Terrible Version of the Book, Perhaps Good Film on its Own

Rating: 3/10 (26 January 2014)

First of all, let me just clarify that I know that making books into movies is a difficult task and that liberties generally have to be taken in order to fit said books into one, not too long movie. I also realize that directors will take liberties in order to put their own personal stamp on movie. I get it, I really do. However, for me, there is a point at which one can take too many liberties and this is it. I have seen this film on two different occasions, once close to when it came out and a second time very recently, and I can't say that my opinion of it improved on the second viewing. In fact, I had to pause it several times because it made me so angry. I would classify myself as a purist, one who likes movie adaptations to contain the same essence as the book and looks for authenticity in settings and costume. This film did a horrible job in these categories. The costumes are terrible and cannot decide which time period to belong to and the Bennets' home is an atrocity. When Austen writes that they are "poor" it means poor in comparison to OTHER WEALTHY, UPPERCLASS individuals, not poor in the literal sense. They had an estate and servants and land and a decent park, not a bunch of loose animals wandering around or (heaven forbid!) running through the house willy nilly. That would not have happened. Furthermore, another issue I have with this film is its portrayal of the characters. Basically, a lot of it is just wrong. In the beginning of film, Jane actually ventures forth (of her own free will) an ILL OPINION OF DARCY. The Jane portrayed by Austen would never do that--in fact, her flaw is that she cannot bring herself to see the bad in people, causing her to let people walk all over her (they couldn't POSSIBLY mean her ill will) which causes problems later on. My list of character discrepancies goes on and on. To be fair, I'm sure this film has some positive cinematic value, but I am too distracted by its faults to appreciate it. I would not recommend this film to die-hard Austen fans or people who cannot deal with historical inaccuracies.