| Overall Grade: |
C+ |
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| Story: |
B- |
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| Acting: |
C+ |
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|
| Direction: |
B+ |
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|
| Visuals: |
B+ |
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Not without some redeeming qualities
by Susan (movies profile)
Aug 24, 2007
36
of
48 people found this review helpful
Fans of the 1995 A&E Ehle / Firth adaptation, rest assured, it is still the gold standard. That said, there are some interesting approaches in this film that are noteworthy.
As noted in other reviews, the cinemotography in this film is fabulous. One truly gets a sense for the english countryside of the period - there's much more weather in this production, and I loved the misty scenes. No quibbles about the selection of sets, and the addition of animals to Longbourne while not in Jane's text, fit well for me. This Pemberly equals that of the 95 film.
I really liked the energy in this production, also - all the girls had it, even Elizabeth & Jane. It didn't seem incompatible with Jane's text, although in the 95 film civilized folk are more sedate, and only Kitty & Lydia are prone to bursts of energy.
This production does feel like P&P on a metronome - the scenes proceed one to the next very quickly, sometimes jarringly. This is likely inevitable trying to hit the high points of the plot sequences that hadn't been excised.
I have four gripes with this film.
1) In many scenes, dialog was changed for apparently no reason at all. This happens first at the beginning, where instead of Mr. Bennet's reply to hearing the news about Netherfield being "You wish to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it", Donald Sutherland says "You wish to tell me, so I suppose I have no choice." Why? That's such a beautiful, witty line. There are other places where choice dialog was left out. I can't tell you how deprived I feel, not hearing Judi Densch say "I am most seriously displeased."
2) There was screen time "wasted" on introduced scenes (Mr. Bennet consoling Mary after telling her to "Give the other girls time to exhibit") or too-long shots (Lizzie swinging after hearing about Charlotte's engagement) that could have been put to much better use developing characters and relationships.
3) Donald Sutherland. I love so many of his films, going all the way back to Kelly's Heroes. But he was on quaaludes or something - Mr. Bennet has far more energy and wit about him. Sutherland played the role as a beaten down, lethargic man.
4) Some of the dialog changes felt like we were getting beat over the head with a frying pan to make the point. One of the beautiful things about Jane's dialog is the subtlety. I was disappointed in Charlotte's speech to Lizzie about her engagement to Mr. Collins - the whole "Don't you dare judge me Lizzie" line totally lost me. Far better, the original line Jane delivers to Lizzie: "you're not considering differences in temperament and situation."
In the end, new Jane is always welcome. There are sufficient redeeming qualities to this adaptation that I don't feel compelled to warn people off of it, but I'm disappointed that with very little effort, it could have been so much better. |
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