European Films

British actress Keira Knightley might have been dubbed the "sexiest tomboy beanpole on the planet", she is also a damn fine actress and now has her own star vehicle to prove it: Pride & Prejudice, the cinematic feature debut of TV-director Joe Wright. The Jane Austen novel that inspired this project has been adapted for television and the cinema numerous times, but this fresh take on the story made by British TV veterans certainly deserves a look. Knightley is a revelation as the young Lizzie Bennet, equal parts bookish rake and girly girl. The 20-year-old perfectly holds her own opposite the likes of Judi Dench, Donald Sutherland and Brenda Blethyn and reduces co-star Matthew MacFadyen (who plays her love interest, Mr Darcy) to smithereens.   

 

British television has always been famous for its high quality drama and rightly so; director Joe Wright, screenwriter Deborah Moggach and production designer Sarah Greenwood all come from the world of British "telly" but have no problems whatsoever in making Pride and Prejudice a thoroughly cinematic adaptation, filled to the brim with exciting visuals ideas and a crisp mise-en-scene. Roman Osin’s cinematography and Greenwood’s production design work in perfect synch to give us a mix of historically accurate grime as well as the necessary dashes of glamorous romanticism that befit Austen’s story so well.   

 

The story, for those who are unfamiliar with it, centres on Lizzie Bennet (Knightley), one of five sisters form a poorer rich family in 18th century Britain (the film's setting is slightly earlier than the novel), and her pride and prejudices towards Mr Darcy, who is certainly much richer and at least as prejudiced himself on the topic of Lizzie as Lizzie is on him. This is the quintessential opposites attract story, with both characters loathing one another at the start, only to long for each other later. The film of course hinges on their conversion and here the film hits its one weak spot: Mr Darcy himself, whose conceited appearance in his opening scene lingers despite Lizzie’s change of heart; Matthew MacFadyen is unable to transform his Mr Darcy enough to make us believe Lizzie’s first impressions were wrong. MacFadyen confuses sternness with handsome ruggedness and the film’s outcome is less strong because of it.   

 

Besides the drama and romance, director Joe Wright is able to wriggle a lot of comedy out of the ingeniously choreographed set pieces and his delightfully over the top supporting characters. Look out for a scene at a ball early on in the film, in which Mr Collins (Tom Hollander) tries to declare his love for Lizzie whilst Lizzie's older sister Jane (Rosamund Pike) tries to speak with her on the same subject. As they move across the room in the lined formations that constituted dancing in that period, they cross each other for just enough time to add a couple of words to their ongoing sentences before moving back to their original positions and start again. The scene uses its historical setting to great comedic effect and thus grounds the story more firmly in its period; Wright orchestrates many of his scenes this way, coupling period detail and story elements to create a tightly knit fabric that is often as hilarious as it is moving.

 

Supporting turns are all from the highest standard: from Judi Dench (who is on her authoritative British best) to the aforementioned Tom Hollander as the awkwardly inept vicar and Simon Woods as the brash and bubbly Mr Bingly. Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland complete the package as the parents of the Bennet household.   

 

Pride & Prejudice will thus be enjoyed as a fresh take on the old story which features a career-defining performance by Keira Knightley, a very handsome visual and technical package, a very cured direction and top-notch performances from most of its supporting cast, except for MacFadyen’s Darcy, whose smug pride and prejudice never really seem to vanish in the British morning mists of the film’s atmospheric closing scenes.

 

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