There are so many delights to director Joe Wright’s take on the story, and his direction is a strong place to start. In spite of having to condense the tale to fit a movie running time, he nonetheless injects a real energy and intelligence to his retelling, and he’s served supremely well by his cast. Backed up by strong support by the likes of Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland, it’s Keira Knightley in the lead turn who’s a real surprise here. Her performance is a real joy, and very much at the core of the film’s success.

The film inevitably draws comparison with the superb 1995 BBC adaptation, and while arguably it doesn’t quite scale the same peaks, it’s to the credit of the filmmakers that their version still holds strong. For this is a tremendously enjoyable drama, and one that should continue to find an audience for a long time to come. An excellent film.--Simon Brew


Customer Reviews (Average 3.0 from 343) :
Not Austen .... but not bad
Rating:3
Faced with a spare evening whilst working away from home I tried a local cinema where this film seemed to be the best option from a fairly mediocre selection. I'd heard that the makers had taken some pretty extravagant liberties with Austen's famous book but, for the first ten minutes or so, I was aghast at just how totally removed from the original this film was. However, after the initial shock wore off I couldn't help noticing that the film's refreshingly large audience, mostly young folk from a nearby university, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the film. It dawned on me that the makers had been quite astute; it is quite impossible to "do" the book in just two hours and even if some effort was made to make the thing more faithful to Jane Austen it was bound to suffer in comparison to the BBC's celebrated 1990s adaption. So, what they have done is taken the bare bones of the book's plot, used the same names for the characters, but otherwise created something almost totally different. It is certainly not a classic in the same way that the book is, but what you are left with is an enjoyable romcom; a fluffy piece of fun that is carried off with some degree of charm and flair.

Whereas the original book has a wealth of interesting characters, the film centres almost wholly on Elizabeth Bennett; it tells her story and all the other characters are largely incidental and not developed to any great extent. This even extends to D'Arcy who here is reduced from the legendary charismatic male lead of Jane Austen into something of a wimp; one letdown in the film is that it is hard to see how a vivacious girl like Elizabeth could possibly fall for such a wuss! With Elizabeth's story being so prominent in the film a great deal falls on the shoulders of Keira Knightley and I thought she carried off the task very well. Again, this is NOT the Elizabeth Bennett created by Jane Austen but if you are prepared to accept that the whole film has precious little do do with the book then this really doesn't matter!

One aspect I did like was the film's attempt to break away from some of the cliches of costume drama, which tend to sanitise and daintify this period; here we had a genuinely rural backdrop instead of the chocolate box village streets beloved of TV Austen adaptions. The countryside wasn't a very clean place then (neither were the people for that matter) and the earthy character of the village, along with the rumbustious dance sequences, made a pleasant change from the hackneyed (and not strictly accurate) elegance of other adaptions. The finale I found disappointing, almost ludicrous in fact, although my young companions in the cinema audience seemed to think otherwise. It was just that - to me - the eventual romantic linking of the lovers seemed to be more reminiscent of Heathcliffe and Kathy than D' Arcy and Elizabeth.

To conclude: If you are looking for anything that even attempts to capture the greatness of Jane Austen's book avoid this film - you are bound to be disappointed and probably enraged. However, if you are young and in love (or - like the reviewer - remember those far, far off days when you were) and fancy a pleasantly entertaining light romance then this film could be right up your street.

Pride & Wonderful
Rating:5
Wonderful movie adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. If you have never read Jane Austen's book settle in for a cozy two hours of a young woman's romance. You will enjoy this version of her book.

It's been many years since I had such an exemplary vegetable.
Rating:4
I've read the book and I enjoyed it - but I wouldn't call myself an Austenite. I've seen the BBC version and enjoyed it - but thought Colin Firth was a bit, well, dull. Now I've seen this version and, guess what, I enjoyed it.

Unlike quite a few of the reviewers on here I enjoyed the way the Bennett's household is portrayed; it's a real living breathing house - not an antiseptic BBC studio set. The dances the family attend seem much more fun than they did in the telly version as well - here are people naturally enjoying themselves, dancing for the sake of dancing, not as an exercise in joyless historical accuracy.

Of course in squeezing the story into a couple of hours something's gotta give; in this adaptation it's the Wickham storyline which suffers. Someone who hasn't read the book wouldn't have a clue as to why Lizzy Bennet gets so upset with Darcy about him, but given such a comparatively short time I think the film does a pretty good job in conveying the spirit of the book.

The direction occasionally strays into film school `look at me I'm a film director' territory (the scene where Lizzy and Darcy are dancing, and suddenly they're alone! is, frankly, risible) but there's also plenty of talent on show and the film certainly looks beautiful.

The acting holds up for the most part, I particularly enjoyed Tom Hollander and, of course, her dameness Judi Dench. Donald Sutherland just about survives intact, though it's a close-run thing. I think Keira Knightley is very good in this; her Lizzy is tomboyish, clever, even a bit of a smartass. Matthew Macfadyen is a bit, well, dull - I think it's a gender thing, speaking as a man I just find Darcy a bit, well, dull.

Approached with an open mind this is well worth a couple of hours of your time.


Great story!!!
Rating:5
This is such a good movie. I can't believe how good the young Keira is playing...

Pride & prejudice
Rating:5
I hadn't seen this version of P&P before it was shown on TV at Christmas. I loved it and straight away bought the DVD and have watched it several times since buying it.