Another one of these English classics that I never read or saw and that was fascinating and entertaining despite all my preconceptions against the girly source material. (is there actually an earlier film version? I would be surprised if there wasn’t). This is not half as good a film as “Jane Eyre” the other day, but then again, the original story seems to be lighter and less burdened with feminist clutter, which allows for the kind of film Kenneth Branagh would have made out of the Shakespeare comedies some decades ago. Now this is a new generation of filmmakers and actors, so Branagh is now called Joe Wright (who will only some years later shine more brightly with “Hanna”) and Emma Thompson is called Keira Knightley, and even though Knightley is neither great nor beautiful, she is pretty watchable as Elizabeth Bennett (despite her efforts of smiling girlishly, which always makes her lower lip hang down rather sheepishly, sorry…), who wants to marry the wrong people and wants to be married by the wrong people in turn. Some of the actors and characters are more remarkable (Donald Sutherland!), some less (Mr Bingham and most of the Bennett sisters). All in all, they do not help to create the atmosphere of high stakes that I would expect this story to have. It is all a bit too light and banal, perfectly entertaining, but at least for someone like me who is unfamiliar with the book there is no edge to be seen.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1153077-1153077-pride_and_prejudice/
thomas4cinema 