Much, much better than I expected.

Rating: 9/10 (6 May 2006)

Okay, I admit this up front--when I first heard a remake of P & P was being filmed I thought, "Jeez, not another one?!?" After all redoing something isn't necessarily an improvement. (Think of how many times Jane Eyre (by Bronte,I know,I know) has been produced and badly too!) However being a Jane Austen fan I needed to check this version out. I am certainly glad I did. It gives audiences a different view and interpretation of the story.
I like the way the director decided to present a gentler version of all the characters--Mrs. Bennett is silly and displays at times some improper behaviors as do the younger daughters but they are not portrayed as ridiculously appalling. Mr. Darcy seems remote and dismissive but also appears (even to Lizzy at the beginning, miserable) a little depressed, repressed, even sad. Still he responds to Lizzy's sparkling personality even though he probably doesn't want to acknowledge this to anyone, including himself,when they first meet.
The humor also is charming and well placed in the movie. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is Darcy sitting on an old chair outside the Bennett home, the dog sitting next to him and the chickens pecking on the ground while he waits to receive consent from Mr. Bennett--a clever way of showing Mr. Darcys' true attachment to Lizzy.( Much of what needs to be communicated from the story has to be done not through dialog but in other ways) Another is Lydias' thing with her handkerchief and the marching regiment.
I also appreciate the earthier view of things: the animals about, dust, wind, rain, the regular clothing of the Bennet family contrasted with others of greater wealth. The less than perfectly groomed hair and also the vigorous dancing at the Mereton Assembly are wonderful additions.
Casting actors of appropriate ages for the parts of Lizzy and Darcy (I think they were only a year or two different in actual ages from the characters in the book) is a refreshing change. All fans of the 1995 version please forgive me, but I thought both Firth and Ehle looked too old for their respective parts. Jennifer Ehle is just too beautiful for the role of Lizzy anyway. Please do not misunderstand me: I love the 1995 version, I own it and have watched it probably 50 times at least. I just mean I liked and appreciated the fact the producers could find and cast talented actors of roughly the same age as the actual characters of the book. Matthew McFadyen in particular looked the right age especially in close ups and his blue eyes made him look more vulnerable. Being American, I had never heard his name before but he is certainly an actor whose future work I will follow with interest.
The only real criticism I can offer is I wish there had been more screen time for the development of the secondary characters who do make important contributions to the story. And like many others, I wish it had been longer!
I have never seen the 1940 version and I am not sure I want to but take a look at the 1980 version with Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul if you haven't seen it. It is much like the book and is produced like a play for television. This Mr. Darcy is handsome enough to die for and it is true to the book as well.