 In a contribution for The Washington Post , Desson Howe said " there 's a wonderful , unhurried delicacy about Persuasion ... as if everyone concerned with the production knows that , if given time and patience , Austen 's genius will emerge . Thanks to assured performances , exacting direction and , of course , inspired writing , it does , in subtle , glorious ways " . Writing for Entertainment Weekly , critic Ken Tucker graded the film with an " A – " , saying it " should enthral even those who haven 't read " the novel . Tucker concluded that the film was " the sort of passionate yet precise comedy that reminds me why Austen remains such a vital writer " . Susan Ostrov Weisser , a professor of nineteenth @-@ century literature , called the film a " faithful parade of Austen 's world " , and praised Root as the film 's " crown jewel " for playing a " fiercely intelligent , regretful , and frustrated Anne Elliot with subtlety and nuance " . In 2008 , James Rampton of The Independent rated it the fourth best Austen adaptation of all time . 
