Yet, Root is, by nature, such a cheerful actress that her eventual reconciliation with Wentworth almost feels like a forgone conclusion. Anne's sense of hesitance and embarrassment around Wentworth (an eminently appealing Hinds), and her enduring love for him, is often conveyed through longing glances and painful silences. She's frequently turned to for advice and even finds herself mediating in her younger sister's unhappy marriage and fraught relations with her in-laws, much to her own chagrin. Root's charismatic performance captures both the important and humorous nature of Anne's role within her family, however underappreciated it is. Namely, it's Anne's maturity and ability to overcome adversity - from the loss of her home, to Wentworth's cold behavior towards her when they reunite, to his impulsive flirtation with her naïve sister-in-law - that makes her sympathetic and endearing, rather than an object of pity. Torn from her beloved home due to her father's spendthrift practices, and long neglected by her self-centered sisters, Anne could be read as a perennially pathetic and downtrodden figure in the hands of less capable actresses, but both Root's and Hawkins' performances get to the truth of her character. As an unmarried woman in her late 20s, she is entirely dependent on her family for economic survival and is alternately treated as nurse, confidante, and servant.
At the beginning of both films, Anne is largely silent and ignored. Indeed, the most successful film adaptations of the novel - from Roger Mitchell's lavish 1995 rendition, starring Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds, to Adrian Shergold's poetic 2007 version, led by Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones - have been anchored by their strong, and faithful, interpretations of Anne Elliot's character. RELATED: An Ode to the Cinematic Jane Austen Fathers
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