Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Pride & Prejudice is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Joe Wright, in his feature directorial debut, and based on Jane Austen's 1813 novel of the same name. The film features five sisters from an English family of landed gentry as they deal with issues of marriage, morality and misconceptions. Keira Knightley stars in the lead role of Elizabeth Bennet, while Matthew Macfadyen plays her romantic interest Mr. Darcy. Produced by Working Title Films in association with StudioCanal, the film was released on 16 September 2005 in the United Kingdom and on 11 November in the United States.
== Plot ==
During the late 18th century, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their daughters – Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia – live at Longbourn, their estate in rural England. Mrs. Bennet, eager to secure suitable marriages for her daughters, is delighted when wealthy bachelor Charles Bingley moves into nearby Netherfield. At an assembly ball, Bingley, his sister, Caroline, and his friend Mr. Darcy meet the local society. Bingley and Jane are immediately taken with each other, while Elizabeth instantly dislikes the snobbish Darcy and overhears his dismissive remarks about her.
Later, visiting the Bingleys, Jane falls ill and must stay to recuperate. While Elizabeth is visiting Jane at Netherfield, she verbally spars with the haughty Caroline and the aloof Darcy. Jane recovers and soon after, Mr. Bennet's cousin, Mr. Collins, a pompous clergyman, visits the Bennets; as the closest male relative, Collins will inherit Longbourn. Mr. Collins intends to propose to Jane, but Mrs. Bennet says she will soon be engaged; she suggests Elizabeth, which Collins considers an agreeable alternative. The Bennet sisters also meet the handsome and charming soldier, Lieutenant Wickham, who is connected to the Darcy family. He wins Elizabeth's sympathy by claiming Mr. Darcy denied him his rightful inheritance.
At the Netherfield ball, Elizabeth dances with Darcy, though the encounter is strained. The next day, Collins proposes to Elizabeth, who soundly rejects him; despite her mother's anger, her father supports her decision. The Bingley party unexpectedly return to London. Elizabeth urges Jane to visit their aunt and uncle, the Gardiners, who live in London, hoping she reconnects with Bingley. Elizabeth is astonished when her friend, Charlotte, fearing spinsterhood, announces her engagement to Mr. Collins.
Months later, Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr. Collins, who reside on Lady Catherine de Bourgh's estate. Elizabeth soon meets Lady Catherine and her daughter at a dinner at Rosings, Elizabeth unexpectedly meets Darcy, who is Lady Catherine's nephew, and is visiting with his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. During dinner, Lady Catherine is astonished at Elizabeth's opinions. While treating everyone to some music, Elizabeth and Darcy have some exchange words. During a Sunday service, unaware that Jane is Elizabeth's sister, Fitzwilliam mentions that Darcy recently untangled Bingley from an imprudent match with an "unsuitable" family.
Distraught, Elizabeth is then met by Darcy in the rain, who surprisingly proposes marriage, declaring his ardent love despite her inferior rank. Offended and angry, she refuses him. He defends separating Jane and Bingley, believing Jane indifferent, and rightly criticizes the other Bennets' occasional social impropriety. Elizabeth also cites his mistreating Wickham. She finally tells Darcy that the moment they met, she would not have married him. Angry and heartbroken, Darcy leaves and some time later delivers Elizabeth a letter describing Wickham's true character: Wickham squandered the bequest Darcy's father left him, then attempted to seduce Darcy's 15-year-old sister, Georgiana, into eloping to gain her fortune. he also explained his actions for separating Jane and Bingley.
Before long Elizabeth returns home, as does Jane, she does not mention meeting Darcy. Seconds later, Elizabeth learns that Lydia has been invited to go to Brighton with Mrs Foster as a special guest, which Kitty is saddened about as she cannot attend as well. Despite Elizabeth pointing out Lydia's behavior is not proper and that Kitty will only follow her, her father assures her that the Fosters will take care of her as the Colonel is sensible. Accompanying the Gardiners on a trip to the Peak District, Elizabeth reluctantly tours Pemberley, the grand Darcy estate. She unexpectedly runs into Darcy, who invites her and the Gardiners to dine at Pemberley. Darcy's manner has softened considerably, his manners impressing the Gardiners, and Georgiana sharing her brother's flattering reports about Elizabeth.
An urgent letter from Jane reveals that Lydia has run off with Wickham. Darcy leaves abruptly, and Elizabeth returns home, certain she will never see Darcy again. Her mother fears Lydia's disgrace will ruin her other daughters' chances for good marriages. After a tense waiting period, Mr. Gardiner sends news that Lydia and Wickham are now married, and the newlyweds return to Longbourn. Lydia lets slip to Elizabeth that it was Darcy who found them and paid for their wedding. He also purchased Wickham's military commission. Wickham's commission has placed in Newcastle and they will be away for at least two years. Soon after Lydia and Wickham leave but Lizzy does not acknowledge Wickham.
Bingley and Darcy return to Netherfield and visit Longbourn; Bingley proposes to Jane, who accepts. Late that night, Lady Catherine arrives to see Elizabeth and demands she never become engaged to Darcy; deeply insulted, Elizabeth orders her to leave. Walking the moor early the next morning, Elizabeth encounters Darcy, who apologizes for his aunt's intrusion. He professes his continued love, and Elizabeth, her feelings radically altered, accepts his proposal. She tells her father the truth of Darcy's actions, and Mr. Bennet gives Elizabeth his consent to marry, overjoyed she has found love. The two are wed and live together at Pembery, the film ends with the two sharing a kiss.
