Pride & Prejudice (film)
From AwardAnnals
| Film: | Pride & Prejudice |
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| Director: | Joe Wright |
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| Distributor: | Universal Studios |
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Reviews
Amazon.com
Literary adaptations just don’t get any better than director Joe Wright’s 2005 version of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. The key word here is adaptation, because Wright and gifted screenwriter Deborah Moggach have taken liberties with Austen’s classic novel that purists may find objectionable, but in this exquisite film their artistic decisions are entirely justified and exceptionally well executed. It’s a more rural England that we see here, circa 1790 (as opposed to Austen’s early 19th century), in which Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) is one of several sisters primed for marriage, with an anxious mother (Brenda Blethyn) only too desperate to see her daughters paired off with the finest, richest husbands available. Elizabeth is strong-willed and opinionated, but her head (not to mention her pride and prejudice) lead her heart astray when she meets the wealthy Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), whose own sense of decency and discretion (not to mention his pride and prejudice) prevent him from expressing his mutual affection. They’re clearly meant for each other, and as Knightley’s performance lights up the screen (still young enough to be girlishly impertinent, yet wise beyond her 20 years), Austen’s timeless romance yields yet another timeless adaptation, easily on par with the beloved BBC miniseries that has been embraced by millions since originally broadcast in 1995. Individual tastes will vary as to which version should be considered “definitive,” but with a stellar supporting cast including Judi Dench and Donald Sutherland, this impeccable production achieves its own kind of perfection. —Jeff Shannon
Barnes and Noble
Jane Austen’s much-beloved novel about five sisters in Georgian England has been adapted to the screen numerous times, both officially and unofficially, but never with quite a much verve as this version from director Joe Wright. The lion’s share of that verve can be attributed to the performance of Keira Knightley, whose energetic portrayal of feisty, independent Elizabeth Bennet is a delight from first frame to last. She’s the second-oldest sibling, much different than her sisters and, according to her mother, probably the least likely to attract a suitor. There seems to be something between Elizabeth and a stolid fellow named Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen), but it’s certainly not love—she claims at one point that she will “loathe him for all eternity.” But that’s before events take a surprising turn and the taciturn young man ingratiates himself with the family. Due to its fairly large contingent of characters, Pride & Prejudice boasts an unusual array of plot complications, but Wright, working from an unusually cogent adaptation by screenwriter Deborah Moggach, effortlessly glides over the story’s rough patches and keeps his storyteller’s eye trained at all times on Elizabeth, around whose intoxicating personality much of the intrigue revolves. From both visual and technical standpoints, there’s nary a flaw in this well-produced period romance, and with the radiant Knightley appearing in a character that plays to her strengths as a performer—the conveyance of passion, determination, and generosity of spirit—this Pride & Prejudice becomes a joyous viewing experience. Ed Hulse
Related works
Pride & Prejudice: Music from the Motion Picture
The year 2005 was big for Italian composer Dario Marianelli. His score for The Brothers Grimm received much applause (probably more than the film itself) and a few months later he came back with another batch of compositions for a period film. This time around, the plaudits are reversed: The film is better than the score. And that’s not the only reversal: Since several of his compositions were to be performed by some of the characters on screen, Marianelli wrote parts of the music before the movie was shot, switching the order in which these things are…
