Ouch

Rating: 1/10 (25 September 2005)

This film is bad. There are no words that do justice to what this film has done to the most beloved work of one of the greatest English authors. To start with, the film cannot seem to decide when it is set. We see scenes and costumes from a plethora of different historical periods (especially in the ballroom scenes). This is nothing to the dialogue, however, which cannot decide if it wants to be modern or self-consciously antiquated. Apparently just using Austen's dialogue would be too easy. The characters' manners wouldn't fit into any period (see Georgianna Darcy in particular). The scene of Darcy's second proposal appears to have been stolen from a Mills and Boon novel. I can only imagine that the makers of this film have never read the book or were just having a laugh. Even the acting doesn't redeem it, as even great performers collapse under an absurd script. The two leads are particularly bad as they attempt to smoulder. Please do not go to see this film, as giving them money would only serve to encourage this sort of thing.