Pride & Prejudice Release Date: November 11, 2005 Starring: Keira Knightley, Matthew MacFadyen, Jena Malone, Donald Sutherland, Rosamund Pike Directed by: Joe Wright
PREMIERE.COM'S REVIEW (posted 11/11/05)
I like Jane Austen as much as the next guy . . . oh wait, I used that lead a year ago, reviewing Bride & Prejudice. This new picture puts the “P” back in place of the “B” and is at first glance a more conventional J.A. dramatization (no musical numbers, for instance) than Bride’s Bollywood take. Will nothing stop these Jane Austen adaptations? I suppose I should be glad that there are more of them than there are Friday the 13th movies, but still . . .
This Pride, directed by Joe Wright from a screenplay by Deborah Moggach, is notable in showcasing a more wholesomely appealing side of Keira Knightley than was seen in Domino; in boasting a droller-than-usual performance by Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennet; and in slathering the source material (which we should do well to remember is a comedy of manners) in liberal helpings of Wuthering Heights, complete with scenes of a more-than-brooding Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFayden) urgently galloping across . . . well, if they’re not moors, then they ought to be. The moviemakers are accomplished enough to make something coherent out of this tonal mishmash, but I was left with a “was this trip really necessary” feeling for all that.—Glenn Kenny
