I just couldn't bring myself to like it.

Rating: 3/10 (17 March 2006)

Bear with me. I do get to the point soon enough. A friend gave me the book 'Pride & Prejudice' when I was 15. It took me at least a year before I really decided to give it a chance as I generally despise fiction of any sort. I became a part of this new world, intimately aware of the people whose lives I now intruded, and my own desires for Lizzie and Darcy, Jane and Bingley, compelled me to read more than I ever had before. In 2003, I was made aware of a BBC production of the same book, and I did everything I could to get my hands on it as soon as possible. Well, the pace was perfect, the actors more than suitable, and the characters, scenery, and conversations exactly as I had imagined them to be. I later bought the book again, this time with Jennifer and Colin gracing the cover. Late last year (2005), I saw the ad for a new P&P movie. I can't say I didn't have my doubts about it. I've just seen it, and I have to say I'm quite disappointed. I don't mean to seem crude, but all the girls seemed so young and underdeveloped. Their lifestyle reflected the wrong image also, I thought. They seemed extremely poor, and all seemed to have no class, though Lizzie and Jane were just slightly above the rest of their family in that regard. Also, I couldn't see the beauty in Lizzie, but Jane seemed fairly pretty. Lydia was pretty, but Kitty looked and acted not much better than a vagrant, I thought, and Mary was prettier than she really should have been--as per the book. The dancing seemed very crowded and slightly disorganized. The plot was far too rushed for me to become intimately aware of anyone at all, and, for the first time, when Lizzie turned down Mr. Darcy's proposal, I didn't cry. I couldn't. I could barely keep up with the pace of it all anyway. However, it seemed to slow down a bit by the end. The last scene with Lizzie and Darcy was the only moving one in the entire movie for me, but I still couldn't cry because she was not my Lizzie. She was not the girl I followed in my reading. She wasn't a bad girl. She just didn't touch my soul. He also wasn't my Darcy. One of the things that made it so strange for me was the way different parts of the story were forced together, as though they happened simultaneously. Another was the difference in what was really said by the characters from the book. I didn't see the need to change that. It was already so perfect. Also, where was my sweet, quiet, charming Jane? Many have complained that Susannah Harker was not more beautiful than Jennifer Ehle--though Jane Austen did say about midway through the book that the girls were equal really--but it does depend on how one defines beauty. Susannah is one of those classic beauties, I think. I do prefer Jennifer, but I could as easily imagine someone favoring Susannah. I've digressed, but I don't want to give it all away, so I'll leave it at that. I wouldn't buy this movie, nor do I care to watch it again. I feel the need to watch the good old BBC production now though to unadulterate my view of my favorite story.