Great Movie

Rating: 10/10 (13 December 2005)

Stories like this just don't happen any more in a time where there's so much fuss about body attributes and looks in contrast to inner values and character. From their first meeting, and driven by the course of events, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy each outgrow their disposition - Elizabeth rises from playful, superficial adolescence to a profound, impressive young woman while Darcy descends from haughtiness to noble decency. This prototype of romance is rather triggered by fresh dialogs than mutual desire. Darcy is initially attracted and confused by Elizabeth's spontaneity, by her ability to dumbfound him who considers his views so concluded that he is rather bored by the social activities around him. Till the end they never kiss, they almost never touch each other except for dancing or helping her on a coach. And still, the air between them is more and more filled with romance.
The movie paints a picture of an 18th-century family in a society where the only adequate aim for a young woman was to marry advantageously, Elizabeth being kind of a heroine because of her free, open mind so unbending to authority. The original novel by Jane Austen is rather truthfully adopted with some restrictions due to the inevitable bit of director's / scriptwriter's dramatic freedom; e.g. the book has no such scene where Darcy approaches her through morning fogs - well that's just good old Hollywood, a little dip of romance here and there, but (imo) tolerable as it rather decorates the original plot instead of altering it.
Conclusion: if you're a romantic who likes such settings, this one is for you. Jane Austen fanatics might take exception to a few details left out or filled in, though.