== Cast ==
* Keira Knightley as Elizabeth "Lizzy" Bennet
* Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy
* Brenda Blethyn as Mrs. Bennet
* Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennet
* Tom Hollander as Mr. Collins
* Rosamund Pike as Jane Bennet
* Carey Mulligan as Catherine "Kitty" Bennet
* Jena Malone as Lydia Bennet
* Talulah Riley as Mary Bennet
* Judi Dench as Lady Catherine de Bourgh
* Simon Woods as Charles Bingley
* Tamzin Merchant as Georgiana Darcy
* Claudie Blakley as Charlotte Lucas
* Kelly Reilly as Caroline Bingley
* Rupert Friend as George Wickham
* Cornelius Booth as Colonel Fitzwilliam
* Penelope Wilton as Mrs. Gardiner
* Peter Wight as Mr. Gardiner
* Meg Wynn Owen as Mrs. Reynolds
* Sinead Matthews as Betsy
* Roy Holder as Mr. Hill
== Production ==
Moggach's first script was closest to Austen's book, but later versions trimmed extraneous storylines and characters. Moggach initially wrote all scenes from Elizabeth's point of view in keeping with the novel; she later set a few scenes from the male perspective, such as when Bingley practices his marriage proposal, to "show Darcy and Bingley being close" and to indicate Darcy was a "human being instead of being stuck up". Small details were inserted that acknowledged wider events outside of the characters' circle, such as those then occurring in France. While Moggach is the only screenwriter credited for the film, playwright Lee Hall also made early additions to the script.
Television director Joe Wright was hired in early 2004, making Pride & Prejudice his feature film directorial debut. He was considered a surprising choice for a film in the romance drama genre due to his past work with social realism. Wright's body of work had impressed the producers, who were looking for a fresh perspective; they sent him a script despite the fact that Wright had not read the novel. He commented that at the time, "I didn't know if I was really all that interested; I thought I was a little bit more mainstream than this, a bit more edgy. But then I read the script and I was surprised I was very moved by it". He next read the novel, which he called "an amazing piece of character observation and it really seemed like the first piece of British Realism. It felt like it was a true story; had a lot of truth in it about understanding how to love other people, understanding how to overcome prejudices, understanding the things that separate us from other people ... things like that."
Wright found casting of the film to be difficult because he was very particular about "the types of people [he] wanted to work with". While interviewing to direct, he insisted that the actors match the ages of the characters in the novel. Wright specifically cast actors that had rapport on and off screen, and insisted that they partake in three weeks of rehearsal in improvisation workshops. Wright also had to balance who he thought was best for each role with what the producers wanted – mainly a big name attraction. Though Wright had not initially pictured someone as attractive as English actress Keira Knightley for the lead role of Elizabeth Bennet, he cast her after realising that the actress "is really a tomboy [and] has a lively mind and a great sense of humour". Knightley at the time was known for Bend It Like Beckham and the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. She had been an Austen fan since age 7, but initially feared taking the role out of apprehension that she would be doing "an absolute copy of Jennifer Ehle's performance", which she deeply admired. Knightley believed Elizabeth is "what you aspire to be: she's funny, she's witty and intelligent. She's a fully rounded and very much loved character." For the period, the actress studied etiquette, history and dancing but ran into trouble when she acquired a short haircut while preparing for her role in the bounty hunter film Domino. Keira Knightley's name recognition allowed the casting of Macfadyen, who was little known internationally.
Webster found the casting of Darcy especially hard due to the character's iconic status and because "Colin Firth cast a very long shadow" as the 1995 Darcy. Wright later commented that his choice of Knightley allowed him to cast comparative unknown Matthew Macfadyen, something that would have been impossible had he chosen a less well-known actress for Elizabeth Bennet. Macfadyen at the time was known for his role in the British television spy series Spooks, but had no recognition internationally. A fan of the actor's television work, Wright called Macfadyen "a proper manly man ... I didn't want a pretty boy kind of actor. His properties were the ones I felt I needed [for Darcy]. Matthew's a great big hunk of a guy."
== Reception ==
On 11 September 2005, Pride & Prejudice premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival as a special Gala Presentation. The film was released in cinemas on 16 September in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It achieved the number one spot in its first week, earning £2.5 million ($4.6 million) while playing on 397 screens. The film stayed at the top for two more weeks, earning by then a total of over £9 million at the UK box office. It was featured on 412 screens at its widest domestic release.
On 11 November 2005, the film debuted in the United States with an opening weekend of $2.9 million on 215 screens. Two weeks later, it played on 1,299 screens and box office returns increased to $7.2 million; the film left cinemas the week of 24 February 2006 with a total US gross of $38,405,088. Jack Foley, the president of distribution of Focus Features, the film's US distributor, attributed Pride & Prejudice's success in America to Austen's appeal to "the boomer market" and its status as a known "brand".
Pride & Prejudice was released in an additional fifty-nine countries between September 2005 and May 2006 by United International Pictures. With a worldwide gross of $121,147,947, it was the 72nd highest-grossing film of 2005 in the US and was the 41st highest internationally.
== Trivia ==
* Keira Knightly has named this film one of favorites.
* In the US, the film ended with Elizabeth and Darcy married and sharing a kiss while in my international versions, the film ends with Mr. Bennett giving his blessing to Lizzie.
== Extended Links ==