When it comes to making the transition from page to screen, there are few novels that can rival the track record of Jane Austen’s 1813 classic, Pride and Prejudice. The book’s blend of romance and comedy has proved an irresistible combination, with film and television adaptations appearing regularly over the decades, although they vary wildly in tone and attitude. We have Greer Garson’s frothy, morale-boosting comedy from 1940. It gets the lilt of Jane Austen’s humour, but purists scoff at the wardrobe choices, which leapfrog straight over the Georgian period and into the Victorian era. The BBC had a ratings winner in 1995 with their 6-part adaptation, featuring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. For many fans, it remains the gold standard. The genre expands in the early 2000’s: Lily James kicks undead butt in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The gore gets sidelined for a more traditional take, in Gurinder Chadha’s effervescent Bollywood hit, Bride and Prejudice. With a new Netflix adaptation in the works, those of us still mentally scarred by their Persuasion hope for better, second time around. Included in these interpretations of the Austen world, is Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice. A decidedly starry offering, it features Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Donald Sutherland and Judi Dench. As the film celebrates its 20th anniversary, it’s not only an opportunity for a re-watch (an Austen film-fan staple), but to see just how well the film has aged and, crucially, where it places among the competition.
The lure of Austen’s novel is simple. It focuses on a Hertfordshire household, the Bennet family. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have five daughters that need to be married, quickly. Georgian law states that Mr. Bennet’s house will pass to his nearest male relative, cousin, clergyman and professional buffoon, Mr Collins, when he dies. There’s no social security, no financial safety net. Marriage is the only option the girls have. The pressure is on the two oldest Bennet sisters (Jane and Elizabeth) to find a match. With Jane being the prettiest (if you thought we were obsessed with physical appearance, meet the Georgians), the story pivots when a new neighbour arrives. Young, handsome and rich, Charles Bingley isn’t the sharpest tool in the box, but doesn’t need to be. At a country dance, Bingley and Jane meet. The connection is immediate. Unfortunately, staying with him are his sister, Caroline, and his best friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy. Neither are impressed by the locals: when Bingley urges Darcy to dance with Elizabeth, he coolly replies that she is “tolerable, but not handsome to tempt me”. It’s the ultimate burn in English Literature, and Elizabeth overhears every word. Her opinion of the man is set. Their love story begins.
The temptation with Austen’s best-loved romance is to pitch head-first into the characters’ journey to love. It’s an easy sell. But some adaptations sidestep the obvious: the decision to cast Greer Garson as Elizabeth sees Garson tap into the Bennet sister’s sharp-tongued intelligence. The result is an Elizabeth Bennet, with more than a touch of Barbara Pym. It’s a performance of its time, but it works. The BBC adaptation, while its casting was flawless, really shows off its budget: the Bennet lifestyle is achingly gorgeous. Spotless muslin gowns and some light pruning in the kitchen garden, while gabbing about boys, gives the adaptation a Laura Ashley feel. It looks sensational, but if you’re wanting your Austen with a dose of social realism, this may not be your best bet.
By contrast, what jumps out in Joe Wright’s adaptation, is the mud. There’s loads of it. The Bennets live in a large house, but it’s rundown, with peeling paint and scuffed walls. The muslin has been replaced by workaday frocks, everyone’s hair is a little scraggy (even Keira’s). The jolt of the visual impact absolutely delivers: Austen’s world being portrayed as a quagmire of dirt and debt is probably a good deal closer to what the author experienced than the cleaned-up edit we see elsewhere.
Wright’s vision for the film helps by defining more sharply the gap between the Darcys, Bingleys and Bennets. The Bingley siblings (played by Simon Woods and a claws-ready Kelly Reilly as Caroline) are impeccably dressed. It’s custom and it’s fashion. While Darcy (Macfadyen) is more closely attired – his cravat almost threatens to choke him in the early scenes – Wright makes his point with precision. In terms of social mobility, there is a mountain for Jane to climb.
