Class Viewing: Pride and Prejudice (2005)

The director of the 2005 movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice was faced with a large task. He needed to turn a book with over 60 chapters into an entertaining movie. Director Joe Wright does this job well by cutting out scenes he thinks are unnecessary and boring. 

The film version of Pride and Prejudice takes the novel by Jane Austen, and shortens it into a less than two hour movie. Pride and Prejudice has a lot of key characters in the plot and it seems easy to get someone confused, in the film the characters are introduced seemingly quickly. Like the novel the film takes place in rural England at the turn of the 19th century. Its characters, The Bennet family, Mr. Bingley (played by Simon Woods), Mr. Darcy (played by Matthew MacFadyen), Lt. Wickham (played by Rupert Friend), Mr. Collins (played by Tom Hollander), and others all play into the early 1800s English culture of snobbiness and arrogance. The five Bennet sisters are in search of a husband, not for love, but for financial stability in life. 

The film has excellent camera and set up work. Each of the actors fits their roles, and creates a pleasant viewing experience. The film highlights beautiful scenery and backgrounds. The scenes at Longbourn highlight how the working class people would live on farms. One scene even shows a pig walking through the house and there is audio from chickens in the background. In contrast the film takes us to Netherfield Park, which shows off classic English real estate and gives the audience an idea of how an estate like this would be used at the time. By showing the contrast in how the classes live it allows the modern day viewer to begin to understand how and why women would want to marry in order to upgrade their financial situation. The costumes of each character fit the time period and the overall feel the director was going for. The film shows scenes in which characters are dressed up in high fashion as well as scenes where they are dressed more casually for their time period. This is a nice touch. I think it shows a more human side to these characters. Sometimes it seems hard to relate to characters from drastically different time periods, but in this film I felt like each character was individualized and able to be distinguished from the pack. 

Being a film, the viewer is able to see the facial expressions and body language of the characters. This, along with the use of music, allows for a deeper understanding of the plot. In the film, there are usually no questions about how the characters feel at a certain point. Also, the use of music allows for another level of cinematic depth. Music adds to the 1800s feel, the director chose to stick to period correct music. This might not have been the most entertaining choice, but I feel it was the best choice to maintain the authentic feel of the film. 

Some people credit Jane Austen with creating the genre of romantic comedy. Her novel pokes fun at typical English culture and points out the obvious faults. Austen showcases characters that are money hungry, and her character choice shines light on the English hierarchy. 

The 2005 version of the film was created by a British studio, so I wonder what would be different if an American studio made a version of this film. Would the plot be different? Or the characters? I think if this film was made by Americans, the story would have a more negative connotation. Americans tend to go against English culture. In this country we value freedom. The American dream is to work your way up the classes and better yourself. In 19th century England, this was not possible. 

Overall, the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice directed by Joe Wright is a good film. Although the film isn’t the same experience as reading the novel it is worth watching for someone who has already read the novel or for a person who wants the general idea of Pride and Prejudices plot and does not have the time or the interest to read a 300 page novel.