Pride & Prejudice (2005)
"Sparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?"
- IMDB
Pride & Prejudice is a film I have seen before. I actually watched it a few times for a film class, so this material is beyond new to me. I, uh... know quite a bit... But re-watching recently hit differently. Something about it.... I’m obsessed and fully in love with Mr. Darcy in a way I’ve never been before. He has bewitched me.... what else can I say.
Our story starts with the iconic Elizabeth Bennet played by the iconic Keira Knightley. I may go on and on about Darcy, but please be aware of my extended appreciation for Elizabeth. She’s stubborn and proud, head strong, independent – she doesn’t really fit any mold within society or even her own family for that matter. She is such an individual with many different sides and emotions. She is a prime example a strong female lead and her character arc and development support this as well.
The Bennets' are quite the Brady bunch. Jane - elegant and reserved, Elizabeth’s closest sister. Mary – the emo goth girl of the family for sure. Kitty & Lydia - just a couple of annoying teenage girls. Mrs. Bennet - mother of 5 daughters, is adamant on all her daughters marrying well, keeping up with the times. Mr. Bennet is just a go with the flow kind of guy. Elizabeth and Mary are definitely his favorite children; they’re kind of mine as well tbh. The family I wouldn't really classify as poor, though basically middle to low class for sure. They have a decent farm, nice land, servants even, but still considered the bottom of the barrel from the point of view of the Bingleys' and Darcys'.
The culture surrounded by woman in these times is an interesting one. For one thing, women are so respected. Men must bow to them when they enter the room and treat them with such respect. Yet a woman’s role in life is to find a husband to take care of them. They’re the center of a home yet obviously not on an equal field as their husbands. It’s just a bit ironic and I think that's what eventually catches Darcy’s eye as Elizabeth really challenges this throughout the film. They are equal in mind, one may say.
Speaking of Darcy – the man himself. I love love love his introduction in this film. This tall, handsome dude that just... so obviously does not want to be there. I feel you, dude. I get it. "Not if i can help it" bro same. Best Elizabeth moment is in this scene. She overhears him call her perfectly tolerable and literally first chance she got - "even if their partener is barely tolerable" mic drop. She walks away, dang that was hawt. And Darcy is just staring at her, as usual, like this is one of those moments he will lay awake cringing at for sure.
Between this first ball and Elizabeth’s visit to Netherfield, we are witnessing Darcy fall in love. It was pretty much love at first sight, though he is definitely in denial about it, or tries to be. She walks in the room and he just stares at her with those puppy dog eyes, like dude. We see you. He really gets to know her pretty quickly, and as I’ve mentioned before, he is quite taken by how different she is. Especially when her mom and sisters arrive – she is so apart from them in a drastic way. Being stuck with a basic bish like Caroline, it really wasn’t that hard for Elizabeth to catch his eye.
Then we get to the hand incident...... There is really so much to unpack here. There’s like a legitimate cultural reason why this was so electric. First of all, a man just doesn’t hold a lady’s hand ever unless they were together or dancing or something. This was a clear sign of affection. Elizabeth was shook. We were shook. Darcy could not believe he just did that, hence the hand flex. It honestly makes me laugh knowing that the fanbase goes crazy about the hand flex. Darcy’s hand is a common subject in fan art. The internet just loves this scene.
Now not that they were really any sort of competition.... but Elizabeth is met by 2 other suitors that really drama into this love story. You got Mr. Collins... Really not a chance. Hey, Mr. Darcy is an introvert but Collins is something else. Laughing stock of polite society. Really respect Mr. Bennet in not making Elizabeth marry him. That was such a great moment. But the fact that Charlotte ends up marrying him is yet another instance in which Elizabeth is set apart from everyone else. Charlotte married Collins because she felt like she had to. Again, that’s a woman’s life goal. But that’s just not Elizabeth's style.
Then we have dear Mr. Wickham. He comes in really at the best time because Elizabeth has kind of made up her mind at this point that she doesn’t really like Darcy, so when Wickham shows up with his fake news sob story, she believes him. And this creates tension for the better part of this first act.
