Horrible adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel.

Rating: 1/10 (16 September 2007)

YUCK!!!!! Just shoot the screen writer and the director! But give awards to the cinematographer!!! What a misuse of the entire female cast.
I wanted to love this version, as I am a big Austen fan. But before the opening credits were finished rolling, I knew I would hate it. Why? Because there were so many errors with the direction, costumes and scene set ups, that I know Austen would be appalled! This film could have been good if it did not bear the same name as the novel, and said it was loosely based on it.
For starters, the Bennet family was not a bunch of frumps, they had a much better house and furniture, and there certainly would not be pigs in the house. The only women of the time who were seen in public with their hair down and loose were of the seedier kind. (Hence the expression, "To let one's hair down.") Elizabeth Bennet would NEVER have been that fresh to her mother, or some others. She needed a few good slaps in the face. Mr. Bennet was no longer on love with his wife; as a matter of fact he almost had contempt for her! Matthew Macfadden did NOT look proud at all-he looked like he was on Quaaludes the entire film. I hope to NEVER see him on the screen again. He's pathetic! (Colin Firth in the previous version was alive, but looked constipated.) And what was with that STUPID closing scene with the shirt open?!! Definitely NOT appropriate for the character or the time period!
Again, Aunt Gardner's role is practically eliminated, which is a fatal error. This character is the third tip of Austen's typical triangle of comparison.
I do agree that Keira Knightly, and all of the women in the cast gave excellent performances with the material they had to work from. Hats off to Rosamund Pike who has sent the standard of excellence for the portrayal of Jane Bennet. I believe that Jena Malone would have also taken the same title for her portrayal of Lydia, but her part was reduced too much.
Suffer through the total production, if only to watch the ladies do excellent work with inappropriate and bad lines.