Pride and Prejudice

I saw Pride and Prejudice this weekend with my family, and I absolutely loved it! Keira Knightly was the only big-name actor in the film aside from Jena Malone, better known to me as the-little-girl-from-Stepmom, and a somewhat minor role for Dame Judi Dench. Still, all of the acting was very well done, and the lack of recognizable faces added to the reality of the characters. Before seeing the movie, I had heard some negative remarks about the faithfulness of the portrayal of the book, but I found that it kept very close to the book. Austen's dialogue-driven writing style lent itself well to the big screen, and as the story played out I got butterflies at all the right moments. The filming was also tremendously beautiful. One of the most memorable moments was when Elizabeth (Knightley) is swinging in her yard just before her friend Charlotte comes to announce that she is engaged to Mr. Collins, the man who will one day take Lizzy's house from her. After Charlotte leaves, the camera angle changes, and you can really feel that Lizzy is looking at the house with a heavily weighted awareness of her impending loss. The soundtrack also contributes a lot to the emotion throughout the film. All in all, it's one of my new favorites.

Helen