Review #11 | Essay | "Pride and Prejudice" (2005)

As I've been studying various sources, reading reviews, "watching and learning" from people who write reviews for a living, and developing my own style, I have tried to maintain a subjective point of view. A good critic will review a piece of film for the integrity of the work and not his or her personal inclinations. However, today I must break that stride to review my favorite movie, Joe Wright's 2005 release of "Pride and Prejudice."

This movie makes any bad day better. Gray clouds or sunshine, the magic of film is truly tangible in the cinematography of Roman Osin and the direction of Joe Wright. A true English period drama, "Pride and Prejudice" takes the best of Jane Austen's original novel and condenses it into a smooth narrative, preserving the plot with grace. Enthusiasts and moviegoers often get disgruntled when a film doesn't live up to their perception of an original work, but he important thing to remember is that film is its own independent medium with its own needs. The needs of a film are not consistent with the needs of a novel, miniseries, comic book, etc. If this adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" were completely consistent with the source material the film would be more than eight hours long. Even the film adaptation of "Gone with the Wind" is a condensed version of the source novel. And that's exactly what these such films are - adaptations. Not replicas. That freedom leaves room for filmmakers to do their job and implement their own creativity as well as the resources at their disposal to create a piece of art.

Joe Wright is very good at going into his productions with a clear concept and executes the vision seamlessly - each department collaborating and innovating together to create a cohesive story.

This is one of the elements I like so much about this film. It makes for an engaging experience each time I rewatch it. Wright consistently produces exemplary scenes with long Steadicam shots. These scenes are well orchestrated and well edited so that they look uninterrupted, like the long, uncut shots in last years "Birdman," except "Pride and Prejudice" editor Paul Tothill is skilled in editing for continuity and cohesiveness (see the dinner scene at Rosings... The spoons!). These scenes, with large crowds of extras and extensive sets, combine the best of film's theatre heritage and the innovation 21st century camerawork. Just watching the other characters in group scenes is thoroughly engaging. When you've rewatched the film enough times you start to notice such small details, but don't think that because they are small they are meaningless. Placement and nuance can say a lot about a character, just ask Kelly Reilly (Caroline Bingley). She may not have as much screen time as other characters, But Ms. Reilly makes Caroline's time count, establishing the essence of Caroline even from the background. The freedom of the actors in these scenes is the fun that every actor wishes to posses. Ballroom scenes really allowed this stellar cast to create lively characters who are human and are not aware of their status in literary history. The great Donald Sutherland is a great example of this, taking the fundamentals of Mr. Bennett and really showing us a man rather than a character, something to be wary of in well-known period dramas. In fact, the cast are all very good at this which I think stems from the character work they got to do for this film, making the Bennett family a real family in the truest sense, which shines through the screen.

Mr. Darcy's First Proposal

Matthew Macfadyen (Darcy) and Kiera Knightly (Elizabeth) are no strangers to this effort either. Even in their scenes one-on-one they use everything around them to influence their performances and it shows. Wright's director's commentary comments on this as well. My favorite scene for this example would be Darcy's first proposal. The elements are at work and it becomes very clear the effect they have on the characters. Knightly and MacFadyen also draw from their surroundings in the group scenes - the playground of nuances. I don't think such nuances are always accidental. The freedom of the actors may warrant some room for unrehearsed characterization, but camerawork never lies. As I said before, Wright excels at the cohesiveness of his production concept.

This adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice" tends to, ironically, put nuance in the spotlight. Anyone who has been lucky or unlucky in love knows that often it is the little things like the touch of a hand or the direction of a gaze that can make a heart flutter. Jane Austen knew this and so does Joe Wright. Austen wrote some of the small details as complications or rising action, and I think because Wright knew what direction he wanted to take with this film that he was able to make the decisions to give these points the suggestion they imply.Unlike in text, on-screen details do not need to be told, they are shown. It is in this prime rule of film that we find detail, particularly in cutaway shots. Look closely at the Meryton Assembly: Lizzie looks to her left, and if you had noticed you would know that this is the direction that Darcy is standing. Cut to a close up of Darcy, and his eyes avert to his left, avoiding the gaze of Lizzie. What seems like a quick cutaway is actually very clever characterization of Darcy being hyper-aware of Lizzie's presence. Characterization continues within small details, one of my favorites being during Lizzie and Jane's stay at Netherfield: Darcy comments that females may expand their mind by "extensive reading," upon which Lizzie's defiant nature requires her so slam her book closed on the cut back to her, submitting her opinions into the conversation. Anyone who has studied the book may pick up on this kind of characterization if they are in-tune with the general personality of the characters.

