There are things you do hate, Lord. Perfume-smellin’ things, lacy things, things with curly hair.
A three-quarter successful adaptation. Overall, a clever, modern take on the Austen novel, although some of the changes are disconcerting (Mr Bennet as a gentleman farmer rather than a library recluse). Director Joe Wright has looked for visual ways to convey the story, with a roving camera that picks up snatches of conversation that in the novel are the subject of whole scenes. The downside is that all the characterisation tends to get flattened out; and figures like Mrs Bennet, Mr Collins, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh are far less a subject of criticism or a source of comedy. But the non-Austen additional dialogue is a real irritant – often far too modern and anachronistic and clashing with the lines from Austen that have been retained. And why has Lady Catherine’s magnificent “I take no leave of you, Miss Bennet” been replaced with an anodyne “I’ve never been thus treated in my life”? – unless there was a fear that the contemporary audience wouldn’t understand?
by Ian Johnston | Source: 35mm print
12 Mar 2006 11:35 PM | Submit Comment