Pride and Prejudice, 2005
Dec. 4th, 2005 09:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sanalithThat's right. While all you suckers are out there watching HP and waiting for Narnia, *I* went to see the BEST movie of the season. (Not that I don't plan on seeing HP and Narnia, of course, but seriously, I think I was more excited about this ^^;;)
I'll put all the spoilers behind the cut, but let me just gush about how good this movie was. I was a little worried in the beginning, and it did kind of take a while to really get the flow going, but by the end of the show I was totally hooked. If you like the story, it's a must-see.
So, let's just get one thing straight. I've seen A LOT of versions of this show. Basically any that I can get my hands on. The best, of course, hands down, was the 6-hour BBC miniseries with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. Unfortunately for all other versions, the miniseries is my basis for comparison, which means that nothing else can compete. However, I will do my best not to let my prejudices cloud my judgment. (Yes, that was a joke...hardy har har ^^;;)
So, casting. Keira Knightley honestly did a very impressive job with Elizabeth. She was spunky, peppy, had a beautiful smile and life, and had tons of emotion in all the right places. While not quite up to Jennifer Ehle's standards, I had absolutely no complaints. She had the character down solid. Matthew MacFadyen as Darcy was...difficult to judge. Colin Firth was such a perfect Darcy that I almost feel bad comparing him to anyone. He was just in such a class of his own. My basic feeling for MacFayden is that when he was on, he was on, and when he wasn't...he wasn't. There were some scenes when I felt like his take on the character was much to weak. Darcy is a very strong, opinionated, forcful man, and there were times when I felt like he was being almost wishy-washy. But then there were other scenes when he literally made me catch my breath and think, "Oh. Yeah. *That's* Darcy." I will say that he played incredibly well of Keira Knightley, and I think her Elizabeth really pumped up his take on Darcy.
More minor characters were a bit hard to judge. Being only two hours long, the movie didn't give much screen time to a lot of the others. Judi Dench was an amazingly good Lady Catherine de Burgh...all rough and haughty in all the right places. I must admit to being rather dissapointed with Donald Sutherland's take on Mr. Bennet. He's supposed to have such a dry, satrical sense of human, and while his words reflected that, I just didn't get the emotion out of it. I have the feeling he was trying to portray the dead-pan sense of humour and just overdid it a little. I didn't feel like he really came into his own until the very end. Mrs. Bennet was adequete, though I thought the actress could have gone a little bit further with the hysterics. She seemed just a smidge too calm. The same can be said of Mr. Collins, although his physique made up for any lack of verbal humour. The man was sooo short, and I can say that without malice since, you know, *I'm* a shimp. He came up to just about Lizzie's forehead and just under Darcy's shoulder. It was hysterical, especially during the dancing! Jane, Mary, Kitty and Lydia were well cast, I think, although only Jane really got enough screen time to adequetely judge. Still, I had no qualms with them. Bingley was excellent, though a bit more of a sniveling puppy-dog than normal. I must also put in a good word for the woman who played Georgianna Darcy. She looked like a tiny little angel, all blonde hair and bug blue eyes. *love* I was heartily dissapointed that Aunt and Uncle Gardiner didn't get much screen time. They're too of my favorite characters, and I thought they were cast well.
One issue I wanted to highlight was Wickham, who was beautifully cast but only appeared in, I think, three scenes. He met Elizabeth and her sisters in one scene, told Lizzie the story about how Darcy screwed him over, and then nothing was seen of him until he and Lydia showed back up to the house married. That really surprised me, since he is rather an integral part of the story. I realize a lot of the plot had to be cut, but I'm rather shocked that they played so much hack and slash with the particular character.
So, best/worst scenes. The opening was adequete, in that it expressed the craziness of the Bennet household. The dance at the Assembly Room wasn't nearly as good as I would have liked, although Darcy's snubbing of Elizabeth made my laugh as always. The Jane-gets-sick-and-stays-at-Netherfield arc was a little weak, but luckily it didn't last long. The first scene that really made me go "WOW!" was the Netherfield ball and Lizzie's dance with Darcy. This was when I felt MacFayden really got into his Darcy role, and the intensity between the two characters was just amazing. There was an audible crackle between them. Keira Knightley also portrayed Lizzie's mortification at her family's horrid behavior extremely well. Oh, and the Mary actress gets props for agreeing to sing so horribly on camera. *shudder* Mr. Collins' proposal to Elizabeth was hysterical enough, and I *loved* the scene between Charlotte Lucas and Lizzie when Charlotte anounced she was marrying Collins. When Elizabeth protested the union on the basis of Mr. Collins' inate stupidity, Charlotte vehemently reminded her friend that she was 29 years old, had no prospects, and felt like a burden to her family. A comfortable house with financial security sounded pretty damn good.
