Kiera Knightley, finally a movie to call her own

Rating: Null/10 (26 February 2006)

More than one critic started by quoting Jane Austin's opening line "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a fortune must be in want of a wife". This, of course, really talks about woman, not men. More specifically, it's about the helplessness of women at the Victorian era, helpless in the sense that without financial independence women today command, their entire life depended on marrying a man who can comfortably provide for their material needs. This predicament in not confined to the time and place in Pride and Prejudice. "Love in a fallen city" (1984) depicts how educated woman in China in the early part of the last century find themselves with the same fate.
The plot of P&P is about Mrs. Bennet's (played splendidly by Brenda Blethyn who appeared recently in "Beyond the sea" with an equally splendid performance) formidable task of marrying off 5 daughters. The opening scene takes us into the humble Bennet estate through idyllic, offscreen piano (or "pianoforte", to be exact) melodies, which turns out to be one of the daughters playing on screen as we followed the camera's eye into the house. The last time I saw (and heard) something like this was not too long ago, in "The merchant of Venice" (2005) but with a beautiful singing voice instead of a pianoforte. This brings me to another note on technique, in the superbly handled ball scene, with the camera penning from room to room in one continuous shot, capturing various scenes. This seems to be inspired by Russian Ark, which, if you haven't heard, is a movie comprising one single take over its entire 90 minutes.
Going directly to the summary line, I would stress again that this movie is all Kiera Knightley whom one critic aptly described in one word: "knockout". But this is to the extent of bending Jane Austin's novel considerably, because Elizabeth the second daughter (Knightley) is supposed to be plain, her beauty being in her intelligence, integrity and wit. It's Jane the oldest sister that is supposed to be a ravishing beauty, something that the movie makers do not have any particular interest in following.
The story is also considerably simplified, with character development and subplot trimmed, which is understandable and forgivable for a movie of two hours. It's the main story that we, as moviegoers rather than novel reader, should really care about. And here, Knightley projects all the inner qualities of Elizabeth that attract Darcy (competently played by Matthew Macfadyen). All we need to do is to pretend that she is not beautiful, a difficult thing, but helped by the fact that Darcy never said anything, to Elizabeth or anybody else, about being attracted by her looks.
There are plenty of characters, but no particularly week link. The sisters are fine, if not inspiring. The mother, as I have mentioned, is splendid. The rogue (Mr. Wickham played by Rupert Friend) and the clown (Mr. Collins played by Tom Hollandeer) fill their respective roles well. Judi Dench can do the sort of thing she does in this movie while sleeping.
Absolutely the best, however, is the father Donald Sutherland, who seems to be able to act with every muscle on his face. Most beautiful howvere is the scene with Kneightley at the end, a scene that lasts for maybe 3 minutes. Elizabeth is asking for her father's permission to marry Darcy. Here is an understanding father who values her integrity and appreciates her intelligence way above all the other sisters put together. It starts with palpable nervous tension because Mr. Bennet is under the impression that his daughter hates this conceited, arrogant man and cannot understand why she wants to marry him. When things are eventually explained, Knightley flashes one of her winning radiant smiles and Sutherland leans back in his chair and laughs out loud and heartily. It's for that one brief shiny moment (nothing to do with Camelot) that I place this father/daughter scene even above the Palthrow/Hopkins performance I saw not too long ago, in another wonderful movie "Proof".
"Bend it like Beckham" (2002) and "Pirates of the Caribbean" (2003) put her on the cinametic landscape. In a sea of cinematic celebrities in "Love actually" (2003 Christmas), she not only held her own, but actually stood out. As beautiful and untraditionally wild Guinevere in "King Arthur" (2004) she stole quite a few scenes from Clive Owen. "The jacket" (2005) is all Adrien Brody's show but by boldly taking on a haggard, unglamorous look, she served notice that she means business. Finally Keira Knightley has a movie to call all her own, and even got a best actress nomination, quite surprising to many. Having now seen the movie, I no longer question the nomination. She is not strong enough to win, but is at least as good as Paltrow in Shakespears in Love - and Paltrow won an Oscar.