Pride & Prejudice
Year: 2005
Director: Joe Wright
Starring: Kiera Knightley & Matthew Macfadyen
Runtime: 127 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 22/09/23
Director: Joe Wright
Starring: Kiera Knightley & Matthew Macfadyen
Runtime: 127 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 22/09/23
Jane Austen is indisputably one of the greatest female novelists of all time. Or so I’m told anyway, I’ve never finished a book of hers. It purely comes down to my general indifference to period dramas, which I often find unbearably tedious. But I have been trying to expand my palette recently and I am dipping my toes into period dramas far more frequently. So it’s probably about time I did Pride & Prejudice, one of the most beloved period dramas of all time.
In the late eighteenth century, the Bennett family are in the midst of trying to marry off all of their daughters due to their rapidly declining financial standing. Whilst at a ball, the second eldest daughter, Elizabeth (Kiera Knightly), is introduced to the somewhat sour and generally miserable Mr Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) to whom she develops an immediate disdain.
But as they continue to run into each other, their romantic feelings begin to surface.
I think it’s somewhat unfair for me to put Pride & Prejudice down because it’s just another period drama, because that’s exactly what it was always intended to be, and I knew that going in. So, this review should be generally quite positive, but unfortunately, I can’t exactly say that I was particularly thrilled whilst watching it because it’s just not for me. The subject matter and the way it’s written just fail to capture my interest, and that’s absolutely a me issue rather than the film, but it doesn’t mean I had a particularly good time with it.
In the late eighteenth century, the Bennett family are in the midst of trying to marry off all of their daughters due to their rapidly declining financial standing. Whilst at a ball, the second eldest daughter, Elizabeth (Kiera Knightly), is introduced to the somewhat sour and generally miserable Mr Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) to whom she develops an immediate disdain.
But as they continue to run into each other, their romantic feelings begin to surface.
I think it’s somewhat unfair for me to put Pride & Prejudice down because it’s just another period drama, because that’s exactly what it was always intended to be, and I knew that going in. So, this review should be generally quite positive, but unfortunately, I can’t exactly say that I was particularly thrilled whilst watching it because it’s just not for me. The subject matter and the way it’s written just fail to capture my interest, and that’s absolutely a me issue rather than the film, but it doesn’t mean I had a particularly good time with it.
One of the things I enjoyed the most about this version of the story is that it was generally quite funny. It almost seemed at times to be a parody of the classic period drama because of the tone characters took with each other, the odd things they would come out with, and even just the way it was shot and edited.
According to my much more well-versed girlfriend, Austen’s novel is quite witty, something that has been absent in most adaptations of the story. I did like this approach, and although I struggled with the dialogue as I often do with period works, the humour made it memorable rather than droll.
The performances were strong across the board too. Knightley was on top form here, as were Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone, Carey Mulligun, and Talulah Riley who complete the Bennett sisters. I really enjoyed Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennett, I felt like he really captured this man who’s just too old and too beyond caring about the practices of high society and just wants his daughters to be happy above all else. I’m also a massive Tom Hollander fan and it was great to see him as the bumbling and loathed Mr. Collins. I think he might have been my favourite character in the whole story to be honest and Hollander’s performance was befittingly creepy and hilariously cringworthy.
In fact, the only person I’d argue didn’t quite live up to the necessary standard was Macfadyen. He was comparatively wooden, and his gradual change of heart toward Elizabeth felt more like a last minute re-write than a natural progression of his character. I know that Darcy is supposed to be generally cold and a bit odd because you’re supposed to not like him until the end of the story once Elizabeth realises all he has done, but here he felt like he just didn’t belong.
I can see why this adaptation of Pride & Prejudice is beloved by so many. It does a lot of things right, just unfortunately it’s not really for me. I can appreciate good filmmaking when I see it and Joe Wright has crafted a decent film here, but I suppose it goes without saying that unless you like this sort of thing then there’s no point in watching it.
According to my much more well-versed girlfriend, Austen’s novel is quite witty, something that has been absent in most adaptations of the story. I did like this approach, and although I struggled with the dialogue as I often do with period works, the humour made it memorable rather than droll.
The performances were strong across the board too. Knightley was on top form here, as were Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone, Carey Mulligun, and Talulah Riley who complete the Bennett sisters. I really enjoyed Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennett, I felt like he really captured this man who’s just too old and too beyond caring about the practices of high society and just wants his daughters to be happy above all else. I’m also a massive Tom Hollander fan and it was great to see him as the bumbling and loathed Mr. Collins. I think he might have been my favourite character in the whole story to be honest and Hollander’s performance was befittingly creepy and hilariously cringworthy.
In fact, the only person I’d argue didn’t quite live up to the necessary standard was Macfadyen. He was comparatively wooden, and his gradual change of heart toward Elizabeth felt more like a last minute re-write than a natural progression of his character. I know that Darcy is supposed to be generally cold and a bit odd because you’re supposed to not like him until the end of the story once Elizabeth realises all he has done, but here he felt like he just didn’t belong.
I can see why this adaptation of Pride & Prejudice is beloved by so many. It does a lot of things right, just unfortunately it’s not really for me. I can appreciate good filmmaking when I see it and Joe Wright has crafted a decent film here, but I suppose it goes without saying that unless you like this sort of thing then there’s no point in watching it.