THE NETHERFIELD BALL!!!! I love everything about this entire sequence. That amazing shot of Elizabeth walking to the ballroom and Darcy showing up behind her like dude.... Then he asks her to dance..... Because that’s what Elizabeth told him was the best way to show affection.... mmm hmm... Their dance was such a beautiful scene as well. I don’t think there were many cuts either. So they had to memorize choreography and dialogue and the crazy timing that came with that. Matthew & Keira made it all feel so natural and smooth. The music, the set, the costumes, this was a great scene. That moment when it felt like they were the only 2 in the room was electric. Darcy is obviously head over heels while Elizabeth, maybe not in love, but has at least become intrigued by the man as she is just trying to figure out who this guy is.
I do want tot give another shout out to another incredible one shot, probably one of my favorite one shots in film. Seriously guys, if you do not understand the difficulty it takes to masterfully create a one-shot, then you need to learn. When there are this number of moving parts, it’s a whole dang ball. You’ve got all the guests AND the main characters all have some sort of moment or dialogue that the actors had to get right or the whole thing is messed up. You had Mrs. Bennet’s outbursts about an advantageous marriage, clearly heard by Mr. Darcy who is wandering around. Adorable moments between Jane & Bingley commentated by Elizabeth and Charlotte, another important piece for later. A very lovely moment with Mr. Bennet & Mary. There is just so much going on. Again the setting, it’s a visual feist.
Darcy and the Bingleys leave Netherfield. Some time passes, Jane is slightly heartbroken, Charlotte is married, and it is now time for Elizabeth to meet Lady Catherine. And guess who is there waiting for her..... Mr. Darcy.... That dinner scene could not have gone better for Darcy. He got to sit right next to Elizabeth and witness her hold her own as she was bombarded by passive aggressive questions. She answered with pride and Darcy was definitely like “gurrrl tell her.” At least I was.
This is the point of the movie when you realize Darcy is the book definition of an introvert..... This..... This is a major reason as to why so many hopeless fangirls are in love with him because hopeless fangirls are mostly introverts. We get it. We understand you. We love you. But it’s also why Mr. Darcy has remained so relevant. This fanbase is still quite strong and is honestly one of the classic literature characters I see the most probably for this reason. Now as we realize he is an introvert and we love this idea, Mr. Darcy makes us realizes just how much we hate ourselves, when he takes Elizabeth’s advice and tries to practice, by abruptly showing up... and.... god... it’s painful... as a fellow introvert, watching this man absolutely fail at a social interaction such as this. "This is a charming house..." Yeah, thanks, man, for such a profound statement. I have physical chests pains from this scene. It’s too real. And I hope Darcy lays in bed at night cringing at his existence like the rest of us.
"I love you... most ardently..." The proposal incident is a sight to behold. “Hey, you know, you’re family is kind of trash, and you are beneath me in every way, and I am defying my status as a pompous rich boy by asking you out so could you say yes because I love for real.” Yeah, even with Elizabeth’s recent discovery, this wasn’t going well. There’s a lot to unpack here. Firstly, Elizabeth was right in being upset. I mean, he basically insulted her. But he also broke up Jane and Bingley – which, in his defense, he did because he didn’t think Jane liked him as much as Bingley liked her and Mrs. Bennet’s cries of “advantageous marriage" weren’t exactly helping either. I think that’s what hurt Elizabeth a lot – to hear Darcy’s statement about her family and the fact that she agreed with him to some extent.
Now this is the most vulnerable we’ve seen Darcy. His emotions are all out in the open for the first time. And Elizabeth says no. You just didn’t do that. Darcy is rich af. He is high in society. People just don’t say no to people like him. Elizabeth, who is significantly lower in society, is saying no and even argues with him. He argues back but this just makes him love her more. "You were the last man in world I could ever be prevailed upon to marry." Darcy and Elizabeth almost kiss. And this is where Elizabeth’s internal conflict begins. She hates him but there is just something about him that gets to her and she has spent the whole movie trying to figure this out.
