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Pride, Prejudice, & Winona Ryder's Long-Lost Sister

I finally went and saw Joe Wright's version of Pride & Prejudice. Admittedly, I went in with my own pride and prejudice against the film from the start. Though I'm not deeply attached to the 1995 A&E version as many are, I am deeply attached to the book. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the A&E version more than most movies, but I had an attachement to the old-school BBC version of P&P {a set of videos a won in an embarrassing way (that story is for some other time - I'm not sure the statute of limitations is up on that one yet)}, so I had a screen-inspired picture of Elizabeth and Darcy in my head long before I saw the 1995 version.

With my loyalty to the book, my distaste for the previews of this new version, and my respect for Colin Firth as the only man who could ever play Mr. Darcy well, I expected the movie to be terrible. I was so wrong. I loved it. Of course, it's not perfect. They have to skim over some plot-lines and characters to fit the story into film-length, but I thought they did a good job of keeping the integrity of the book. Though they changed some dialogue which didn't necessarily need to be changed, the changes weren't abrasive and were certainly in keeping with the characters who said them. For example: in the book, Lizzie says, "...and perhaps if I have very good luck, I may meet with another Mr. Collins, in time." In this movie, she says, "Perhaps Mr. Collins has a cousin." Same point, different delivery.

Here are a few things I liked about the movie: *they finally got a Jane who was actually pretty - in both the old BBC version and the A&E, Jane was not especially pretty and certainly not prettier than Elizabeth. *Kiera Knightly's Elizabeth was giggly, which got on my nerves at first, but grew on me after a while. *Matthew MacFadyen's Mr. Darcy was not Colin Firth, but his interpretation of Mr. Darcy was accurate and enjoyable - a new twist on an old favorite, if you will. *Mr. Collins made me laugh out loud, which is a sign of a good Mr. Collins. In the old BBC version, they play a bassoon during Mr. Collins' scenes which is so appropriate, but even without the bassoon, the point of his unbearableness was made. *Donald Sutherland's Mr. Bennett: all I can say is "bravo!" *The scenery was spectacularly well done and I enjoyed the more modern cinemetography as well.

I do have a few small complaints as well: *Kiera Knightly is the poor man's Winona Ryder (insert shoplifting joke here.) *Mr. Bingley looked (and acted) a bit too much like one of the Weasley twins. *Dame Judy Dench scares me.

I'm not ready to declare it's absolute superiority to the A&E version. I could elaborate on my opinion, but sometimes less is more when it comes to both film reviews and film length. If you're too attached to the A&E version, either go see this one with an open mind or don't see it at all. They say ignorance is bliss. Really, though, you should probably just read (or re-read) the book. No film version can compete with Austen herself.