Bennett, Ban It, Bin It ...

Rating: 7/10 (2 October 2005)

... or How To Decline Jane Austen. We're told that comparisons are odious but let's fact it, this IS a much-filmed novel, I'm not sure just how many adaptations there have been but it's probably fair to say that this is more Austen 7 than Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. It's watchable without being memorable and it makes all the right moves, about once in every reel there's a wide-angled chocolate-box shot to punctuate the less than exhilarating dialogue including an unashamed crib of Constable's The Hay Wain. The acting ranges from the mediocre to the highly competent - Judi Dench, for example, is NEVER going to be less than excellent in anything - but it's a pity that the acting honours are divided equally between the older generation, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland, at the expense of the young leads. Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy are direct descendants of Beatrice and Benedek so that if only subconsciously we don't just expect but demand clearly banked PASSION in the formal-to-arrogant exchanges but Keira Knightly and Matthew MacFadyen fail miserably to deliver and both seem to walk-through it rather than attempt to act as if saving their real acting for other projects (MacFadyen was, in fact, appearing at the National Theatre as Prince Hal in Henry IV Parts I and II at the time). Having voiced these reservations I have no doubt it will please a lot of patrons and get its neg cost back though the screening I attended, on a Saturday, was only about half full.