comparison inevitable, but not entirely unfavorable

Rating: 8/10 (4 November 2005)

Few of us who go and see this movie will have missed the BBC mini-series starring Colin Firth as the definitive (yes, better than Olivier) Mr. Darcy. One cannot help but liken this new Darcy more to a Heathcliff than to the rather stiff-mannered Darcy Jane Austen describes.
However, his portrayal was met with no objection from my movie-going companion, who had neither read the book nor seen the BBC version, in fact, she loved it.
Therefore I must count myself prejudiced in liking Darcy and Elizabeth from 1995 better than these two (with tiny-chested Knightley a rather unlikely candidate for "famed beauty" in the 19th century).
However, I do have one reason for thinking it worthy of a very good rating: Bingley and Jane. Their chemistry is palpable, the stumbling Bingley is absolutely charming and believable, Jane is as beautiful and demure as she can be...their besottedness enchants the viewer.
Of course, as is always the case with feature-length films made from long books, many of the nuances and intricacies Austen supplies the reader with went missing; yet this film does a creditable job of covering all the major plot points in small time without actually changing any of essence, a remarkable achievement.