Love and Misunderstanding

Rating: 10/10 (25 December 2005)

Jane Austen would probably agree that a gentle and loving mate is the crowning achievement of every human, whatever the epoch. Austen views from her perch in 1797 the ageless mating dance of our own peculiar species. Elizabeth is one of five young eligible daughters of the Bennett family, possessing only a modest fortune and income. They live in the countryside of England while geese and pigs tramp around the house. Darcy is a wealthy visitor who becomes smitten with Elizabeth. Meanwhile, misunderstandings are accumulated. The ability to correct misunderstandings enables the mating dance to end the prejudice and then the pride. However, this does not begin to fully describe the depth of emotions in this story. Filial devotion, fatherly solicitude, motherly hopes and fears, the concept of duty, the custom of arranged marriage, the loyalty of friendship and family, the discreet reticence and resulting incoherence of the age are described beautifully. Finally, the gentle love of a man smitten with a woman is the joyful climax. The courtly language and manners of the film reflect well the setting and habits of that unique period.