A good but not excellent film

Rating: 6/10 (26 October 2005)

I enjoyed this film, however I still thought it was flawed. While Mathew MacFayden was an acceptable Darcy, I thought his puppy-dog look compromised the pride and aloofness that Darcy should have had, in the beginning of the film at least. MacFayden's Darcy was too amiable really. Keira Knightley was good but not excellent. I never got the feeling that Lizzie had the intellect and depth to attract someone like Darcy, which is a shame because the whole film centres on the unlikely attraction between the two - unlikely because Darcy thought that with an inferior education and upbringing, someone in Lizzie's position could never equal him.
The scenery was just gorgeous, the costumes were lovely if a little mixed (ie the older ladies were wearing late 18th century fashions & the younger ladies were dressed for the times), the Bennet girls all talked over one another as any real sisters would do, and the general quality of the actors was very fine. I found the film extremely grainy at times, which detracted from the aesthetically pleasing way it was shot. The heightened emotion in scenes such as the first proposal and Lady Catherine's unexpected visit at Longbourn was done well by changing something about the traditional story (ie the proposal happens outside in a rainstorm & Lady Catherine barges into Longbourn in the middle of the night).
I loved Bingley, his bumbling and the way he was always tongue-tied around Jane was so endearing. Unfortunately by bundling Jane off to London immediately after Bingley left the country and keeping her out of the action for the next half hour, one does not sense her heartbreak, or understand just how close she and Bingley came to losing each other forever.
The story was fast-paced, which is excusable considering how much there was to fit into two hours, and some of the scenes (the first dance, the ball and the scene with Lizzie looking at the statues at Pemberley) slowed it down too much and also took up valuable room that could have been usefully employed with more character exposition or story development.
Despite some disappointments, I really enjoyed this film. A good one to add to the DVD collection for a rainy day (once it's released of course).