Following this iconic scene, Mr. Darcy leaves her a letter. He apologizes for what he did to Jane and also gives the full story behind Wickham. The feelings and thoughts this letter leaves in Elizabeth follows her all the way to Pemberley when she arrives at Mr. Darcy’s home. Touring his extravagant Estate, Elizabeth realizes what she lost when rejecting Darcy’s proposal. She knew he was rich, but I don’t think she realized just how rich he was until entering his home. This is beyond the extravagance of anything she has ever seen. It could’ve been hers. Now, it’s more clear in the book, but the servants talk about Darcy behind his back and have nothing but nice things to say about him. At this point, Elizabeth’s perspective has completely shifted. Just as Darcy was too quick to judge Jane, Elizabeth was too quick to judge Darcy. And now she finds herself falling in love with him.
This obviously makes their reunion quite awkward. Darcy is already such an introvert but Elizabeth’s embarrassment made this whole encounter so much worse. I’m cringing most ardently. This whole sequence is such a delight. Meeting Georgianna, seeing what a pure light she is, how much she adores her brother, and how much he adores her – Mr. Wickham is very not welcome in this chat. How dare he try to break such an innocent soul. Anyways, what always gets me about this scene is how Mr. Darcy smiles. That damn smile. That was the final straw for me. I was totally in love with Darcy in that moment.
Then we get to the climax. Wickham has targeted Lydia and is now caught in a scandalous union with him. We are now presented to the other major reason why the hopeless fangirls fall in love with Darcy so easily. Ever since his failure of a proposal, he has has been going behind the scenes to change himself for the better. He took everything Elizabeth said to heart. It wasn’t a “I can fix you moment,” it was a “let him fix himself.” He didn’t do it to win her back either, just purely for the fact that she is right. He found Lydia and paid for the marriage, saving her and the Bennets' from being a disgrace in this day and age. He then pushed Bingley to return and propose to Jane, undoing his mistake of separating them to begin with. He did it without the expectation of Elizabeth's thanks. He didn’t chase her with his good deeds. He didn’t try to propose again. In fact, he tried to it all behind her back without her knowing. He just simply did what was right by her. He didn’t dare hope it would lead to romance, he just wanted her to be happy.
Then Lady Catherine shows up. "Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?" What even is the story here. Who said anything about Darcy proposing to Elizabeth? Either way, the crotchety old lady just pushed them towards each other as they find each other in the fields, half dressed, in the midst of the thick morning fog and prepare themselves for what is the greatest proposal in human history. Bro walked all the way to speak to her in person. This is the moment. "You have bewitched me body and soul and I love... I love... I love you." How the F*** can anyone say no to that! Literally!
I love how the pair goes to Mr. Bennet to seek consent to the marriage. We hear Elizabeth’s change of heat in her own words. It’s also another great moment between him and his favorite daughter as I feel like their bond was such a strong backbone to Elizabeth’s story. The epilogue... "How are you this evening... Mrs. Darcy..." Very simple but very effective and sweet. I just imagine him calling her Mrs. Darcy every chance he gets to the point if he calls her by another name, something must be wrong lol.
Mr. Darcy is every introvert's worst nightmare yet every introvert's deepest desire. We cringe for him. We root for him. Matthew MacFadyen is just adorable. I look forward to watching Succession in full and to seeing him in Deadpool 3. I’m quite smitten. Keira Knightley is always on the money. She is quite a presence on screen and Elizabeth was the perfect character for her. This movie is so well made. The movie is often criticized and compared to the 1995 BBC mini-series as well as the book itself. I did the research and I still believe this film is the best adaptation. Sorry Colin, but I got my eye on Matthew. And I don’t even know who the other actress is. I’ve been crushing on Keira since 2006. So.... sorry ‘95 cast.
I also think that, as an adaption, it takes the most important parts and successfully embodies the feeling and vibe of the original book. Many scenes were left out or combined and it honestly helped make the film more compact while still telling the full story. That's such a rarity for book adaptions. I can’t think of a single book detail or scene that was left out the movie truly needed. The music is godsend – thank you Dario Marianelli. The cinematography was gorgeous. The aesthetic of the film is timeless. Many see Pride & Prejudice as a comfort movie and I feel that. I’ve seen other films of this genre and type - like Sense & Sensibility and both versions of Little Women – but Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice is superior. I. Can. Not. Stress. Enough. This is an introvert’s movie. Mr. Darcy has bewitched us body & soul and we love... we love... we love him.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆
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