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Back on Ciao! Check out my new review on Carthage, Tunisia. :)
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Pride and Prejudice is the story of Elizabeth Bennet, one of a family of five sisters in a English lower gentry family at the start of the 19th century. Their mother is determined to see them married and secure because their estate is entailed to pass to their nearest male relative on their father's death.
The BBC filmed a TV series of Pride and Prejudice which first aired in 1995 and starred Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet and Colin Firth as Darcy, but there has not been a big screen version apart from and since 1940 when Aldous Huxley adapted a film from a stage version. The Oscar-winning 1940 film stared Greer Garson as Elizabeth Bennet and Laurence Olivier as Darcy. I've seen both the 1995 BBC series and the 1940 film, and for a lot of fans of the book such as me, the 2005 film will stand on how it stands up to its predecessors.
I think it stands up well.
If the BBC's 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice was all about balls and Chippendale elegance, then the 2005 film is set in a farmyard. Longbourn, the Bennet's home in Hertfordshire, is not a scaled-up doll's house. There is clutter on the tables, muddied hems
and shoes, and the window sils need a lick of paint.
The sensuous feel and detail is rife. The sun shines when the Bennets are happy. rain showers down heavily when there is a crisis. There is a moment as Mr Bennet hussels a beloved pig through the hallways at Longbourn; another as he lifts a prize plant down from a high shelf. Uninportant in themselves, over in two seconds, these tiny glimpses are enough to make an impression in the memory.
In the BBC's Pride and Prejudice (1995) Colin Firth's Mr Darcy famously emerged from a swim in a lake, his wet shirt clinging to his chest. Matthew MacFadyen's Darcy strolls across the dewy dawn grass with his shirt open at the neck and the fluff of some chest hair on view.
What of the cast?
Keira Knightly grins an infectious smile. We see why Darcy might fall for her and she delivers her barbs satisfactorily, she is indeed on occasion the 'foolish, headstrong girl', her mother describes. What's missing is some of the depth of Elizabeth Bennet's character. It's difficult to believe that Knightly's Elizabeth might actually sit down and read a book.
Matthew MacFadyen's Darcy is different from Colin Firth's but not less agreeable. He cuts a tall, fine figure. Proud, like Firth, but he appears more vulnerable, somehow shyer. The scenes at Pemberley, with Georgiana Darcy are captivating. It's completely believable that he should have falling in love with Elizabeth when we see the eagerness in his body language in her presence, and the way he smiles.
Rosamund Pike is absolutely convincing as Jane Bennet, an almost too-good-to-be-true character who is optimistic and believes the best in everyone until she suffers for her naivety at the hands of Caroline Bingley (Kelly Reilly). Reilly's part is somewhat limited; though she makes an impression.
Brenda Blethyn plays Mrs Bennet exceptionally well. Donald Sutherland portrays an amusing Mr Bennet, his dry humour works though his English accent sounded slightly odd in places.
Simon Wood's Bingley comes into his own in his final scene with Jane Bennet. Watching Darcy's dark and confident silhouette against a flustered and pacing Bingley beside a hazy lake just before this scene was a delight.
Tom Hollander gives us an exceptionally cringe-worthy Mr Collins - that's the character - his eyes never meeting anyone he speaks to, and his voice absolutely in character with its obsequiousness. Claudie Blakley pulls of Charlotte Lucas adequately.
The story focuses on the romance between Ezlibeth and Darcy, and there is little time devoted to Lydia's escapade with Wickham, making this and some of the other subplots seem rather hurried. However, there is chemistry between Knightley and MacFadyen, as there is with Rosamund Pike and Simon Wood, and overall enough going on around them to set them in the contexts of their worlds and see the development over the course of the story of their discovery of each other's true characters.
The director is Joe Wright, who directed the TV mini-series Charles II (2003) so he is no stranger to costume-drama and there are pleasing quirks in the cinematography, such as seeing Mr and Mrs Bennet argue through a window from the view of Elizabeth Bennet who is outside the house. The screenplay was adapted from Jane Austen's original novel by Deborah Moggach, best-selling author of the novel Tulip Fever. Apparently actress Emma Thompson did an uncredited re-write of the script but the dialogue - lifted in many places directly from the novel - felt a little stilted in places. The film, by and large, is faithful to the book and the period detail is right. Fans of this film are likely to be females - it's high on romance, atmosphere and emotion, and low on action.
The film is rated U in the UK making it enjoyable family viewing. No parent would be disappointed with this being their children's first introduction to Jane Austen.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Drama - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Ian McShane, Dudley Sutton, Phyllis Logan, Chris Jury, Malcolm Tierney
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Great review , very detailed and interesting! I've read the book and have to admit its one of my faves in english classic!
Alican 29.11.2005 14:50
Great review of a great film
eve6kicksass 27.10.2005 03:25
Terrific review on a film I really want to see, even though I dont fully trust Kiera in the title role, but I love the supporting cast, so I think it will be worth it. Very influential review...Chris xxx
Rightly winning wide acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, this latest take on Jane ... more
Austens classicPride&Prejudiceis a real, all-round triumph. The age-old story still holds real resonance, and it follows the tale of five sisters dealing with love, an...
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The five Bennet sisters have all been raised by their mother with one purpose in life - ... more
finding a husband. However, the second eldest Lizzie can think of 100 reasons not to marry.When Mrs Bennet hears the exciting news that a wealthy bachelor and his c...
Rightly winning wide acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, this latest take on Jane ... more
Austens classicPride&Prejudiceis a real, all-round triumph. The age-old story still holds real resonance, and it follows the tale of five sisters dealing with love, an...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
A romance ahead of its time... The five Bennet sisters - Elizabeth or Lizzie (Keira ... more
Knightley) Jane (Rosamund Pike) Lydia (Jena Malone) Mary (Talulah Riley) and Kitty (Carey Mulligan) - have been raised well aware of their mother's (Brenda Blethyn...
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Advantages: Fun, great performances, wonderful music and photography Disadvantages: Not everyone will like the slightly modernised feel, problematic pacing in the first section
CaptainDisaster 22.10.2005 (22.10.2005)
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Review of Pride And Prejudice (DVD)
Advantages: VERY TRUE TO JANE AUSTEN'S ORIGINAL - Natural and Unpretentious - Glorious Scenery and very "Down-to-Earth" Disadvantages: It stopped before Jane Austen stopped, and I wanted MORE!
Advantages: Alive with a beating pulse, music, naturalistic settings, excellent portrayals, electric chemistry between leads. Disadvantages: A superfluous ending scene (US version only?); otherwise nil.
zerbine28 25.11.2005 (25.11.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Pride And Prejudice (DVD)
![Pride&Prejudice - 2005 [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78508070.jpg "Pride&Prejudice - 2005 [DVD]")
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