Literary Classic Shines in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Rating: 8/10 (15 November 2005)

Author Jane Austen has been a popular source of material for recent films and television miniseries. Her free spirited, individual women who search for happiness amid ignorance and old fashioned conduct are refreshing even by today's standards. What's pleasantly surprising is that Austen's stories about manners, loyalty, honor, love, and betrayal have a universal appeal and a timeless quality amid a vivid period setting. A good example is Pride and Prejudice, which features thoughtful direction, a strong cast, and an impressive turn by its star, Keira Knightley.
In 18th century England, the Bennet family consists of a mother, (Brenda Blethyn), father (Donald Sutherland), and their many daughters including eldest Jane (Rosamund Pike) and the most independent-minded, Elizabeth (Keira Knightley). Desperate to marry her daughters to wealthy bachelors, mom will manipulate an event like the upcoming ball to play matchmaker. Enter the mysterious Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen) and his friend, Mr. Bingley, who are well-to-do and seeking a female date for the latter. Jane and Bingley seem to hit it off and another ball ensues at the Bingley estate. Meanwhile, the seemingly indifferent Darcy takes note of the free spirited Elizabeth. Gossip and rumors abound. When a soldier, Mr. Wickham, appears to woo Elizabeth and relays a tale of betrayal at the hands of Darcy, Elizabeth begins to despise Darcy. There later appears a cousin, Mr. Collins, who is heir to the Bennet fortunes and is searching for a bride to be. The problem is that Collins is hopelessly unappealing especially to the object of his affection, Elizabeth, much to the annoyance of Mrs. Bennet. Elizabeth finds herself still seemingly attracted again to Mr. Darcy when their paths cross by accident. Add to the complications the intentions of wealthy Lady Catherine de Bourg (Judi Dench), who has designs on Darcy for her younger girl, and you have a dramatic interweaving of a complex study of romance in which lovers fall from grace and reconnect.
Numerous versions of Austen's novel have been filmed including the Laurence Olivier version from 1940 and a British television series with Colin Firth (ironically cast as a similarly named and etched character, Mark Darcy, from Bridget Jones's Diary). TV veterans, director Joe Wright and screenwriter Deborah Moggach, do an impressive job of adapting the novel with good clarity of drama and moments of humor. It doesn't feel like a book but rather an organic, filmic event, no small feat. This is not a 'dumbed' down version but a contemporary translation done with the right balance of reverence to the source material while making it accessible to modern day audiences.
Elizabeth is the kind of heroine who can think for herself at a time when women were not accorded many freedoms. She is cool as a proverbial cucumber as she makes a first impression on Darcy, and you feel an interest in how these two souls will come together despite some formidable obstacles along the way. It's a delightful premise, and part of the fun is how this storyline and several other threads will develop. It is refreshing in any film to see how major characters will challenge an audience by evolving over the course of the story instead of remaining static.
Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean) at 20 is displaying the beginnings of a long, versatile career as a dependable actress who can tackle such prestigious material as this. In fact, her performance is not unlike the impressive turn of young Kate Winslet in Sense and Sensibility. MacFadyen is effective as Darcy, an aloof, cold fish when we first meet him. Blethyn (Secrets and Lies) is always good, and here she romps as the scheming mother. Sutherland, as the oblivious father, seems to fit period pieces quite well (Start the Revolution Without Me). Dench is always in command whenever she is on screen although it is a minor role. Rosamund Pike (Die Another Day) shows she can do more than action films.
Sure, there are minor plot holes and some inconsistencies in the characters, but the main themes work. The dialogue is proper, old English, and it takes a little time to get up to speed in deciphering the accents. The pace drags slightly toward the end, but it finishes with a nice flourish of resolution and optimism. Its dreamy ending will set hearts swooning and minds wandering to an elegant, romantic era.
The film has a natural, vivid sense of time and place. People bow and curtsey displaying all the proper mannerisms of the time. The cinematography is beautiful amid the English countryside and mansions. The extras are a realistic mixture of handsome faces and plain ones. Likewise, the interiors of the homes look worn and lived in. The balls are realistically choreographed in a manner reminiscent of TV's Hill Street Blues where people come and go out of frame and others move throughout a fluid camera shot. Transitions that show a passage of time are cleverly done.
Pride and Prejudice is a worthy companion to 1995's Sense and Sensibility. Don't expect a boring film but rather a well paced drama with dashes of humor and heartfelt relationships. It not only proves that older, literary material can be brought to life cinematically without being stuffy, but that Knightley has emerged as a force to be reckoned with.