Excellent acting and art

Rating: 9/10 (12 March 2015)

I didn't even expect to like this movie except for Austin's great story and dialogue, but it was really well done. I removed one star for minor faults, like abrupt ending and Donald Sutherland's painfully white teeth, but otherwise this is one of my favorite movies.
I didn't particularly enjoy the BBC version from 1995 because the acting was rigid and insipid, and conversation style unnatural - truer to the book, for sure, but that greatly reduced my enjoyment. This movie softens it all a bit to a version that feels more human and that enabled the actors to do a better job.
Keira Knightley is very good in portraying Elizabeth as a lively, fun-loving, no-nonsense young woman. In the book, Elizabeth says for herself that she's often at the edge of socially acceptable (even if in a smart rather than stupid ways like her younger sisters) and Knightly does it better than Ehle in 1995 series, who just keeps a vague smile almost all the time and barely changes her expression.
MacFadyen sacrifices a bit of Darcy's cold aloofness in favor of showing more of his warm side, and that was fine with me. He does excellent job of expressing strong emotions in subtle, non-verbal ways.
The scenery, music and photography were excellent. There is a little detail that I only noticed when watching the movie the second time: when Elizabeth is walking through the statues in Darcy's home, there is a bust of Darcy in the background which almost seems to follow her with its eyes. Nicely done.
The scene in which Charlotte explains her decision to marry Collins is touching and really brings forward the restricted, cruel position of women in the past, which otherwise is taken for granted in the book and most video versions.
All in all, this is a warm and enjoyable movie full of life.