A story about love and its many forms

Rating: 8/10 (1 June 2006)

Excellent adaptation. This version surpasses the BBC mini-series in many respects, especially due to it's well condensed format.
Where to start? Would it be the riveting soundtrack, that keeps one interested throughout the whole film? Or would it be the scenery in the movie, which takes the viewer on a memorable journey through rural England the likes of paradise? A garden of Eden that one just does not interact with so commonly in the urban scapes of today? Or the costumes, that literally plunge you into the Victorian era they are so well designed? Or the stellar acting?
Mr. Sutherland Sr puts on one of the best performances I have seen in a long time, the two older Bennets also being worth praise. Lizzie (Keira Knightley) does not look so pretty after her lip surgery, but who cares? She does a great job too, and the movie is so good one is forced to overlook such trivialities. Jane (Rosamund Pike) truly shines in subtle tones I did not believe her capable of, after that James Bond affair.
At the centre of the success of this new remake of the Jane Austen novel is the powerful grip this piece gets on the viewer. Let us not forget the character of the story - idyllic, no doubt, but isn't that what we all wish our own life was like?
Donald will make you laugh, as will the ongoing sarcasm between Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen is clearly the star of the show, putting Colin Firth's more subdued interpretation in a drawer. A true achievement from his part, portraying the generally misunderstood good - if brutally frontal - man to perfection!) and Lizzie among other little details.
For most of the movie I found myself at least smiling or else wishing events would not happen the way they do..in short, the movie makes you feel good, and truly enraptures you.
A fine piece! 8/10