Pride & Prejudice

Sunday afternoon I ensconced myself in a recliner and put in the DVD of the latest rendition of Pride & Prejudice. I hadn't seen it yet, though I was hoping to see it in the theater and even had plans to do so two or three times, but they fell through for one reason or another. The DVD has been sitting on my shelf for a couple of weeks (months?) now and finally I had time to see it.

Many people have said this version is awful (I believe some call it an abomination, even). Honestly, I liked it. My favorite hands down is still the A&E six-hour mini-series with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, but it's hard to find six hours to spare when you need a little P&P fix. The new movie will do nicely for "booster shots", if you will, though I will still need to make time to watch the mini-series periodically.

The first thing I enjoyed is that much of the script (as was the case with the mini-series) comes wholesale from the book. But the actors gave the lines such a unique spin that instead of thinly veiled disgust for each other, the parents seem to truly actually enjoy teasing or tormenting one another and, while it's not a marriage I would want for myself, it's one that you can see how it works, because it's clear there's some kind of affection. (I know, I know, Austen purists will say that's not what she intended, but if nothing else, this is less uncomfortable to watch.)

I thought Keira Knightley did a good job as Lizzy, though...well, it did seem there was something missing. I didn't care for the fact that she was nearly as giggly and vapid as her sisters at times and there wasn't a great deal of chemistry between her and Darcy until the very end. So the repartee had more of a feeling of just general...meanness...and her coming to love him seemed even more abrupt and improbable than usual.

Whoever played Darcy did a great job, I think. Bingley ...well, I think he would be more suited to playing the Scarlet Pimpernel, since he had vapid fop down to to a T. I wondered what on earth Jane saw in him, other than his pretty red hair and fortune. Jane, in this rendition, truly is lovely (vs. the A&E production where one wonders how they found such a plain girl to play the reputed beauty Jane). And Mary is even rather nice looking. Charlotte was quite plain and did a fantastic job of "spinster" - making her marriage to Mr. Collins much more explainable than in the A&E version where Charlotte is much prettier than most of the Bennett sisters, even with her severe hairstyles.

All that to say, this is another fun rendition (and anything is better than the Olivier version - the first one I saw) and well worth repeated watching. (If you like P&P, that is. If you don't care for the story, well, you won't care for this, either.) The think I would caution against is exactly what I've done here - comparisons. Don't look for this to entirely replace your six hour A&E version - cause it won't and can't. They're very different.

4.5 romantic sighs out of 5