What was I doing? I was in a theatre waiting for Pride & Prejudice to begin. Why? The answer involves two convincing girl friends who made it seem as if it would be an afternoon of ribald mockery of the screen. Still, I couldn’t help suspecting that there would be little opportunity for me to lay to waste the dramatic stylings of Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet.
True to my expectations, the film was not adventurous in its exploration of Jane Austen’s original (and oft-adapted) novel. Sticking to the tried, if not very true, use of period production sets and costumes, and slightly updating the language so modern users won’t fall over dead in their seats from vocabulary-induced aneurisms, director Joe Wright and writer Deborah Moggach don’t trust their movie to be viewed as anything other than another costumed drama. For this reason, it does not stand out.
The tale, for those who never made it past tenth grade, is about the five Bennet girls, low in social estate but high on dreams of marrying a man–any man, as long as he’s monied and dashing (not to mention forgiving and generous). Jane (Rosamund Pike) and Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) are the older, more intelligent, and frankly, more watchable of the sisters. Jena Malone and Carey Mulligan play Lydia and Kitty respectively, but they do little but giggle and whine and annoy their family, friends, neighbours, not to mention the theatre audience. Mary Bennet (Talulah Riley) is barely visible as the bookish sister who thinks its all a lot of foolishness.
When the fabulously rich Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods), his saucy minx of a sister Caroline (Kelly Reilly) and the dower, constipated Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen) arrive in the neighbourhood, all bets are off as the girls use their Georgian charm to attract the men’s attentions. Before long, Jane seems fated to be Mr. Bingley’s bride, whilst Mr. Darcy does his best to show that he is a man whose dislike of all things interesting is only surpassed by Elizabeth’s dislike of him. She finds him pompous, odious, a master manipulator who proves time and again he is unworthy of anyone’s affections. But somehow, love floats through the air like the winds of England, and before long, the pride and prejudice of all are tested and tried, secrets revealed, and values of friendship and integrity are tempered with growing affection.
Keira Knightley proves she can hold the screen, despite her amped, modern smile that charmed audiences in Bend It Like Beckham. It threatens to give the game away at times, but she seems to remember that she is not a fifteen year old modern soccer player, and so squelches it in a performance that is both broadly characteristic of a generic Elizabeth Bennet, and unique in her dramatic poise. Rosamund Pike is likeable and easy on the eyes. Matthew MacFadyen is a suitable Darcy, but his swagger is sometimes laughable. Simon Woods is unaccountably twitchy, and Donald Sutherland, playing Mr. Bennet, at times lapses into an accent that would seem more at home in the Deep South rather than Hartfordshire.
What is disappointing is the lack of real innovation. The script is passable, but much of the original has been slightly altered for no real apparent purpose. The direction is uninspired, though the sets and costumes are stunning. Even the payoff is a dreary, uninteresting spectacle, and there are moments that are positively purple in their overindulgence.
This is a film for the true Jane Austen fan, for she will appreciate the good points it has to offer. Anyone else will wither. And by anyone else, I mean me.
Fringe Rating: out of 5