Persuasion, Austen's last completed work, lacks her charm and biting wit.  But her sharp-eyed irony is still on display, especially when aimed at the aristocracy, whose self-indulgence and irresponsibility augur its eventual rout by an up-and-coming middle class. 

The screenplay and cast breathe life into this otherwise rather lifeless book.  (Heresy, I know-hang me.)  Amanda Root is beautifully convincing as Anne Elliot.  Her transformation from a pallid Cinderella into a vibrant heroine is so gradual as to be all but invisible-until it strikes you at the end. 

Some find Ciaran Hinds unappealing. (Those uncapped teeth maybe?) But I think he makes a strikingly handsome Captain Wentworth. He's an accomplished actor, allowing Wentworth's tightly reined emotions to break surface and play subtly across his face.

Finally, kudos to Sophie Thompson, Anne's sister Mary-she managers to be despicable and hilarious at the same time.   (Sadly, two years later she is miscast as Miss Bates in Gwenyth Paltrow's Emma.  You can also catch her in Hugh Grant's Four Weddings and a Funeral.)