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