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Back Shelf Beauties
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Pride and Prejudice This story quickly is becoming one of the most often told in movies and television. However, I think the Bollywood version, Bride and Prejudice, has ruined me for all other versions. I missed the wild colors, dancing and music of the other version (not to mention Aishwarya Rai) as I watched Keira Knightley and the cast stay more faithful to the novel. Maybe Keira should have worn a purple sari. Knightley stars as Lizzie - the unmarried and headstrong daughter of Mr. Bennet (Donald Sutherland). Although Lizzie couldn't care less, her sisters gleefully, excitedly and predatorily prepare for the arrival of a new, wealthy bachelor to town, Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods), and hope oldest sister Jane (Rosamund Pike) will catch his eye. Mrs. Bennet (Brenda Blethyn) and the sisters are obsessed with who marries whom and the status it brings (as well as what it could mean to the family), but Lizzie couldn't be bothered with such trite matters, until she meets Bingley's pal and adviser, Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyan). Will Jane win the heart of Bingley and save the family from its tenuous financial predicament? Are star-crossed lovers Darcy and Lizzie meant to be together? The book Pride and Prejudice has many characters, plots and subplots, which is great for a book, but makes it extremely difficult to make into a movie. Director Joe Wright and writer Deborah Moggach struggle to fit everything in, even if it means shortchanging some of the subject matter. Much to the movie's detriment, the love triangle between Wickham (Rupert Friend), Darcy and Lizzie isn't fully developed and lacks some emotional impact as it unfolds. Jane's pursuit of Bingley becomes a minor point as Wright introduces Lizzie's friend Charlotte (Claudie Blakley), Mr. Collins (Tom Hollander) and a whole host of other problems. Yet, all is not lost. In Pride and Prejudice, Wright does a fine job taking a bit of the unrealistic and phony romance off period pieces (without losing romance altogether) and captures the class differences between all of the characters. We get a better feel for the rugged life of the late 1700's, as well as a biting take on forced, social interaction with questionable goals. While Mrs. Bennet and the other daughters come off a tad cartoonish at times, they are a very real representation of what some people had to do to get ahead and live an acceptable life in the Georgian world (and might remind you of some people you see at bars and clubs today). Wright also does a fine job capturing our attention with an interesting way of filming some scenes, especially a fantastic sequence where two characters carry on a conversation during a dance, which requires Wright and crew to maneuver between dancers who twirl in various circles. He captures the grandness of the wealthiest estates, while also showing us the more common homes as well. Sadly, Knightley and MacFadyan seem to be the least interesting of all the actors in Pride and Prejudice. Knightley can't quite bring a sassiness and vibrancy to Lizzie, so the character comes off much more bitter than the situation might call for from our heroine. MacFadyan can't muster up a romantic bone in Darcy's body and one finds it extremely difficult to believe he could sweep any woman off her feet, let alone a strong-willed and intelligent woman like Lizzie. Part of this is Wright's inability to explain the importance and grandness of Darcy's most heroic act in the movie (the one that makes Lizzie realize he might not be such a bad guy after all), but part of it is MacFadyan's constant dour expression and tired eyes that never seem to light up, even when he's supposed to be acting kind and flirty. Others in the cast, especially Pike, seem to be having much more fun and capture our attention without chewing up the scenery. Pride and Prejudice will play well with those who love the story and already understand the nuances, but others might be wondering what all of the fuss is about. 2 ½ Waffle (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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