Pride & Prejudice 4K 2005

This film is simply a parody of Jane Austen. Everything is so mundane that it either makes you laugh or cry at how a book can be ruined.

The English aristocrat, Mr. Darcy, lives not in a castle but in an art museum, his friend, Mr. Bingley, comes across as an excitable fool, and Mr. Collins recites memorized phrases and looks more like a gnome than a priest. The Bennets turn out to be mere peasants, and the reserved and refined Lizzy is a flighty and wayward young lady.

There is none of the sophistication or charm of the 1995 film adaptation. All the actors look a little childish. And their acting is, to say the least, poor.

It is immediately apparent that the film was rewritten for Keira Knightley. The English restraint and subtle humor remain behind the camera. Emotions overflow, and there is no doubt that Mr. Darcy and Lizzie will be together from the moment they first meet. But the strangest thing is that the characters' behavior is simply inexplicable. It's as if they've all lost their minds and decided to forget who they are. That's where the nighttime walks in dressing gowns come from (in an era when people dressed up for breakfast!), as well as the wild dancing and constant nervous laughter of all the Bennet girls.

No, no, and no! The 1995 film adaptation is not better because it corresponds to the book, but because it at least conveys the spirit of that era and preserves the logic of the characters' actions.