An 1813 novel, a timeless love story and a media fit to revive it.

Rating: 7/10 (4 February 2012)

It is no mystery that this most successful Jane Austen novel did so well in the TV miniseries and has repeated the feat in this 2005 film. Over the years, many movies of love stories between people of dissimilar classes and or culture have always found an audience and a faithful one; the struggle to overcome what separates the lovers from their destiny is what fantasies were made for.
The movie, as you would expect with its wonderful cast, brings to life the characters as vividly as one would have hoped. The cinematography punctuates the palaver with beautiful quiet moments that allows the audience to take in human nature's flaws of false virtues and ruminate over the solution to overcome them. The director's job was to do just that it seems to me, and Joe Wright did it well. Few characters have been cited or referred to in other works (movies or plays), such as that of Elizabeth Bennet, with the possible exception of Jane Eyre of course, typical with the leads in classics. Keira Knightly, I thought, was made for this part; the camera loves her. The bodacious Rosamund Pike, in the role of Jane Bennet, acquitted herself equally well; with all the experience and training she possesses, I would have expected nothing less. Matthew Macfadyen, in the role of Mr. Darcy, excelled at playing the reserved and aloof character; reigning in all manners of emotions, well most anyway, was called for and the choice of Macfadyen was admittedly a smart one. Collin Firth had already played the part so well in the miniseries (so I read), that any other actor might have felt the challenge of such a part; Macfadyen appeared not to, and this is much to his credit. Besides, Jane Austen's dialogue was not to be overshadowed by visuals and non verbals, simply highlighted. I was very pleased with Donald Sutherland and Brenda Blethyn in the roles of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.
In this era where the bookworm has been replaced by a fixated erudite, I can't think of a better way to initiate the youth to a beautiful classic than by having it told in the media that is the replacement to the manuscript. Try prying the iPad away from a focused preteen and watch the reaction; I would have sooner skipped a meal than put down my favourite book. Okay my youth was not that typical. So it goes with today's new generation; I hope the movie finds that young audience, and with the story in film, the likelihood is that more possible.