Beautifully filmed but...

Rating: 4/10 (27 April 2006)

This was a beautifully filmed movie. There were a couple of shots that wouldn't have looked out of place on a canvas in a gallery. There were also some scenes that were worthy of an art film, particularly the end of the dance at the ball at Netherfield. . . . But it would have been nice if the writers had used Jane Austen's characters. Most of the personalities were completely changed; the others were emphasized to the point of caricature. Only Caroline Bingley seemed to meet expectations and I will say that her and Elizabeth's parting comments after Jane's illness were delightfully catty. Interviews with the actors and director on the DVD seem to indicate that they believe their portrayals are accurate to the actual book; a fact that gave me the excuse to re-read the book to be sure they were wrong. . . The change of character personalities are the most unforgivable aspect of the film. The second insult to the book was the ignoring of the period's manners and dress. Some behavior and dress was too sloppy for even a setting in a pioneering western. Certainly the first ball looked more like a square dance than a ball to me. . . There are, of course, the changes that are necessitated by turning a book-length piece of literature into a 2 hour movie; unfortunate but understandable. . . Overall, I'd say that if you haven't read the book, you'll probably enjoy the movie. Even if you have, you could still enjoy the movie by just accepting that changes have been made and watch it as a slightly inaccurate historical film.