Pride and Prejudice Film Critque

Film Critique/ Analysis #3

Michael Atkinson
Cinema 28

To Find “Pride” in a Film

One of the most beloved tales of romance and aristocracy comes to life on the silver screen. Joe Wright beautifully adapted Jane Austin's famous novel into a major motion picture. Pride and Prejudice (2005) will awe and astound viewers just as the book captivated thousands. Set in the 18th century, this film centers around the Bennet’s - an upper-middle class family with five daughters who are all mostly approaching the time of marriage. The family is well off financially but also realistically seen struggling as the house is in constant turmoil and marrying into wealthy families is a main priority. In a timeless tale of romance, Elizabeth Bennet - the second eldest daughter - is a strong-willed and headstrong individual who meets an eligible bachelor, however, neither can stand the other. Mr. Darcy only finds Elizabeth “tolerable” to which Elizabeth responds that she will always “loathe him.” Yet in this romantic film, it is the audience and the eccentric Bennet family who want these two to get together more than the characters, themselves, want. 

Though the love story may be old and may have been redone countless times generation after generation, one cannot help but be moved by this tragic story of love lost and love rekindled. It is the way the director created this film that kept the audience engaged even if they have seen or heard the story a million times before. The use of dramatic mise-en-scène keeps the slow moving film visually appealing. For some moments of the film, it feels as if the story is dragging, but one never feels that for long when they notice that for the past five minutes, the scene hasn’t been cut. The camera dollies through the sets, keeping the scene moving and letting one wander about the set in the midst of the action. The minimal cutting is what will keep one’s attention by allowing the audience to develop in the scene and literally bring a moment of time to life as if one is actually there.

Keira Knightly, who plays Elizabeth, flourishes in her character by giving a new sense of reality to girls of that time period. As the stereotype goes, girls from the 18th century where supposed to be subservient, quiet in opinions, and soft spoken. However, Knightly brings a new element of ferocity showing how her character has opinions, wants a say in what happens in her future, and can more or less hold a grudge. The characterization through witty and creative dialogue shows that women then were not all that different than today. 

Furthermore, Wright also reminds one of these girls’ age in his portrayal of childhood innocence. One truly forgets how young these women actually were as they take on such challenges as marriage and building a life around their future husbands. In one particular scene, Elizabeth sits on the swing as a young child would, but ironically is not thinking about activities for enjoyment but rather contemplating life and who she will end up with. This scene brilliantly plays on the fact that even though she is surrounded by these adult responsibilities, she is still only a child.

Skillfully, Joe Wright created a film that combines the daunting visual aspect of constructing a historically accurate piece with all the economic and class divisions that are brought out in the original novel. With all of these elements combined, this is surely a piece Wright can take pride in.