Review of Pride & Prejudice (2005) by Irene R — 28 Mar 2011

Watching this on the heels of the almost perfect BBC mini-series, I can't help but compare the two. While this movie was quite a bit less satisfying than the mini-series, I think, judged by itself, it does a relatively good job standing on its own.

A respectable amount of dialogue was taken from the book, which I always like. Even more impressive was that some of my favorite conversations left out of the mini-series were included in this movie. The story is faithful to the book, even if much of it is super-condensed - multiple scenes and conversations occurring over many days in the book are sometimes rolled together into one scene in the movie. I have to admit it did perhaps as well a job as could have been done under the time constraints.

Many character are entirely omitted, and some characters are portrayed slightly differently than in the book: Elizabeth, from the beginning, is more engaged in the process of finding a husband, Mrs. Bennett is not so dramatic, Mr. Bingley bumbles too much, Mr. Collins is too serious, and Mr. Darcy, I'm afraid, is not quite so proud. The movie also portrays conflicts much more obviously and heatedly than in the book, and a number of scenes were altered for dramatic effect.

Finally, the set design and costume seemed more along the lines of American Colonial, not so much British Regency. For me, this bit of poetic license detracted from the elegance and charm of the story's context.

All in all, I think I would have been satisfied with this version had I not seen the mini-series first.