Far and away the worst adaptation of this book I have ever seen...

Rating: 1/10 (31 December 2011)

If you have never read the book, know little of the story but the basics and have no interest or knowledge of the fashions and etiquette which existed in England during the period in which this story is set-then you could be forgiven for not feeling the outrage which I felt when I watched it and for even feeling that it was a reasonable, if patchy and slow, film. However, anyone who has read and understood the book and can appreciate the subtleties of English life at the time can only be appalled by what is a dreadful hash-up of bad casting, horrendous script writing and the most blatant dumbing-down and Americanisation of the delicate and subtle humour which makes this classic tale the much loved story that it is.
Darcy is a plank, Matthew MacFadyen's attempts at stoic pride and haughty superiority simply result in his coming across as blank, boring and severely constipated. Keira Knightley's Elizabeth is flat and lacks all of the playfulness of the original character and, for some inexplicable reason she chose to play her as though she was a silly, giggling little child who takes pleasure in verbally attacking anyone she meets whom she deems her superior. All of the subtleties of Elizabeth's character, her playful wit and her ability to see the ridiculous side of others without breaking the social taboos and etiquettes of the day, have been entirely lost in an awful rendition by Miss Knightley.
The actors and actresses used for many of the other parts are far too shiny and attractive for their purpose (the entire basis of Mr Collins is that he is a disgusting, embarrassing man who no one would ever want to marry and yet they use an actor who, though he does a tolerable job of acting the piece, is actually quite attractive and would have been quite a catch!) and they actually seem to have completely omitted Mr and Mrs Hurst giving Caroline Bingley no one but Darcy to fire her nasty observations regarding Elizabeth at. Whoever thought of casting Donald Sutherland as Mr Bennett should have been shot-he plays it as he plays every character he has ever played in his life, and completely loses all grasp on the role as the film goes on. Don't get me wrong, I love Donald Sutherland-but Mr Bennett he is not. After all, you wouldn't cast Dawn French as Elizabeth would you? Vin Diesel as Heathcliffe? Danny DeVito as James Bond? This casting was just as ridiculous.
Casting aside, there have been changes made to the story which are inexplicable, unnecessary and detrimental to the viewers' understanding of the film. The two changes which made me most annoyed were first, that for some incomprehensible reason Lady Catherine's visit to Elizabeth at Longbourne is made in the middle of the night! And their conversation is had in full view of the rest of the Bennett family who are standing around in their nightwear watching the scene progress! Not only would no visitor have been admitted to the house at that late hour, but no woman of any social standing would commit such a flagrant breach of etiquette for fear of losing face and no family would ever have been seen by visitors whilst wearing their nightgowns unless someone was, literally, dying! Second, Darcy's proposal to Elizabeth was made at night, alone with both 'again' wearing their nightclothes-an offence which would be unpardonable at that time and would certainly result in the lady's being shunned by society and becoming un-marryable and the man would also likely lose much of his previous social rank.
Generally though, this film omits such large portions of the storyline as to provide the viewer with no basis for either Pride or Prejudice and therefore no understanding of the basic premise of the entire story can be had. If you have never read the book, you would never be able to gain an understanding of the story from this terrible excuse for an adaptation.
Never before have I encountered a film adaptation which made me genuinely angry and the makers should be ashamed of themselves for butchering such a wonderful story in a blatant attempt at adapting it for an (sorry, it has to be said) American market. For gods sake, and for the sake of your own sanity-if you have read and loved the book as I have do NOT watch this dreadful travesty of a film. The Colin Firth version had its issues, but at least it tried so I'll take that any day over this piece of twaddle...