Shoot the scriptwriter!

Rating: 2/10 (12 August 2009)

When making a Jane Austen film there is one golden rule that must be followed by any scriptwriter brave enough to take it on. DO NOT MESS WITH AUSTEN'S LANGUAGE! The language used in Jane Austen's books is the reason for it's longevity and popularity today. It is a beautiful subtle tapestry of wit, propriety, satire and irony; written in such a way that the words roll off the tongue like poetry. It is a dance, a play between people in which one must cut between the social politeness of the time to see what is really going on.
What this film did was to take Austen's language, douse it in petrol, set fire to it and then feed it to a rabid dog. The scriptwriter should be shot. When Elizabeth ran up the stairs screaming "for once in your lives leave me alone" something inside me died.
This film completely lacked the subtle interplay that comes from Austen's language, it lacked any of the social satire so famed in Austen's works and it completely lacked the delicate tension between Darcy and Elizabeth so carefully mounted in Austen's script.
The scriptwriter CLEARY had no knowledge of how to write in the English regency style LET ALONE attempt Austen! Some of the lines felt very Americanised, far too modern and far too much use of slang to be considered a part of Austen's world.
What gets me is if you are going to do a Jane Austen novel in period, then you must use Jane Austen's words. You cannot put a modern twist on a period drama as this director and writer seem to have done. If you want to make a modern version then make a modern version don't opt for something in between, because the only thing you'll achieve is a great pile of nothingness and a bunch of very angry Austen fans! Somebody really should have contacted Emma Thompson for some script writing assistance! Austen's words speak for themselves!
There were some incredibly dodgy costume choices for the period in question too and for a man to enter the bed chamber of a woman...well if the scriptwriter wants shooting then so do the researchers! And could somebody please tell me why all of the cast members looked as if they had been in contact with a blind sheep shearer? I have never seen such awful haircuts!
The real beauty of some scenes were missed or completely ignored, for example. In the film Elizabeth is seen receiving Jane's news of Lydia's elopement and then seconds later is sobbing so much she can't deliver the news to her uncle, aunt and Darcy. In the book, Lizzy receives the news alone and is just digesting it when Darcy comes to call. He sees that something is immediately wrong, sits Lizzy down and is desperately worried for her and her situation. In this scene it is made so abundantly clear how much Darcy cares for Elizabeth, yet how constricted he is by the social rituals he must adhere to as a man of his stature. Lizzy is not a hysterical wreck and the subtle interplay between them both in this scene melts my heart. The film completely destroyed this scene! The writer and director NEVER made use of any scene to it's best advantage!
The actors themselves were also short of their mark's, with the one exception of Judy Dench who can do this sort of stuff in her sleep.
Keira Knightly's Elizabeth was far too headstrong and dare I say obnoxious for the character of Lizzy. Yes Lizzy was headstrong, playful with her words and not afraid to speak her mind. But she was also a woman in possession of good social conduct and always toed the line with regards to society. That is why her father considers her to be the only sensible daughter he spawned! The Elizabeth played by Knightly did not have any of the subtleties or the quiet sense of strength for which Elizabeth is known. Knightly's Elizabeth was almost as hysterical as Lydia in some scenes and she did not possess the grace or demeanour to effectively pass off Elizabeth.
Donald Sutherland's Mr Bennett...I don't even know where to start...he lacked all the delicate irony and understanding Austen gifted him with in the book.
Mr Darcy...well he had a hard act to follow...and follow it he could not. He lacked Darcy's pride, but the material with which he was given was shocking. "I love you"...Austen did such a good job of conveying the love and passion between Darcy and Elizabeth that there was never any need to affirm it in such a cheap hollywoodistic way! I could go on and on about the pitfalls of this film for ever. It really is an abomination of Austen's most cherished work.
Get the BBC mini series on DVD and fall in love with the real magic of Austen's words! ** Only for the cinematography.