I was so prepared to hate it....

Rating: 7/10 (12 October 2005)

....but I was (partly) wrong.
It is certainly not THE perfect adaptation of the great Jane Austen's novel, but is has several redeeming features.
The cinematography, costumes and lighting are stunning and the general feel of earthiness and sensuousness is a real plus.
I was taken by surprise by the director's choice to go for a realistic approach to the life and times of Ms Austen. I think it's refreshing to finally see the difference between the Bingley palace and the Bennet muddy overcrowded household. It was not so apparent in previous versions.
The acting is good too. Kiera Knightley is wonderfully delicate and playful, even though she's nothing like the serene, witty and ultimately sensible Ms Lizzy of the book. And this new Darcy has nothing of the stately arrogance Colin Firth could master so well in the BBC adaptation. It was as if we were watching a kind of 'P&P the early years', as if the characters were portrayed at an even younger age. They are not as mature as we expect them to be. But probably this is because the film had to do a six hour job in just two hours and had to settle for zest instead of irony, for sexiness instead of passion. I thought that Sutherland was much too lovable and kind to be a believable Mr Bennet, but I found his performance heartwarming. The same can be said for Ms Blethyn's Mrs Bennet: she's much too down to earth and careworn for us to really be able to laugh at her, but her performance is topnotch. Normally in P&P the fun comes from Mr Collins, but this time we are sorry for him and pained at his shortcomings. Here, the fun comes from Bingley, a fresh faced, wide eyed, red haired bumbling idiot. The character seems to have traded bonhomie for plain idiocy. However, even though the luminous Jane loves him and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why, even though this passion seems to be born out of absolutely nothing but proximity for a couple of hours, I warmed to Bingley. Lydia and Wickham and the whole militia caboodle could have been dispensed with, as there's not even half the time to start caring about them.
As I said, I was prepared to be severely displeased (as Lady Catherine would say, a stately but ineffectual Judi Dench in Lady Bracknell-mode), but I wasn't. This great book has come to life again, albeit in a surprising new way.