I loved this movie.

Rating: 9/10 (24 October 2005)

I loved this movie. I was a bit reluctant about seeing it - I'm not a great fan of PP but I went and enjoyed it immensely. I know that trying to squash it all into two hours means some things had to be left out, but overall it was an excellent adaptation. I've seen the so-called 'iconic' mini-series and I didn't like that at all. Jennifer Ehle was too old - she made Lizzy seem fat and matronly. Lizzy is only 20, Ehle was just too mature for the part and her stupid smirk (she does it in everything I've seen her in) really annoyed me. I did not find the movie lacking in humour and I did not find Collins and Lady Catherine flat or devoid of character, neither was the portrayal of Bingley a failure. Quite the opposite. The audience I shared my viewing with seemed to find Collins very amusing and loved Mr Bingley. Keira Knightley was superb. Her performance was a delight. You could see why Darcy - and Collins, and Wickham - were captured. As for the comments about making her look 'plain' - why would that be needed? Elizabeth Bennet is described as pretty and the second most attractive of the Bennet sisters after Jane. Why would Knightley have had to be made to look 'plain'? I loved the period depiction. It was so refreshing to have the cast speak naturally instead of putting on false airs as is often the case in period movies. The country setting, the squalor of the Bennet household, the mud, the dirty hems and the rest helped bring it all to life. I loved it, I wish it had been longer, but that is my only criticism.