MovieChat Forums > Persuasion (2008) Discussion > why they cast Anne as a ugly plain wo...

why they cast Anne as a ugly plain woman???????????


I just dont get it, the book description says that Anne was a very pretty girl, she may have lost part of her joy and glow, but she still was beautiful.

In this adaptation they made Sally look like an old maid in her late 30's. I simply coulndt buy the gorgeous and rich captain to be soo in love with such lifeless creature.

Sally's wardrobe was just awful, even Mary was made to look better and younger. The horrible oil hair stuck at the top of her head, the dark ugly clothes ugh.

I dont get it at all. I can picture Anne as Carey Mulligan, Rachel Mcadams, Anne Hathaway, I mean cute girls that are no fantastic beauty, but Sally even looked older than Frederick.




PS - I forgot to add that I do find Sally the cutest, but not in this film, in this they made her look old and hideous, watch Happy Go Lucky and you will see hoe charming and lovely she can be.

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This adaptation suffered in the most part from an awful script. All else seemed to flow from that.

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I completely agree. This was only compounded by hair and wardrobe that was most unattractive.

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I completely disagree. I agree with the Amazon reviewer that Anne looks alternately lovely and pinched, as you'd expect with her history of loneliness and quiet unhappiness.

She's the polar opposite of the lively and quick witted Elizabeth Bennet who's obviously attractive. But Anne is quiet and unassuming but has a strength and inner determination that come to surface at moments of crisis such as the incident with the boy, or on the Cobb. Then it's Anne's quick thoughtfullness and clear sightedness that Wentworth comes to admire. And I have to agree with him. I can see why he loves her, I'm more than half in love with her myself. She has an understated inner beauty. I didn't have any trouble with what she was wearing, it wasn't glamorous or showy, but thats not Anne's style.

But hey what do I know. I'm just a guy, afterall!

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Austen's Anne never set a collarbone!

http://currentscene.wordpress.com/tag/jane-austen-odyssey/

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Sally is a beautiful lady, however I don't believe the hairstyle done her any favours. It was so oiled back and I couldn't help focusing on the curls at the front - I don't think there was any need for those!

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My own head hurt just looking at that hairstyle. It was so unflattering.


http://currentscene.wordpress.com/tag/jane-austen-odyssey/

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Couldn't agree more.

Her look actually spoilt the whole thing for me. How could he be in love with someone so plain, (although Sally is a really pretty lady), but looked hideous in this !!!

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Concur with Jones t Cat. I never thought Sally Hawkins as Anne was ugly or plain. I didn't notice her wardrobe...being a guy.

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Ugly? No. Just ill-served by a horrible script.

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Neither main character was drop dead, but they were nice looking.

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I don't think she was ugly at all, she was not glamorous but she was far from ugly!

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It was her wardrobe that bothered me. It didn't just look unglamorous or understated; it looked downright shabby, as though she was wearing her sisters' hand-me-downs.

It's not easy having a gd time.

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Indeed .. you would have thought that she was Cinderella .

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In this adaptation they made Sally look like an old maid in her late 30's. I simply coulndt buy the gorgeous and rich captain to be soo in love with such lifeless creature.

I wish I was that "lifeless" if it could snag me Rupert Penry-Jones as Captain Wentworth *swoon* then please.

Besides Sally Hawkins is not "ugly" or "plain", Anne Elliot is not suppose to be breathtaking (I'm pretty sure a lot of women can relate to her, including me in some ways). I thought she did a great job, I love this adaptation!

Love is my religion - I could die for that - I could die for you ~ Keats

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I just dont get it, the book description says that Anne was a very pretty girl, she may have lost part of her joy and glow, but she still was beautiful.

In this adaptation they made Sally look like an old maid in her late 30's. I simply coulndt buy the gorgeous and rich captain to be soo in love with such lifeless creature.

Sally's wardrobe was just awful, even Mary was made to look better and younger. The horrible oil hair stuck at the top of her head, the dark ugly clothes ugh.

I dont get it at all. I can picture Anne as Carey Mulligan, Rachel Mcadams, Anne Hathaway, I mean cute girls that are no fantastic beauty, but Sally even looked older than Frederick.

-- linaf



I couldn't agree with you more! I would have enjoyed this movie more if it was Rachel McAdams or Anne Hathaway as Anne Elliot since both are two of my favorite actresses.

From a superficial standpoint, the whole time I was watching this movie I couldn't get over how unattractive and old the actress (Sally Hawkins) playing "Anne Elliot" looked in the movie. Also it didn't help that Rupert Penry-Jones was so damn HOT as "Captain Wentworth" (actually he's just hot in general) and to me Rupert actually looked a bit younger than Sally in this movie; so it was hard for me to be convinced that she was "Anne Elliot," young woman in her late 20's who is pretty. Even though Anne loses her glow due to all of the suffering, weight loss and so on, it doesn't mean she becomes old and ugly and plus she was suppose to regain her glow as the story progess.

The hairstylist and costume designer did such a disservice to Sally because when I went to IMDb page and saw how she looked in in real-life I didn't think she was bad looking.

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I agree the wardrobe was horrible and the hair was terrible. What was with all that hair oil and unflattering little side curls and obvious areas on her head where her hair was pulled so tight it showed her scalp(much more obvious on a brunette)....The hairdresser should be questioned about her judgement.....Side hair curls are flattering when they are soft, not oily and/or stiff.

Although I really liked the movie and think Sally Hawkins is a good actress in the movie, I couldn't stop thinking about how terribly plain she looked. And I can see that she is cute and also pretty in a quirky kind of way.

Her sister Mary's personality really bothered me and both Mary and Elizabeth seemed very plain and bland and irritating (although their wardrobe and hairstyle were much better than Anne's)...I had the impression that perhaps the director wanted to portray them that way. I haven't read the book so I don't know how Jane Austen portrayed them.

It never ceases to amaze me how a woman's whole appearance can be affected by hair and wardrobe. But the sweet spirit that she portrayed as Anne shown through all that.

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