"You have bewitched me... body and soul!"

Rating: 10/10 (31 March 2010)

I wish it were within my power to say something astounding regarding this wonderful new version of Pride & Prejudice, "something that will amaze...
and be handed down to posterity with all the eclat of a proverb," as the enduring Ms. Austen had Lizzie say to the haughty Mr. Darcy. Alas, it is my poor fate to merely echo the sentiments of many others when I say that I was almost outraged to hear there was to be another version of this wonderful novel. How, when the pinnacle of perfection had been attained by the 1995 miniseries, could anyone hope, or dare, to attempt another. My outrage was further increased upon learning that Keira Knightley was to attempt the role of Ms. Elizabeth Bennett, the beloved heroine of this tale. I hold no dislike of Ms.
Knightley, but she was far from my image of Lizzie, a lightweight, to me, in more ways than merely her slender frame. I was therefore not tempted to see it in the theater, for I feared it could be no more than "barely tolerable," and, at worst, a desecration of one of the most beloved novels of all times.
I was subsequently receiving little dribs and drabs from a variety of sources that, nay, this movie was quite good and enjoyable, even in the opinion of the reviewer to whom I turn most often for intelligence of this sort, the estimable Mr. Roger Ebert, who, though occasionally wrong in his facts, is seldom wrong in his criticism. Therefore, by the time the DVD was to be released, I had worked myself into a fair degree of anticipation and hope and, thus, made it my mission to obtain viewing rights upon the first opportunity.
Gentle Reader, I cannot honestly say that my approbation was achieved upon the first viewing... for this telling seemed so dreadfully rushed as to be sometimes incoherent. I fear I might have been quite lost had I not been fortunate enough to have a thorough grounding in this story by the previous reading of the novel (at least thrice) and the enjoyment of the 1995 miniseries (at least twice), and even the former viewing of the 1940 execrable version, which one can only recommend for the pleasures of the wonderful Ms. Greer Garson (sadly, too old for the role), but completely ruined by someone's decision to turn the odious Lady Catherine de Bourgh into a matchmaker, all simpering approval of Lizzie's becoming her nephew's bride.
Anyone who wants to talk about a movie version being abhorrent to Ms. Austen would have a challenge to find a more disturbing example of the misrepresentation of a major plot point.
Ah, but there WAS something about this new and very youthful telling of the classic story, so I found that it must be seen again, and then a third time, followed by a feverish reading of almost all of the external reviews on IMDb, followed by a reading of many user reviews on IMDb, followed by a rereading of the novel, followed by a first time viewing of the 1980 BBC miniseries, followed by a reviewing of the 1995 classic miniseries.
Was I obsessed with Pride and Prejudice? Gentle Reader, I confess that I was... and am. I was loathe to leave the story behind and only by all of these myriad contacts could I continue to live within the confines of this experience.
I am, indeed, grateful for the many wonderful reviews that I read, that taught me to understand why, ultimately, this "Pride and Prejudice" was so compelling to me. At last, a version that touched my heart, where before it was only my mind that had been satisfied. Despite all the naysayers who compared it to a Boon & Mills romance (upon research, translated to the American: Harlequin Romance), who complained of its lack of historical accuracy (in some cases they were entirely justified criticisms), still I cannot deny that this version won me over with its fidelity to the spirit of Ms. Austen's intentions and that ultimately I found it to have "bewitched me, body and soul."