That’s an interesting review, Alatar – but I’m not sure that saying “Voila, you have a Meg Ryan/Sandra Bullock/J.Lo movie†inspires a lot of confidence in me.
And I wouldn’t, in a million years, rank Keira Knightly up there with Julie Christie. *shakes head very soundly indeed!*
No, I’m still not looking forward to this version of Pride and Prejudice. And while it does sound like we’re just a basket of wee catty things, I think the suspicion that Keira Knightly is just not suitable for this role is pretty well founded. For one thing, she pouts too much.
I will go and see the film at some point, but I’ll be going with my purist hat firmly on. I have a feeling it will stay firmly on my head through the whole film, unlike LOTR, when I became dizzy with the on again/off again routine.
I find it odd that the producers find the need to shift social contexts in the way they have, because this alters the way the characters interact at the most fundamental level. The politics, conventions… the manners! I’m very wary that the approach is to make the setting ‘earthier’. The articles make it sound that there is a greater gulf between Lizzie and Darcy than Jane Austen’s story implies – as Elizabeth so clearly states to Lady Catherine, she is not far outside the class to which he belongs: Darcy is a gentleman, Elizabeth is the daughter of a gentleman. I guess it’s just a case of ‘wait and see how it looks on screen’.
I love the Greer Garson/Laurence Olivier version, but that’s only because I love Laurence Olivier. :-) Rather a lot, actually. I think it was this film where the time in which the story is set was shifted because the producer (or director?) didn’t like the look of Regency clothes. So Greer Garson ended up looking like a Victorian nanny, and there is not a heaving bosom to be seen.
I just did a quick imdb search to check my film facts, and found that there have been 5 other versions of this story, from 1938, 1952, 1967 , the 1980 one with David Rintoul (with I thought was a wonderful adaptation too), and the 1995 one. The 1952 version had some interesting casting choices: Peter Cushing played Mr Darcy, Prunella Scales played Lydia Bennet, and Helen Haye played Lady Catherine De Bourgh. That would have been one to see.
By the way, according to my local paper, a sequel to Pride and Prejudice (called ‘A Private Performance’) is to be published here in mid-October. If I remember I’ll have a look at it. I’m not sure I’d buy it, though – I rather like the story ending exactly where it does.