Excellent!

Rating: 10/10 (10 April 2006)

While the movie took some liberties and didn't follow the book exactly, it conveyed the love story with all the heart, passion, and confusion it deserved. If you have read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, you will greatly appreciate Knightley's Elizabeth: she captures the youthfulness and playfulness of Elizabeth much more than Jennifer Ehle's portrayal in the much beloved 1995 miniseries. And while many still consider Colin Firth the greatest Darcy to ever appear on screen, I would choose McFayden over Firth to play Darcy any day. McFayden's Darcy is more believable because we see his vulnerability, we understand how Elizabeth misunderstands him. Firth is handsome and can stare and frown with the best of them, but McFayden brings life into Darcy, and although you have to wait almost 2 hours for it, the definitive moment in his portrayal is his smile: it is incredibly cute and sincere, and it lets the audience see his softer side. Firth's Darcy never did. I have read the book approximately 13 times, so I feel I have a good viewpoint from which to critique the movie, and although there are certain scenes which I wish had been filmed in closer conjunction with the text, overall, this version brings to life Jane Austen's best work in outstanding fashion. Everyone should see this movie!