Upon first impression, it helps if you've read the book

Rating: Null/10 (4 March 2006)

In some early scenes of this film, the dialog is so helter-skelter and subservient to the music in the soundtrack that all I could think was, "Who's this Darcy character and why did he come to visit, when he clearly doesn't want to be here?" One has to wait for the post-party parlor scenes for the dialog to become fully intelligible. By then, the question has gone unanswered, so one can but accept his presence and learn from later events. Indeed, during the various party scenes, one must rely largely on body language rather than English to tell the story.
One curiosity in this production has the respected Canadian actor, Donald Sutherland, affecting an English accent, standing out among the genuine Brits in the cast as much as if he were U.S.-American. Still, his performance as the rational, lovable, and understanding father provides a bit of comfort food amongst the class-structured madness which characterizes novels of the period.
Another appearance I found interesting here was that of Carey Mulligan in her maiden role as Kitty Bennet, having just seen her in her subsequent role as Ada Clare/Carstone in the BBC's 2005 production (one I recommend highly) of Charles Dickens' "Bleak House," which recently completed a six-week run on PBS. Too many portrayals of Dickens' characters come across as caricatures, but not these. This to me is one of the best screen tellings of a Dickens tale I've ever seen. But I digress.
There are several outstanding performances in this well-mounted production, from Brenda Blethyn to Matthew Macfadyen, but clearly Kiera Knightly's grounded and unaffected Elizabeth is a stand-out among stand-outs. Surely, a more natural Elizabeth never was...and this coming from a totally devoted fan of Greer Garson, who owned the role in 1940.
Of course, one can't overlook the love story. Macfadyen and Knightly as Darcy and Elizabeth call forth so many other romantic couplesOlivier and Oberon as Heathcliff and Cathy in 1939's "Wuthering Heights" come to mind in particular.
All in all, if you are a fan of Jane Austen, as you should be, two hours spent viewing this film can hardly be better spent (except, possibly, in reading the book).