"Not all of us can afford the luxery of waiting for love," she snapped. "So don't you judge me, Elizabeth! Don't you *dare* judge me!"
Beautifully done.
Elizabeth's time in Kent was excellently done. I must admit that Rosings rather freaked me out. Beautifully Gothic on the outside, but the huge wall paintings and frescos of many, many, MANY naked people was rather disturbing ^^;; And then...then...there was the proposal.
Wow. WOW I SAY!
Yes, my basis for comparison is a near-perfect miniseries. Yes, I love Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle to no end. I have to see this version at least one more time, BUT I think I might venture to say that this was the best proposal scene I've ever seen. It was done outside, in the rain, and it was both MacFayden and Knightley's crowing achievement. The passion, the anger, the love, the hate...it was just amazing. I honestly have no words. And the best part? By the time Elizabeth informs Darcy that he was the last man in the world she could ever marry, they're standing toe to toe, almost nose to nose...and it seriously looks like they're going to kiss. Anger really *can* be a potent aphrodesiac, after all! But seriously, folks, this scene totally blew me away.
The visit to Pemberly wasn't nearly long enough for my tastes but beautifully done. The first thing I thought of when we got to that point was, "Right. Well, at least there won't be any pictures of naked people in *Darcy's* house!" Uh huh. Try an entire room of naked statues instead. Oh, and instead of a painting of Darcy, there was a marble bust of him. Surrounded by all the naked statues.
My poor brain ^^;;
Herm...oh! Right, the Bingley/Jane proposal scene! Hysterically funny in that, before he goes over, we get to see Bingley pacing back and forth trying to plan out how things are going to go. Darcy aides his friend by pretending to be the eldest Miss Bennet. Oh, and Bingley's opening line to Jane when he proposes is basically about how he's been a complete and utter ass about the whole deal. Wonderful.
Ending was beautiful. Lizzie's talk with her father about why she wants to marry Darcy was perfect, and it was the one scene when I really felt like Donald Sutherland got the character of Mr. Bennet right. And of course, the ending kiss...
*sighs happy girly sigh*
So basically, yeah, good movie. I definitely wouldn't recomend it for people who have never seen at least one version of the story or read the book. Things tend to go really fast and if you don't know the plot, there is the possibility of getting lost. That happened to my mom once or twice, since she's only seen the miniseries once. However, for those who know the story, I'd definitely day it's worth a viewing, and probably even a purchase. It may not be the best version out there, but I think it's the kind that will probably get better with repeated viewings. I highly recomend it. The proposal scene by itself makes it worth while, trust me.
"You have bewitched me, body and soul."
~ Fitzwilliam Darcy
I'll put all the spoilers behind the cut, but let me just gush about how good this movie was. I was a little worried in the beginning, and it did kind of take a while to really get the flow going, but by the end of the show I was totally hooked. If you like the story, it's a must-see.
So, let's just get one thing straight. I've seen A LOT of versions of this show. Basically any that I can get my hands on. The best, of course, hands down, was the 6-hour BBC miniseries with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. Unfortunately for all other versions, the miniseries is my basis for comparison, which means that nothing else can compete. However, I will do my best not to let my prejudices cloud my judgment. (Yes, that was a joke...hardy har har ^^;;)
So, casting. Keira Knightley honestly did a very impressive job with Elizabeth. She was spunky, peppy, had a beautiful smile and life, and had tons of emotion in all the right places. While not quite up to Jennifer Ehle's standards, I had absolutely no complaints. She had the character down solid. Matthew MacFadyen as Darcy was...difficult to judge. Colin Firth was such a perfect Darcy that I almost feel bad comparing him to anyone. He was just in such a class of his own. My basic feeling for MacFayden is that when he was on, he was on, and when he wasn't...he wasn't. There were some scenes when I felt like his take on the character was much to weak. Darcy is a very strong, opinionated, forcful man, and there were times when I felt like he was being almost wishy-washy. But then there were other scenes when he literally made me catch my breath and think, "Oh. Yeah. *That's* Darcy." I will say that he played incredibly well of Keira Knightley, and I think her Elizabeth really pumped up his take on Darcy.
More minor characters were a bit hard to judge. Being only two hours long, the movie didn't give much screen time to a lot of the others. Judi Dench was an amazingly good Lady Catherine de Burgh...all rough and haughty in all the right places. I must admit to being rather dissapointed with Donald Sutherland's take on Mr. Bennet. He's supposed to have such a dry, satrical sense of human, and while his words reflected that, I just didn't get the emotion out of it. I have the feeling he was trying to portray the dead-pan sense of humour and just overdid it a little. I didn't feel like he really came into his own until the very end. Mrs. Bennet was adequete, though I thought the actress could have gone a little bit further with the hysterics. She seemed just a smidge too calm. The same can be said of Mr. Collins, although his physique made up for any lack of verbal humour. The man was sooo short, and I can say that without malice since, you know, *I'm* a shimp. He came up to just about Lizzie's forehead and just under Darcy's shoulder. It was hysterical, especially during the dancing! Jane, Mary, Kitty and Lydia were well cast, I think, although only Jane really got enough screen time to adequetely judge. Still, I had no qualms with them. Bingley was excellent, though a bit more of a sniveling puppy-dog than normal. I must also put in a good word for the woman who played Georgianna Darcy. She looked like a tiny little angel, all blonde hair and bug blue eyes. *love* I was heartily dissapointed that Aunt and Uncle Gardiner didn't get much screen time. They're too of my favorite characters, and I thought they were cast well.
