Interesting but not very good

Rating: 7/10 (29 March 2006)

I don't like this movie much. Maybe I am just too fastidious, but in my opinion, the leading actress is not beautiful enough and Mr. Darcy is not handsome enough, either. Many people might disagree with these comments I ruthlessly made about these two, but I think those who have seen the famous 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice would agree with me. The cast in the 1940 version was truly a masterpiece and very convincing. Needless to say, the cast for supporting roles were even worse in this version, especially that for Jane and Mr. Bingley.
Acting is also a problem for this movie. Elizabeth lacked the natural grace and was more immature in this new version and Mr. Darcy adopted a mien of coldness both too deliberately and indifferently. And just too many photographing gimmicks in this picture, which tired me in the end.
It might be a pity that I happened to have seen the older version before this new 2005 version, because the latter was completely overshadowed by the former. Moreover, Jane Austen's novel and the script in the movie accordingly were of course very witty and engaging, but unfortunately people seldom laugh twice at the same joke.
The dance scene should have been the most delightful part in Jane Austen's movies, like what I saw with immeasurable pleasure in the 1997 Emma, however, in this movie, these scenes were always so noisy, crowded and confusing that hardly caused any delight. On the contrary to being beautiful, these scenes conveyed to us some kind of uneasiness, which is really disappointing.
I think as a novelist, Jane Austen was very successful, otherwise how could her works be interpreted again and again in screens? But like almost all best-sellers, these novels were full of conversations that are too witty and spicy and darted forth too quickly and freely from the actors' mouths; this feature not only lessens the credibility of the whole story, but also impairs the depth and seriousness of its artistic value. Somehow what is hidden and inexpressible should eventually turn out to be the most powerful, while words, however witty or smart they are, still lack real strength.
The movie had a lot of beautifully-shot moments, mostly consisting of those fabulous landscapes, which seem almost too beautiful to be real. The color in this movie was also very rich and almost splendid in some scenes. But all the merits mean nothing in a movie which is supposed to be warm and touching yet remain noisy but cold and indifferent; this alone is enough to make this movie a failure.
I rate this movie 7 out of 10. mymaoyao@hotmail.com