surpasses the 1995 mini series

Rating: 8/10 (27 September 2005)

Many people seem to have watched this film with the view in mind that the BBC series is the yardstick against which all P&P renditions should be measured. This would be quite wrong. Aside form the obvious flaw of a film not being able to cover as much as a series, there are many flaws in the series which are overcome by this film. The first thing that fans of the series will notice is that the house the bennets live in is far smaller than the BBC's choice. This immediately establishes the social standing and financial position of the family. Secondly the choice of Kira Knightly (isn't she lovely) as Elizabeth Bennet was a far better choice than Jennifer Ehle because Jennifer Ehle was just too darn old! Kira made Elizabeth Bennet seem like the young witty girl who does not think before she humours, where as Jennifer made her seem old enough to know better and rude! But the final usurping moment came from Brenda Blethyn's portrayal of Mrs Bennet. Although it may have been hilarious to laugh at this character in the BBC series, with her flouncing about, getting in a huff about all her girls, and of course screaming 'Oh Mr Bennet!', this extremely unfair to the character, who is quite right! She knows that these girls must all be married or be destitute. They had no inheritance, nowhere to go, and no prospect of sustaining themselves in the late 18th century. Breda Blethyn turns Mrs Bennet from the BBC costume drama clown into a reasonable character. All in all this film far surpasses 'the original' as people see it.