For Jane Austen fans around the world, hear me when I say — you will NOT be disappointed in the latest adaptation of Pride & Prejudice staring an enchanting Keira Knightley as the Lizzie Bennet and a dashing Matthew MacFadyen, as Mr. Darcy.
Although there have been many interpretations of this famous Jane Austen novel about headstrong Elizabeth Bennet and her five very different sisters attempting to find husbands in Victorian England, this updated and fantastic rendition of the beloved story is by far my favorite. Elizabeth Bennet (Lizzie) is quick witted, confident, and cynical about the rules of society and its propriety. She is, in a way, the quintessential Victorian Feminist, not afraid to back down on what is right and not afraid to speak her mind. She meets Mr. Darcy and immediately sparks, no not sparks, more like the best fireworks you’ve ever seen, ensue. Lizzie and Mr. Darcy’s chemistry sizzles as they embark on a series of misunderstandings and misinformation that inevitably, for a while anyway, keep them from admitting their true feelings for one another. Yes, it’s a typical romance story, two people, who are from different worlds/classes — he’s rich and she’s not — who think they are infinitely wrong for each other but in reality they are oh so right, and eventually figure out that they can’t live without one another. Ahhhhh!!!!
Yes, the cinematography was fantastic and the locations were beautiful, but what made this movie incomparable was the chemistry between Knightley’s Lizzie and MacFadyen’s Mr. Darcy. Just in the way Darcy looks at Lizzie from across the room could make even a heartless heart stop beating. The chemistry was so powerful and so utterly believable that you actually find yourself feeling the longing that the characters are feeling. Now, that’s a good movie! They do such a great job in their longing that your literally are trying to propel the characters into each others arm in some scenes. Never have two people created such chemistry on screen. Along with Knightley and MacFadyen, this movie was superbly cast with Donald Sutherland playing Lizzie’s understanding and even tempered father, Brenda Blethyn playing the embarrassing but loveable mother, as well as stellar performances from the beautiful Rosamund Pike who plays Lizzie’s shy and misunderstood sister Jane, and of course the incomparable Judi Dench.
Run, do not walk to see this film. You will not be disappointed. Alas, I don’t believe they make movies like this anymore. It’s a diamond in the ruff. I wish there were more like it. Enjoy and prepare to fall in love. |
