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| Pride & Prejudice (2005)
  
Starring: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfayden, Rosamund Pike, Donald Sutherland, Judi DenchDirector: Joe Wright Rating: PG Category: Drama  |
We all have weaknesses. For Superman, it’s Kryptonite. For every other man in the world, it’s Jane Austen. You could imagine my hesitation, then, when I was given the chore of reviewing the updated film version of the author’s masterpiece, “Pride & Prejudice,” a novel that’s resulted in many sleepless nights since first reading it in high school. And while it’s true that Austen’s writing never fails in putting me to sleep, her painfully slow novels contain the type of rich characters that should be mandatory in every story you read. As a testament to this, it’s important to point out that Austen’s work has also been used as the basis for many current films I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, including “Clueless” and “Bridget Jones’ Diary.” This doesn’t change the simple fact, however, that you’d be hard-pressed to find a sane man who’s willing to run out and see this film with a woman. It’s relationship suicide – no matter how sexy you find star Keira Knightley - because you’ll never be as charming, or as sensitive, to your partner ever again.
For the lucky men who’ve managed to dodge the Austen bullet up until now, and for those that never quite understood what the heck was going on, the story opens in 18th Century England with the middle-class Bennet family preparing to give away their five daughters’ hands in marriage. The eldest daughter, Jane (Rosamund Pike), has already found a suitable husband in the wealthy Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods), but when he unexpectedly loses interest, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet (Donald Sutherland and Brenda Blethyn, respectively) look to their second eldest, Elizabeth (Knightley), in securing a future with a financially-secure gentleman. Elizabeth, however, is much too stubborn to worry about winning the heart of just any man, but when she meets her match in the equally tenacious Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfayden), an unexpected romance develops.
Ever since Colin Firth’s much-talked about performance in the television mini-series of “Pride & Prejudice,” the task of playing Mr. Darcy has become a near-unattainable feat, almost as if no actor could ever outshine the British veteran in the role. It’s probably true, especially considering that Firth has played the role to perfection not once, but twice (“Bridget Jones’ Diary”) in a span of only six short years. If there ever was an actor who could pull it off, though, it’s relative newcomer Matthew Macfayden, whose own portrayal of Darcy feels like it’s been ripped straight from the pages of Austen’s novel. Keira Knightley is equally enchanting in her role as the female lead, and while many may look at the young actress as some sort of Hollywood trend, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that she’s the best actress to come out of Britain in almost a decade.
It’s not surprising, then, that she’s even managed to steal the show from such olds hands as Sutherland and Judi Dench, both of whom deliver such entertaining supporting performances that it would have been nice to see them in much larger roles. The story, however, isn’t about a couple old farts, but rather two beautiful young people falling in love. And while the material may not be that stimulating for the average heterosexual male, it’s a classic love story that deserves to be told time and time again. I’m not saying that you love it; just respect it.
DVD Review:
Let’s get one thing straight: the women who buy “Pride & Prejudice” on DVD are not the same people who care about things like production featurettes and audio commentaries. With that said, the special features that appear on the single-disc release of the Oscar-nominated film are barely worth mentioning. The first three featurettes (“A Bennet Family Portrait,” “Jane Austen, Ahead of Her Time,” and “Behind-the-Scenes at the Ball”) are all summed up nicely in the “HBO First Look” special that includes all of the same interviews and material. Also included is a commentary with first-time director Joe Wright, but listening to a guy talk about Austen is like listening to a monkey talk about oranges. We know they’re not interested, so why bother?
~Jason Zingale
jzingale@bullz-eye.com