Well I'm just your average reviewer, and I'm on this site to have fun and make a few pennies. I'm al...
Well I'm just your average reviewer, and I'm on this site to have fun and make a few pennies. I'm also on dooyoo with the same name and reviews. I'll return all rates as soon as I can - thanks.
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Jane Austin's famous novel 'Pride and Prejudice' is a well-known classic, and definitely a favourite of mine. So as you can imagine, when I heard a film was being made about it, I was ecstatic. The movie's brilliant acting and modern touch is combined with the excellence of Elizabeth Bennet's romantic story. Keira Knightly stars as Elizabeth, and the unsociable Mr Darcy is played by Matthew Macfadyen.
.Plot.
The following may contain plot spoilers, so don't read it if you want to watch the film for yourself! The film is set in a rural part of England at the start of the 19th Century, where the main character, Elizabeth Bennet, lives on a working farm. Also living with her are her four sisters; Jane, Mary, Catherine and Lydia, and her parents Mr and Mrs Bennet. When Mr Bennet dies (which will apparently be 'soon'), the farm will be inherited by the closest male relative. This is Mr Bennet's cousin, Mr Collins, who is a pompous man in search of a wife. Mrs Bennet encourages him to propose to Elizabeth, but she declines, claiming that she will never marry unless she is compelled by true love. Mr Collins then asks Catherine instead, who willingly accepts, happy to have financial security at last. The family soon hears of a rich young man, Mr Bingley, who has recently moved into the area and is looking for a wife. Mrs Bennet becomes anxious for one of her daughters to marry him, and it is soon revealed at a ball that he has chosen Jane. Mr Bingley's miserable friend Mr Darcy also tags along to the ball, which is where he first meets Elizabeth Bennet. He expresses little interest in her and Elizabeth makes it clear that she dislikes him. However, Mr Darcy soon begins to take a greater interest in her, and after proposing more than once, Elizabeth accepts his offer and marries him. I've missed out quite alot because I don't want to give every little detail away, but you get the jist of it.
. Main Characters.
Elizabeth Bennet - Keira Knightly. I thought that Keira Knightly was perfect for this part, especially as she has starred in a few other successful films set in oldern times, including Pirates of the Carribean. I found that she displayed her emotions well, although in some parts it was hard to decipher whether she was happy, angry, sad or somehing entirely different. This was a bit annoying but it didn't happen often, so I wouldn't say it's a big downfall. Other than this, I thought she really suited playing the part of Elizabeth, I don't think anyone different could have done it better.
Mr Darcy - Matthew Macfadyen. This part was played perfectly. The miserable, unsociable personality of Darcy was captured perfectly by Macfadyen, especially in his first few appearances. Colin Firth played the part very well in the BBC series so Macfadyen's perfomance had a lot to live up to, but I definitely feel he succeeded. His facial expressions always seemed to be just right, exactly what you'd expect from such a cold, arrogant man. He seemed to be able to change his character's personality very well after Elizabeth declines his proposal, so I thought he managed to play the two different personalities very well.
Mr Bingley - Simon Woods. I quite enjoyed watching Mr Bingley on-screen, his bouncy personality seems to spread to viewers and make them smile. He played the part of a kind, excitable young man very well, so I was impressed by his performance.
Jane Bennet - Rosamund Pike. Jane played quite a big part at the beginning of the movie, as she was the daughter chosen by Mr Bingley, but seemed to appear less and less as the film progressed. When she did appear, however, I feel her performance didn't reach it's full potential. I don't think she displayed her emotions well, and her facial expressions were often the same. She didn't seem to get particularly angry or upset, so I was a bit disappointed with her performance.
.My opinion.
The film is set in the early 19th century, so I really enjoyed the fact that nothing was really too serious. Elizabeth's sarcasm had me smiling quite a lot, and the on-screen personalities of several cast members still showed humour, even in the cases of Mr Darcy and Lady Catherine de Bourgh. This made a nice change from most modern films set in the same era, as a lot of the time we just see rude, boring characters who seem to show little interest in anything. I'm glad to say that Pride and Prejudice was not the same. I was impressed by the cast members' performances, they all seemed to successfully pull-off their characters roles. I think this is because most of the characters are very well developed, but I feel some could have been portrayed in a more obvious way. It was often hard to decide what a character was feeling, but this didn't happen too often.
The only downside is that sometimes parts of the film get a little hard to follow. they seem to miss out important details, perhaps expecting the audience to understand what is going on without them having to tell us. Because there are so many different stories and plots, the fact that certain details are missing means that sometimes it is easy to become confused.
The story in general is wonderful and extremely interesting. It may appeal less to younger viewers but to any romantics-at-heart it is an excellent film! I would really recommend watching this film, especially if you have read the book but didn't really understand it. It is really entertaining for almost everyone.
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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
Production Year: 2003 - Drama - Director: Michael Winterbottom - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Tim Robbins, Samantha Morton, Om Puri, Jeanne Balibar
Did Mr Collins really propose and marry Elizabeth's sister Catherine in this film? If he did then that's rather a departure from the book as Mr Collins marries Elizabeth's friend Charlotte Lucas! Nice insight, Lexy
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: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
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...
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]")
Mar 1st, 2009
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