PERSUASION (2022)

This one is easy. Netflix's new take on Austen's Persuasion is wholesome, well-crafted, and built around a moral worldview you'll want your family absorbing: don't judge people by wealth or status, don't let others talk you out of your own convictions, and vanity never delivers the fulfilling life it promises. The film backs this up with positive glimpses of church and prayer.

There's very little here to give a parent pause. No obscenities, no depicted sex, no drugs. A woman takes a fall down stone steps, there's a passionate kiss, and one line credits "the Universe" rather than God for bringing two people together — a small crack in an otherwise strong Christian frame.

The movie also takes some modern liberties — Austen's heroine occasionally breaks the fourth wall to speak straight to the camera, and the dialogue picks up some contemporary phrasing. If that doesn't bother you, this is a lovely, romantic watch for older kids on up. Watch it — and enjoy it.

Years ago, Anne turned down a proposal from Wentworth, persuaded by friends that he wasn't wealthy enough for her. She's regretted it ever since. Now Wentworth is back in her life, and when Anne stays home one evening to care for her nephew, her cousin Louisa gets her chance with him instead. As Louisa and Wentworth grow closer, Anne must decide whether there's still hope — or whether she's lost him for good.

Four stars, and the movie earns them. This adaptation builds real romantic tension and pairs it with cinematography that makes the most of its gorgeous locations — the kind of craft that makes a familiar story feel fresh again.

The modern touches — a heroine who occasionally addresses the camera, dialogue seasoned with contemporary phrasing — are a deliberate twist on the source material, and your mileage on them may vary. But the film doesn't let those flourishes get in the way of what it's actually doing well: telling a patient, well-paced love story that earns its ending.

This is the rare film Movieguide can praise without much qualification. Its moral worldview is strong and Christian: wealth and social status are false measures of a person's worth, vanity and selfishness are dead ends, and generosity toward others — as Anne repeatedly shows by putting family before herself — is the better way to live. The film backs this with a positive church scene and a wedding filmed inside one, plus a character shown in what looks like prayer.

There is one blemish worth naming, once. A single line of dialogue credits "the Universe" — rather than God — with bringing two people together. It's a small humanist slip in a film that otherwise points toward church, prayer, and moral discernment, and it's easy for a family to talk through rather than avoid.

At its heart, this is a story about the ache of a decision made under pressure from others, and the hope of a second chance to get it right. Scripture speaks to both the danger of being swayed by wrong counsel and the mercy of restoration: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Romans 12:2).

Persuasion is the kind of film Movieguide loves to point families toward — clean, well-made, and quietly rich with the right values, from honoring church and prayer to refusing to measure people by money. A few modern flourishes and one stray line about "the Universe" are easily talked through. Our answer stands: worth the trip — ages 10 and up.