Truly awful

Rating: 1/10 (12 March 2006)

It takes a lot of effort and determination to turn Austen's superb novel into something truly awful. The producers, writers, director, and cast of PP2005 have managed to do just that. If you cherish the novel, don't go see this movie. If you love movies, give this one a miss. If you're feeling optimistic about the state of the arts in our time, go see this movie - you'll be cured of your optimism for a long time to come. When I had finished watching this movie I felt like undergoing ritual flagellation.
I couldn't find a single thing to like about this movie. It's completely over the top. From the ball, where a few fiddlers and flutists manage to sound like an 80 piece orchestra, to Blethyn's tedious and patented hysterical mother, to Dench's absurd Lady de Bourgh, to the hysteria of the five sisters, to earsplitting cacophony of the five Bennett sisters in full cackle, to Knightly's vacuous face, to . . . words fail me.
I'd give the movie a zero if I could. Pace, Miss Austen; this too will pass.