A good attempt

Rating: 8/10 (4 November 2005)

Having seen the BBC version, I was expecting to be disappointed. However, I wasn't. It is really quite good - a new look at a well known drama. It ran along nicely - the sets were authentic looking. Most of these period pieces have sets that are set in some master plan somewhere. This was a cut above. I thought Keira Knightley was absolutely gorgeous. Mind you, she was so lovely that surely Mr Bingley would have gone for her, rather than her sister. Matthew MacFadyen didn't strike me as being as handsome as Colin Firth, but conveyed his awkwardness well; you really felt he didn't know how to handle women, especially sparky ones. Personally, I always want to strangle Mrs Bennet; I thought Brenda Blethyn was an improvement over Alison Steadman, who sounded like Edna Everage. Mr Collins was very good, but not as good as the previous version, who was truly excellent. I particularly liked Kelly Reilly as Caroline Bingley. She had a really bitchy feeling about her, but sexy with it. Judy Dench - please! I am completely Denched out. Dead Ringers had it right - Judy Dench plays every middle aged middle/upper class English lady who ever lived. Barbara Leigh-Hunt in the previous version was absolutely fantastic - much better than Dame Judy, I am afraid. Donald Sutherland was a mistake - was he dubbed? Just stuck in for a name, I suppose. Not as good as the BBC classic, but enjoyable just the same.