What also stands out is the use of sound: compared to previous adaptations, Wright’s Pride and Prejudice is noisy. The Bennet household is in perpetual chaos: shouting, running and eavesdropping in on private conversations. The stiff rules of gentility get left at the front door here. It feels like we’re watching a real family. The dynamic between Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennet and his daughters is a deliberate remove from the patriarchal starch that would have been usual for most Regency middle-class families. He comforts Mary, the middle sister, when her piano playing at a local ball isn’t up to snuff; Elizabeth isn’t afraid to push back on his decision to let Lydia, the youngest and flightiest, travel to Brighton. Sutherland also captures a paternal warmth in the normally emotionally-distant Mr. Bennet that you don’t often see in other adaptations, and his performance in the last few minutes brings the film back to its emotional centre: it was an inspired choice to cast him.
The casting throughout, impresses. We have early appearances from Carey Mulligan and Rupert Friend; Claudie Blakley is superb as Elizabeth’s friend Charlotte Lucas. The scene where she defends her decision to marry will break you. Brenda Blethyn is suitably nervy and twitchy as Mrs. Bennet: she is assisted by the screenplay (co-written by Deborah Moggach and Emma Thompson) that leans into the economics of the Bennet situation. Here, she is seen as the parent who knows exactly what is at stake if the girls do not marry. Her concerns are legit.
Those of us with long memories will remember how Keira Knightley’s casting as Elizabeth was initially received. She didn’t have a huge amount of period drama experience: playing pirates with Orlando Bloom isn’t quite the stretch required by Austen. But Knightley came to the project as a huge fan of the BBC series, and having Jennifer Ehle as inspiration certainly helped. This is one of Knightley’s best performances. She digs into Elizabeth’s way of seeing the world, laughing at society and its foibles. She taps into anger easily: her scenes with Sutherland are good; the confrontational ones with Macfadyen are even better. She is nearly outclassed by her leading man, but only because Macfadyen brings a vulnerability to Darcy that is hard to look away from. The decision to play Darcy as a man with a huge set of responsibilities, that often wear heavy, feels emotionally resonant. Macfadyen signposts from an early stage, that Darcy’s buttoned-up view of the world is the result of something that has happened to him. He has learned to be cautious.
No discussion of the film’s performances would be complete without Judi Dench’s honourable mention. As Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Darcy’s aunt is a woman used to getting her own way. Dench’s familiar, friendly persona disappears entirely: Lady Catherine’s acerbic gaze exposes all weaknesses. The face-off between Lady Catherine and Elizabeth, a spectacular showdown that all Austen fans wait for, is slightly marred by Knightley’s inability to match Dench’s ferocity. But let’s face it: who could?
Re-watching Pride and Prejudice twenty years on, emphasises everything the film got right. Wright’s direction has style, but is uncluttered. The soundtrack, by Dario Marianelli, retains its charm. Again, there’s an interesting point of contrast between Carl Davis’ jaunty theme music for the BBC adaptation, and Marianelli’s slower, sensual melody. Any spectacular visuals are reserved for landscape. Vistas of moorland are breathtaking, trees become monumental. Wright plays on a sense of scale. The human drama feels small in comparison, but this is all part of a cycle. Everything will work out, more or less.
While Wright centres the Elizabeth-Darcy romance, there is plenty of room left for social commentary: the choices women have to make to ensure their survival is portrayed in all its iterations: some are lucky, others are not. It’s what Wright has leaves in, that lifts the film above its competitors. The leaning into the feminist qualities of Austen’s text has proved prescient. Looking at the film in the round, the 2005 adaptation continues to read well because of Wright’s decision not to flinch from Austen’s minor tones. Within Pride and Prejudice there is a warning from 1813, to hold onto whatever rights you have, tightly. Wright clearly understands that though Austen means to make you laugh, she also requires us to pay attention. While her novel sparkles, the serious stuff is never too far from the surface.
Pride and Prejudice is screening on Saturday 31st May as a Knitflix event. Knitflix is a relaxed screening where you can work on your knitting, crochet and other craft projects while you watch the film. The house lights will be left on low during the screening. Please bring your own crafts!
Reviewed by Helen Tope
