He had no money, you see.
But now, Anne's family is in financial straits, as her pompous father has frittered away the family fortune.
To make ends meet, the family is forced to rent out its ancestral home to an admiral, whose brother-in-law just happens to be Wentworth. During the years that have passed, Wentworth has become a war hero, has been promoted to captain — and has become quite wealthy in the bargain.
And he's still unmarried.
When Anne is reunited with him, however, it is not pleasant. He virtually ignores her — and then, before departing, he remarks that, "She is so altered I would not have known her." To make matters worse, he begins to flirt with Anne's two sisters-in-law.
Eventually, it becomes apparent that Anne and Wentworth still have feelings for each other, and both are in some emotional pain over it. But they are so proud, and social constraints of the time are so strict, they choose to let opportunities pass them by.
At its core, this is tougher stuff than most movies in this genre, with a tone of stark realism that validates how quickly the audience accepts the characters and becomes involved in the story.
It is, of course, directed in that familiar "Masterpiece Theatre"/-Mer-chant-Ivory style, a la "Howards End," "The Remains of the Day," "A Room With a View," "Enchanted April," etc. — slow, deliberate, meticulously faithful to its period (the early 19th century) and filled with excellent performances.
The real find here, however, is Root, in her first leading film role, after several years as a member of England's Royal Shakespeare Company (which also gave us Ralph Fiennes and Daniel Day Lewis).
Her portrayal of Anne is tremendously moving. And as the film moves toward its conclusion, it is her performance as much as anything that genuinely earns audience affection.
"Persuasion" is a marvelous film, and with any luck will move Root toward the track to star status.
It is rated PG for adult themes.