Pride and Prejudice: A Film Review

Upon being assigned to write a film review for Joe Wright’s 2005 instant classic Pride and Prejudice, for a “Writing by Women” course my pulse quickened and my pupils dilated. This physiological reaction to the task before me was not founded in the same excitement that had the dozen or so young women in my class squealing and clapping with giddy approval. Rather it stemmed from a much more primal instinct—FEAR! A fear that was quickly confirmed; for, while my amygdila was still wrestling with indecision between fight or flight my fellow students had one by one shot their murderous glances, each like a pair of warning shots fired over my bow. I was under attack! My foe, the not-to-be-crossed cult-like Austen fan club sitting across the room warning me not to disrespect the text that braver men then I have glibly labeled “a girl’s guide on how to get a man in the 18th century” but which, they cherished on par with scripture! As I teetered on the precipice of my own demise in fear of my life the thought struck me, “why do they judge me so?” For, I had not yet voiced one iota of criticism of Austen’s classic. Yet I had somehow become the enemy; a Mr. Darcy of sorts to a room full of Elizabeth wannabes.

Faced with this prejudice, and wary of the responsibility that comes with writing a review on “a great national treasure,” as British screen writer Deborah Moggach called Pride and Prejudice in the production notes. She too realized that, “you mess with it at your peril.” As a disclaimer, it should be noted that it has been accurately said, “Hell hath no fury like a women scorned.” My fellow female classmates have already sent off their warning volleys and I lay next to my own ‘Lizzy’ every night in my most vulnerable state...

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...hip; it is about romances of all types—whimsical, pragmatic, calculated and the lack there of alike. Therefore, due to time and space restrictions, Wright is unable to give as complete a snapshot of English society caught between Enlightenment and Romanticism as Austen is. This being said, and as mentioned above, I feel this was the right choice for the current generation’s attention span.

Wright and crew have definitely come together to create an accessible version of the epic-length classic that brings the reader up close and personal with both the period and Austen’s much loved characters. The passion, the wit, the casting, the costumes, the players and the set are all superb. So, from an unjustly judged closet romantic and Austen lover, I give this film two big thumbs up. Next to Much Ado About Nothing it is by far one of my favorite romantic comedies.