Pride and Prejudice 2005

Rating: 6/10 (27 November 2005)

I was so anxious to see this movie. First, I must say that I enjoyed how they re-enacted the period. The style, grit, earthiness was interesting and the scenic shots were breath taking, but...the acting left much to be desired. On the way home we decided that Keira Knightly (Elizabeth Bennet) was impersonating Winona Rider as Jo in Little Women. She lacked the elegance of the Elizabeth we are accustomed to in the A&E version of P & P and she was much too silly. Elizabeth and Jane were almost as giddy as Lydia and Kitty, which did not give the contrast that Jane Austen must have intended in her beloved novel. To the untrained eye it was a fun movie and Keira Knightly is energetic and beautiful to watch. To the pure Jane Austen fan this version lacks the true dialogue and the tweaking of the story was ridiculous. For example having Elizabeth blurt out to Mr.Darcy that dancing would not be fun even if he had a partner that could tempt him. Paaaleeeze. AND they cut out some of the best lines! "If you had behaved in a more gentleman-like manner!" The Mr.Collins character was rather believable and Dame Judy Dench as Lady Catherine worked well and I would have liked to see her in more scenes. They took poetic license a bit too far by having Bingley come into Jane's room while she was sick to check on her. That would not be done in Austen's book! They had Elizabeth walking outside in her nightgown because she could not sleep and Darcy meeting her at sunrise as he was walking. NEVER. Let alone the ending with the silly kissing scene at Pemberly. I did have fun seeing this with a friend who knows the story and the A&E version inside and out. We chuckled and annoyed all those around us. My husband commented that it was like watching The Lord of the Rings Trilogy cut down to a two-hour movie It felt like it was in fast forward. Recently I read many reviews declaring this version was Brontëfied with sweeping landscapes and lacking the incredible dialogue. I am amiss to why they bothered to film this movie when the A&E version is so utterly superior and true to the book. I just hope that anyone who has seen this production will be interested in reading the book and/or watching the A&E version to be completely caught up with the true story and the fascinating dialogue that Jane Austen is famous for.