Painful to watch

Rating: 1/10 (29 March 2011)

I have tried watching several times and usually don't get past the first 10 minutes but I have forced myself to watch it all the way through (in the vain hope that it would improve).
The Bennet's are a reasonably wealthy and high status family just not rich or titled. As Elizabeth herself says 'I am a gentleman's daughter'. Yet they are portrayed in the film as farmers, with mud and livestock in front of the main door of the house. The house was a shambles, dark and dreary. In the most part their clothes would not be fit to be seen in 'polite society'. And their hair and complexion looks more like a poor farmworker than a genteel family. Where are the servants? There is no attempt in the film to explain one of the basic issues of this period in history - which is that if the five Bennet girls do not marry money, when their father dies they will have nothing (as it would by law all go to Mr Collins). This issue drives the behaviour of all of the characters.
The whole film seems to run on the premise of poor girl, pretty but with attitude, fancies rich bloke, and gets him in the end. This is not the point of Jane Austen's work at all. The point of the book as I see it is that Elizabeth's character will not allow her to compromise her own feelings to secure her future (and thereby also secure the future for her sisters). Her prejudice against Mr Darcy builds based on his pride at their first meeting (the assembly), her perception of the poor treatment of Mr Wickham and the understanding that Mr Darcy influenced Mr Bingley in such a way as to upset her sister, Jane.
The cast had potential, all very talented actors, but I think was let down by an awful script/screenplay and terrible direction.
I do not feel that this film is fit to use the title Pride and Prejudice or the name of Jane Austen as it does no credit to either.
If anyone want to see a more representative production of Pride and Prejudice then watch the BBC series (screenplay by Andrew Davies) which I would give 9 out of 10.