Anyone who loves Jane Austen knows that P & P stands for "Pride and Prejudice."
Years ago, Jane Austen became a staple in my libraries--both book and movie. Despite all my Austen movie watching, P & P is by far my favorite. The new version of the movie proved, yet again to me, that Jane Austen truly transcends time and culture. I was weary of the movie--a new version prove to be even close to the A&E version?! Could it be? While the new version is much shorter in length, and I mean MUCH shorter, I did not feel cheated out of the plot. The directors and adapters remained true to the story line and masterfully brought us from beginning to end, without a sense of loss.
The scenery was more ethereal, almost cartoonish or make-believe at times. Note the scene where Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle are sitting under a LARGE tree as they are headed north to lake country. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of beautiful English countryside. Also of note, the score was not Austen quality. I am not musically inclined, yet felt the soundtrack to be lacking. It felt absent at most times, except during the dance scenes. Those scenes tended to take on a more Irish feel, interesting since the movie is not intended to be set in Ireland? Perhaps it's just my untrained ears!
The characters were not as well developed, due to time constraints. The interactions between Jane and Bingley were accurately portrayed and to my satisfaction. However, I felt that the building romance between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy was not as intense as in the A&E version. However, personally, this may be due to the actor's lack of physical appeal. Matthew Macfadyen, who played Mr. Darcy, reminded me of a British John Cusack. Don't get me wrong, I love John Cusack, in his place, not as a romantic hero.
However, by the end of the movie, Mr. Darcy had wooed me, along with Elizabeth Bennet, and I *sighed* the same *sigh* that the A&E version elicited. The minor defects were forgotten and the new Pride and Prejudice will most likely find its way into my movie collection.
Libby gives P & P: **** (4 stars). A delightful, lively, and relatively accurate depiction of a Jane Austen classic. Worth seeing, no matter how ardently you love the A&E version.
5 comments:
I pretty much agree with you. I definately enjoyed it, although I still like A&E better, but I didn't feel cheated either. John Cusack! Yeah, that's who this actor who played Mr. Darcy reminded me of! His face was just too "soft" and didn't have that arrogance Colin Firth had. And I also agree his relationship with Elizabeth wasn't as intense. You can just FEEL the chemistry in the A&E version, it's just oozing out of the TV. But I like Jane much better, Lady Catherine played by Judy Dench was fabulous, and I think Mr. Bennet is much more sympathetic.
I disagree about the scenery and music, though. The whole movie seemed much more atmospheric. I thought the scenery was more dramatic and was enraptured by the score. It certainly isn't period music though. But that's okay with me because that dreadful harpsichord (sp?) in the A&E version gets on my nerves!
Also, an interesting thing I read was that this movie was set in the Georgian period during the year the book was written, vs. the A&E version which was the Regency period, which was when the book was published. So the whole feel is much more earthy and gritty. It's not nearly so refined and you see a lot more mud, chickens running around, and sweatiness during the dance scenes.
By the way, has anyone ever seen Northanger Abbey?
I agree with you about the scenery and music, but I have to say that I disagree with the fact that they stayed true to the story. I don't feel that they stayed true to the Austin-esque writing style. She tends to be abrupt in her endings. This version tended to take on more of a Bronte ending-- more romanticized.
But I must say that YES, I did sigh with Elizabeth for Mr Darcy. I think that he was very handsome, but as Danielle stated, he did not have the severity of Colin Firth.
I tink it's funny to hear ya'll write these movie reviews. Libby, Danielle, Sacha0--all 3 of you deserve your own box office beat in the newspaper!
For all my background in lit, I've never read P&P. But I oughta have a look-see, huh?
I just saw this version for the first time last week. I was amazed at how much I enjoyed it. I truly thought nothing could compare with the A&E version, but I loved this one for different reasons. The contrast between social classes was far more distinct. And the greasy-ness of the characters was a lot more realistic. It wouldn't have been as pretty as hollywood makes it out to be. I was disappointed at the "ugliness" of the new Mr.Darcy. He never gave me the sigh. But when you're married to a Mr. Knightly, any Darcy will pale by comparison :).
Zoanna, get thee to a library and read P&P! For shame, my literary friend.
Lib, I linked to you today on my blog. Just thought you might want to know (I don't know how often you actually get to visit my fascinating blog :)
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