Pride and Prejudice


Latest adaptation of Jane Austen's novel about five sisters and their mother's obsession with finding them all suitable husbands.

Jane Austen's novel "Pride and Prejudice" has been adapted several times, and was even given a Bollywood edition with last year's "Bride and Prejudice," and the latest adaptation, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFayden as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, respectively. excels supremely. Director Joe Wright doesn't rely solely on beautiful period costumes and grand old houses alone to create this sumptuous new version of the film. He also picks wonderful landscapes for Elizabeth to walk through (she often walks since her mother spares the carriage excess use). All this wonderful mise-en-scene underscores the problem at hand; the Bennets are down on their luck and Mrs. Bennet is always offering up a daughter to a potential rich suitor. When it looks certain that the eldest daughter, the beautiful Jane (Rosamund Pike) is taken, she offers Elizabeth, who is sassy and opinionated, to their cousin, Mr. Collin (Tom Hollander), who's rather insufferable, but stands to inherit their home.

The cast is also superb. The nervous Mrs. Bennet is played by Brenda Blethyn; Donald Sutherland is wonderful as is the henpecked but resolute Mr. Bennet. Frankly, the entire ensemble is wonderful, but the main story here is the torturned twists and turns that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy taken en route to finding real love. This is Georgian England, and women don't just state their intentions; they wait endlessly for the men to pick up on clues. Working against poor Elizabeth are her various social handicaps--she doesn't draw, doesn't really play the piano, know foreign languages, etc.

Meanwhile, one person against their marriage is Lady Catherine de Bourg, played with imperious perfection by Judi Dench.



Posted: Thu - December 22, 2005 at 12:21 AM        

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