Reviewed by Catherine Bisley

JANE AUSTEN’s Pride and Prejudice is an addictive drug. Joe Wright’s adaptation is tolerable I suppose, but when compared to the novel or the 1996 BBC mini-series, it is a mediocre hit.


Wright opts for the dark and moody gothic look – Lizzie (Kiera Knightly) wanders lonely windswept moors, the sets are dirty, geese and pigs and filthy looking proles are aplenty. Dame Judi Dench and Donald Sutherland sweat profusely in the respectively well played parts of Lady Catherine de Bourg and Mr Bennett. As well as uncovering the deep dark secrets of early 19th Century hygiene and grooming, the film endeavours to undermine previous representations of country idyll. This comes to an abrupt halt when hay is tossed in slow motion. Some overt sexual desire is also thrown in; Lizzie (Keira Knightly) turns goggled eyed at the bare buttocks of Mr Darcy’s fine marble statues.

Lizzie further demeans herself by laughing at all her own jokes. She is quite unexceptional, in fact one is led to wonder why on earth Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen) is smitten with her. While MacFadyen was impressive in In My Father’s Den he just can’t simmer like Colin Firth. When he emerges from the mist at the film’s denouement looking like a naughty schoolboy with his untucked shirt, all any self respecting romantic can do is laugh. Wickham is also risible. He surfaces briefly, looking as though he’s taken a break from surfing to attend a re-enactment of the battle of Trafalgar. Caroline Bingley is a mere tart, labouring the fluttering eyes and pouting lips. Claudia Blakley on the other hand plays an excellent Charlotte Lucas, while Tom Hollander’s Mr Collins (complete with a mullet and a strong Wind in the Willows-esque resemblance to a muskrat), is endearing. The portrayal of Anne de Bourg and Mary Bennett further illustrate the film’s sympathetic streak. However this adaptation’s masterstroke comes in the characterisation of Mr Bingley and Jane Bennett. It’s a match made in a rather small gene pool, with Wright brilliantly evoking the inbred milieu of English aristocracy.

Roman Osin’s cinematography is handsome. The many intricate steady-cam shots are as accomplished as Ms Georgiana Darcy. There is also some great visual humour (especially a scene involving Mrs Bennett and some geese in full flight). Unfortunately for all the visual excesses the text suffers. The film’s greatest flaw is that much of the finely honed wit of Austen is lost. As with the characters, the narrative becomes two dimensional as the intricacies of love and social structure are cut down to fit a fast paced Hollywood romance. In the novel Lizzie and Darcy’s romance is so affecting because of the complex course it runs: Wright’s film does not give them time to fester in their passions, descend into hate and come full circle to love.