disappointing adaption, poor casting choices.

Rating: 5/10 (15 October 2005)

As an Austen fan, I must admit that I was not really expecting a great deal from this film - and I was right to have low expectations. One of the big problems with this adaptation is time; the film absolutely races along, trying to cover the main plot devices. The dialogue made my head whirl - the characters push their lines out as if they were on a dead race to the finish line, with little emotion or connection to the material.
Many of the characters were woefully miscast (Kiera Knightly as Eliza! Who ever thought this was a good idea? She pitches her entire role on the same note, and it was wincingly bad in places. She seems to have had collagen injections into her top lip, with lopsided effect - very distracting!) Mathew McF, who was terrific in My Father's Den, was awful in this role - and there was really very little chemistry between the two - even the clever device of the empty ballroom couldn't cover up the lack of spark. But it's not just these two - most of the other characters were also poorly cast - even though I appreciated the effort to make the younger sisters look their ages, they just didn't seem that interesting. Notable exceptions are Donald Sutherland and Judy Dench, and the actor playing Charolotte Lucas - they were terrific and it's a pity we didn't get to see more of them. I didn't think much of the costumes or hairstyles either - the hair styles in particular seemed quite out of period.
There were a few bright spots; I liked the more realistic country notes - the dirty backyard, the pigs in the kitchen, the small table with the grabby family members. I also liked the only effort in the film to show how slowly time must have seemed to pass at times, with Eliza turning in the swing as the season passed. I also thought the choice of assembly rooms was inspired, and loved the dance and ball scenes.
Overall though, this is not a film for lovers of Austen, and those who loved the BBC Colin/Jennifer adaptation will be really disappointed here.