REVIEW: Pride & Prejudice [2005]

February 10, 2008

3–5 minutes

Focus Features, Joe Wright, Pride & Prejudice

Rating: PG | Runtime: 129 minutes
Release Date: September 16th, 2005 (UK) / November 11th, 2005 (USA)
Studio: United International Pictures (UIP) / Focus Features
Director(s): Joe Wright
Writer(s): Deborah Moggach / Jane Austen (novel)

You have bewitched me, body and soul.

Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice is a truly solid bit of filmmaking. I can’t say whether it’s a good adaptation since I’ve neither read the novel nor seen another film/television treatment, but, as a piece of work in its own right, it succeeds as a gorgeous debut showing all the signs of greatness the director achieved with this year’s Atonement.

From multiple long takes sweeping through the scenery and choreographed to perfection so the characters can flow in and out of frame at will to wonderfully shot dance sequences at the two balls, the craft is unreal. And the story is quite good too. Since I’ve never acquainted myself with Jane Austen, I was pleasantly surprised by how good this tale of love and premature judgments of character proves. It fires on all cylinders to earn the praise lauded upon its release.

Wright has the period drama treatment down to perfection, so it will be interesting to see what he does with a contemporary setting like The Soloist. What we can surely expect, however, is a continued precision and attention to detail and composition. So many frames throughout this film resemble works of art (and contain actual artworks like a breathtaking marble statue of a veiled woman), with light and atmosphere filling every available space.

Little things like Elizabeth Bennet searching for her soldier friend at the ball with Mr. Darcy looking at her from behind add so much depth to the moment with the need for dialogue. Wright knows what he wants to show at all times and is never afraid to allow what’s on-screen do the talking for him through emotion and action. For a director to trust his craft at such an early stage of his career is a rare trait. Where many would rely on their actors to prop things up, he has the confidence to rely upon the vision he sought to achieve.

If I were to fault anything, it’s the handling of some performances. The Bennet family is supposed to come across as loud and obnoxious—a family ill-suited to the status for which they’re trying to marry into. They do this in spades, but it might be too much. Jena Malone’s role as the youngest sister is just plain annoying … although her crass lack of subtlety does help a dinner scene later on by giving her reason to slip and tell her sister a secret. Brenda Blethyn as the Bennet matriarch is also very over-the-top. The performance could be a bit grating at times, but we’re thankfully given lengthy reprieves to handle those big moments.

The rest of the cast is fantastic. Keira Knightley (as in Atonement) really surprised me with her starring role as Elizabeth. Mr. Darcy, the second lead, is brilliantly portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen with a transformation from stuffy aristocrat to enraptured slave to love. Despite that burgeoning love, he’s still trying to be true to himself and his friends when giving advice on matters like marriage. It takes the events between him and Elizabeth for both to realize their own fallibilities and stubborn pride.

Only when they finally open up to each other and talk about what the other doesn’t really know do they see that what they thought were good intentions are actually poor judgments. A good supporting cast bolsters these two stars too with special mention to Rosamund Pike, Donald Sutherland (a wonderful final scene), Simon Woods, and the always-great Tom Hollander.

For anyone deciding to skip Pride and Prejudice because they believe it’s romantic fluff, I must implore you to give it a chance. The drama of the story is well told and its cinematic excellence is always on display. I won’t say it’s the best version since I’m told the Colin Firth adaptation is unrivaled, but it’s close if not. See it for the grandeur and spectacle, but also to be engrossed in its journey of love showing these two disparate souls just how similar they are.