Frame for frame, Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice is the most lushly romantic film of the year.
From its breathtaking cinematography and soaring musical score to its lavish period costumes and stunning sets, this is a film that assaults the senses as it takes the viewer on a wonderful journey through the pitfalls of love.
Pride & Prejudice is possibly Jane Austen’s most beloved and popular novel and it’s been made into numerous films and TV series so it was essential that a new version should have some kind of twist. Wright and Deborah Moggach, who wrote the screenplay, have given this vintage story a contemporary feel.
Mr. Bennet (Donald Sutherland) is a poor man with five daughters. He doesn’t seem to mind all that much but his wife (Brenda Blethyn) is positively apoplectic in her determination to get at least a couple of them married off before they get too far into their 20s.
Things look promising for the radiantly beautiful but desperately shy Jane (Rosamund Pike) when she catches the eye of the wealthy Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods). It’s a match made in fairy tale heaven. She’s lovely.
He’s clueless but wealthy.
Then there’s the fiery, headstrong Lizzie (Keira Knightley) who spars with Bingley’s best friend, the equally wealthy and handsome but cold and pompous Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen).
Yes, Wright’s Pride & Prejudice is still a comedy of manners but it’s also very sexy. Pride & Prejudice does for Knightley what all those magnificent Merchant Ivory films did for Helena Bonham Carter. It establishes her as a true movie star as she makes Lizzie an unforgettable heroine.
If you think you’ve seen one too many versions of Pride & Prejudice, think again.
Here’s a version that will renew your faith in love and in the art of film.