One issue I wanted to highlight was Wickham, who was beautifully cast but only appeared in, I think, three scenes. He met Elizabeth and her sisters in one scene, told Lizzie the story about how Darcy screwed him over, and then nothing was seen of him until he and Lydia showed back up to the house married. That really surprised me, since he is rather an integral part of the story. I realize a lot of the plot had to be cut, but I'm rather shocked that they played so much hack and slash with the particular character.
So, best/worst scenes. The opening was adequete, in that it expressed the craziness of the Bennet household. The dance at the Assembly Room wasn't nearly as good as I would have liked, although Darcy's snubbing of Elizabeth made my laugh as always. The Jane-gets-sick-and-stays-at-Netherfield arc was a little weak, but luckily it didn't last long. The first scene that really made me go "WOW!" was the Netherfield ball and Lizzie's dance with Darcy. This was when I felt MacFayden really got into his Darcy role, and the intensity between the two characters was just amazing. There was an audible crackle between them. Keira Knightley also portrayed Lizzie's mortification at her family's horrid behavior extremely well. Oh, and the Mary actress gets props for agreeing to sing so horribly on camera. *shudder* Mr. Collins' proposal to Elizabeth was hysterical enough, and I *loved* the scene between Charlotte Lucas and Lizzie when Charlotte anounced she was marrying Collins. When Elizabeth protested the union on the basis of Mr. Collins' inate stupidity, Charlotte vehemently reminded her friend that she was 29 years old, had no prospects, and felt like a burden to her family. A comfortable house with financial security sounded pretty damn good.
"Not all of us can afford the luxery of waiting for love," she snapped. "So don't you judge me, Elizabeth! Don't you *dare* judge me!"
Beautifully done.
Elizabeth's time in Kent was excellently done. I must admit that Rosings rather freaked me out. Beautifully Gothic on the outside, but the huge wall paintings and frescos of many, many, MANY naked people was rather disturbing ^^;; And then...then...there was the proposal.
Wow. WOW I SAY!
Yes, my basis for comparison is a near-perfect miniseries. Yes, I love Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle to no end. I have to see this version at least one more time, BUT I think I might venture to say that this was the best proposal scene I've ever seen. It was done outside, in the rain, and it was both MacFayden and Knightley's crowing achievement. The passion, the anger, the love, the hate...it was just amazing. I honestly have no words. And the best part? By the time Elizabeth informs Darcy that he was the last man in the world she could ever marry, they're standing toe to toe, almost nose to nose...and it seriously looks like they're going to kiss. Anger really *can* be a potent aphrodesiac, after all! But seriously, folks, this scene totally blew me away.
The visit to Pemberly wasn't nearly long enough for my tastes but beautifully done. The first thing I thought of when we got to that point was, "Right. Well, at least there won't be any pictures of naked people in *Darcy's* house!" Uh huh. Try an entire room of naked statues instead. Oh, and instead of a painting of Darcy, there was a marble bust of him. Surrounded by all the naked statues.
My poor brain ^^;;
Herm...oh! Right, the Bingley/Jane proposal scene! Hysterically funny in that, before he goes over, we get to see Bingley pacing back and forth trying to plan out how things are going to go. Darcy aides his friend by pretending to be the eldest Miss Bennet. Oh, and Bingley's opening line to Jane when he proposes is basically about how he's been a complete and utter ass about the whole deal. Wonderful.
Ending was beautiful. Lizzie's talk with her father about why she wants to marry Darcy was perfect, and it was the one scene when I really felt like Donald Sutherland got the character of Mr. Bennet right. And of course, the ending kiss...
*sighs happy girly sigh*
So basically, yeah, good movie. I definitely wouldn't recomend it for people who have never seen at least one version of the story or read the book. Things tend to go really fast and if you don't know the plot, there is the possibility of getting lost. That happened to my mom once or twice, since she's only seen the miniseries once. However, for those who know the story, I'd definitely day it's worth a viewing, and probably even a purchase. It may not be the best version out there, but I think it's the kind that will probably get better with repeated viewings. I highly recomend it. The proposal scene by itself makes it worth while, trust me.
"You have bewitched me, body and soul."
~ Fitzwilliam Darcy