Does justice to the book

Rating: 10/10 (4 April 2006)

I rented this movie a few days ago rather tentatively. I enjoy a genuine romance occasionally but today's standards of 'romance' are typically sappy chick flicks with mindless cliché plots and poor attempts at acting. Having read Pride and Prejudice in high school and loving Jane Austen's many other works I was afraid the new remake would be another disappointment. I must admit that I tried watching the BBC miniseries and was not captivated enough to finish so I had no true desire to see another remake of the film. This one however was a beautiful adaptation that keep the essence of the period, its tongue-in-cheek humour and captured the genuine 'romance' factor of the film in a very well done (cheese-free) storyline that kept me interested throughout and left me quite satisfied at the end. The ultimate period free good film that one can rewatch over and over.
The casting was brilliant and exactly how I had pictured them to look while reading the book. Knightley was a surprisingly believable Lizzie who captured the character's temperament and energy to perfection. Even Pike's subtle portrayal of the mild mannered Jane was brilliant. On need s to take the time to rewatch the movie like I did, to catch all the facial expressions and witty sidecomments.
Now, I know there are people who can't help but judge this movie by the popular BBC version and the inevitable Darcy comparison. I for my part preferred the Macfadyen version because he was how i pictured Darcy in the book. Many seem to think that his was not prideful enough in his portrayal- however I've always believe that Darcy was seen as arrogant due to the social awkwardness and his affluent upbringing. Lizzie embodied pride (b/c she could forgive him for wounding her vanity upon their first meeting) while he was prejudice (due to his view of the inferiority of her circumstances) Overall, unlike the BBC version I found myself completely captivated by this film and fully immersed in its story.