AIBU - Pride & Prejudice.

[2020iscancelled]

A much beloved book
A fantastic BBC adaptation mini series

Then the horror of THAT awful, awful Keira Knightly film.

I knew it was bad but I rewatched it recently and it is just terrible.

I will concede the film itself is fine, the locations beautiful and no issues with the acting per se. But it is so far away from the real P&P it’s actually criminal.

So AIBU?

YABU - it’s wonderful and sums up the story to perfection.

YANBU - it’s an abomination

Totally agree about the miscasting of Susannah Harker as Jane. I thought Rosamund Pike was ideal. I can't bear Alison Steadman as Mrs Bennet...but I will put up with all of that for the scene where Darcy gazes adoringly at Elizabeth playing the piano with his sister and the later scene where he calls her 'dearest, loveliest Elizabeth'. Swoon.

YANBU. The only saving grace was the beautiful score.
I shudder when u recollect that Darcy

@Dannydevitoiloveyourart Gemma arteton does play Lizzie in Lost in Austen

I think KK is a fab actress but miscast here - she did a very good job but somehow it didn’t feel like Lizzie. But that’s true of all of them! I only liked the mum, the rest didn’t work as well as the BBC version sadly. Slightly wonder about hair and makeup too... I can remember KK looking more like she’s stepped off a LinkedIn shoot ... and the only time I’ll say this and hopefully not be a total dick... all the girls are too old. I think Lizzie is meant to be 21, 24? The sisters all just looked that bit older. Plus the format... fitting all that story into 2 hours or whatever just doesn’t work very well. Nice houses I guess :)

Oh the VERY worst is the extended cut where Lizzie and Mr D watch fireworks at the end... awful!!!

YANBU

I don't know why they insist on casting KK in anything with a bodice, she has a very modern (20/21 Century) figure.

Matthew McFadyen is one of the most wooden actors on the planet, don't get why he's cast in so much either.

I loved Lost in Austen. Still waiting for the sequel with Darcy in the present day! Well maybe a Covid-free present day version.

It’s horrendous. An absolute abomination. Everything Kiera Knightly does annoys me but I’ll never forgive her for playing Lizzie.

Weirdly my colleagues were talkign about this today!

I like some of the actors better in the KK, - for example they go on about how beautiful Jane is, but in the BBC one she's only OK! - certainly no Rosamund Pike! Jennifer Ehle is good but I think Lizzie is meant to be much more "girlish" - she's a bit buxom lol.

But the plot/script etc of the BBC one is far far better. Overall it'smuch better.

suspiria777 yes!!!!! Argh the worst!!!!!

YANBU. Why anyone thought it a good idea to make a film of it after the supreme BBC series, I will never understand.

I usually find KK profoundly irritating, but oddly enough I thought she was very good in Atonement.

One thing I preferred in the KK P&P was the actress who played Charlotte Lucas was made to appear plain, where as the one from the mini series was way too pretty and I find it unbelievable that she would have been left an old maid based on her lack of beauty.

And the fact that Lydia was clearly in her mid twenties, not 15 as specified 😆

Omg why is the idea of KK as a gender-flipping Mr Darcy seem so good! That’s a great idea, would work very well!

Matthew McF man was like a sad sloppy Mr Darcy, like he needed to go on a nice spa break for a few years. Whereas Colins was uptight and hard and principled, yum!

@Bitcherama - exactly (about Mrs Bennett and how Alison Steadman played her).
I mean when she says that she has such heart murmurs and flutterings and her headache is at her (in the bedroom scene where she needs her smelling salts). I mean take a breath woman. You'll soon find your headache goes when you stop whining on and as for the murmurs and flutterings, they too will stop when you stop getting so agitated!

And breathe!...... :D

Keira Knightly cannot act. She just can't.

It annoys me that she gets so many plum roles when you'd wonder what a different actress might bring to the part. I actively avoid anything that she's in.

YABBU There is only one Mr Darcy and he does not star alongside KK.

Sadly, not a fan of this film version either.

I loved the 1995 version but would probably mix and match a few castings from different versions to create the perfect version. I agree that Mrs Bennet is a difficult one to get right. Sadly, I didn't care for Alison Steadman's portrayal (love her in other things, but not so much in this). I prefer the 1980 TV version of Mrs Bennet or indeed Brenda Blethyn. I also have a soft spot for the 1980 portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet by Elizabeth Garvie (David Rintoul makes a scarily severe Darcy too), although I also very much enjoyed Jennifer Ehle's portrayal.

I wouldn't say its an abomination but it is massively inferior to the Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle version

Well, the BBC version is about 5 times longer! So no wonder they could fit more in.

I like both versions and think they both have their merits.

The bit where Lady Catherine De Burgh visits upon the family in the night is much better done in the film than the BBC adaptation, but I suspect that's coz its Judy Dench.

And with KK, yes, too pretty. And it isn't her jaw being too big, it's how she holds it - so not about her looks but about her acting style.

Tbh I think these books are always better as a longer Tv series. They don’t work as a single feature length film as not enough time to do it justice.

yanbu but only because the thread title soothes me like a Springwatch video with the music muted.

I enjoyed the film.

I didn't hate it, and thought Mrs Bennett and Lady Catherine were much better, but for me, it captured the provinciality of their existence, and the locations were beautiful.

I loved the BBC adaptation.
Only saw bits of the film. MM and KK were just not Darcy and Bennett.

I think Anne de Bourgh was a bit too sickly looking in the TV version. She looked like she was not long for this world.

@JaneJeffer

no chemistry between the lead actors Well that's unfortunate as they were an item at the time

It is clear to me why they didn't last long!

I love it too. Visually really beautiful and cast the right age (everyone way too old in BBC version). BUT Colin Firth looks like my dad, so it’s always a bit disconcerting to see him in a role where he’s supposed to be a heartthrob!

YANBU. DSis is much younger than me, and I never feel a generational (okay, it's not quite that much) divide between us more than in our preferences for P&P adaptations. She loves the KK version, I will adore the BBC one until my dying day.