PRIDE & PREJUDICE

Director: Joe Wright

2005, 129

Screenwriter: Deborah Moggach, based on the novel by Jane Austen.

Cast: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfayden, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland, Tom Hollander, Rosamund Pike, Judi Dench.

 

Before the mid-90s, films based on classic lit were reverential and dull, with zero appeal to a new generation. Luckily, a breath of fresh air brought a new kind of sex appeal to movies including Romeo + Juliet and Shakespeare In Love. Leading the pack is this provocative take on Jane Austen’s best-loved novel, directed by Joe Wright (Atonement, Darkest Hour, and Cyrano, starring the great Peter Dinklage.) The five Bennet sisters are stuck on their (very muddy) family farm, with little chance for escape except marriage, working as a governess, or scandal. But Elizabeth, played by a glowing 20-year-old Keira Knightly, wants to create some agency for herself, and protect her sisters from the machinations of matchmaking. Elizabeth herself feels immune to the callow young men they meet, and especially detests a certain Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfayden) who is as arrogant as he is, well, interesting…

“Seeing the splendid new Pride & Prejudice can be hazardous to your health: There’s a very real danger of swooning.” – Jamie Bernard, NY Daily News.