As long as we are talking about characterization, I might as well share some revelations I recently had on the Darcy's character whilst watching this film. I realized that first and foremost Darcy is a protector. He protects his estate, his sister, his friend, and he even protects Elizabeth before he consciously knows he is in love with her. He sees Lizzie and Wickham together, his bitterest enemy, and as he shadows Elizabeth at the Netherfield ball give a great insight into the itinerary of the night for all the characters, and what we see has Darcy sulking around looking angry is actually him keeping tabs on Lizzie (and Wickham) from afar. You can imagine my excitement at this revelation: camerawork and subtle characterization; someone pinch me. The existing use of longshots are the literal cohesiveness of this film because they bring characters together. Although Elizabeth is wary of Darcy asking her to dance, I realized that, yes, he is protecting her, and in the only way he know's she'll approve of because he asked her before:

The midst of their dance is also a very stunning piece of filmmaking featuring sweeping longshots which are brilliantly edited. What I love about the screenplay is the subtle foreshadowing. Lizzie's last line before everyone else in the ballroom literally disappears ends on the words "...the future."

"Pride and Prejudice" is, at it's heart, a story about the different kinds of relationships one experiences with other people. Some would argue that next to Darcy and Elizabeth, the relationship between sisters Elizabeth and Jane Bennett is of most importance. Elizabeth is written a stubborn, spit-fire kind of girl and Jane is written as the opposite, a soft, plainspoken girl who can't say anything bad about anyone. Kiera Knightly and Rosamund Pike were expertly cast in these roles. They find the essence of their characters personalities, but what I love is that Knightly and Pike let themselves be influenced by the relationship their characters have. Pike injects a little bit of Elizabeth's personality into Jane during their one-on-one scenes, and Knightly's Elizabeth is always a little more soft toward Jane than the other characters, and that makes her more personable to the audience. Although Elizabeth is the second oldest, she always takes pains to take care of her favorite sister. I love how to amazing actresses can influence their characters in that way. I would love to have heard the conversations the two actresses had on this topic.

The symbols in this film is astounding in their own right. I'm sure there are many other examples I may have noticed and not noticed, but I'll take some space to comment on a few. It seems to me that the major action either takes place in the course of the morning, in the course of the evening, or an undetermined in-between. Elizabeth gets Darcy's letter in a time where the audience can question if it is very late or very early. Both the Assembly and the Ball are in the evening. Mr.Collins's proposal is in the morning, as are both of Mr. Darcy's proposals. The film itself opens at dawn on Lizzie's morning walk, and, in the US version at least, the climax happens at dawn and the film ends in the evening with Lizzie and Darcy at Pemberly. For this reason I think that the differences in warm and cool lighting have much to say throughout the film, especially in terms of stasis and plot development.

Another prominent symbol in this film is the bridge. Bridges symbolize a decision to be made or a significant event to happen. Elizabeth crosses a bridge at the very beginning of the film, walking through her backyard, heading towards the right of the frame. She also crosses a bridge heading to the left of the frame right before Darcy's first proposal. Then she crosses a bridge heading towards the right of the frame before Darcy's second proposal. Coincidence? I think not. The Bennett sisters also cross a bridge in the only scene containing all three of their romantic interests: Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Wickham. Every Bennett sister marries one of them. I think the symbolism speaks for itself.

But let's talk about this cast! I love the blend of the veterans and then-newbies. Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn, Judi Dench, and Kiera Knightly were already established names in film, but people like Matthew MacFadyen, Rosamund Pike, Rupert Friend, and Carey Mulligan were just making a name for themselves. In fact, this was Mulligan's first job! Jena Malone (Kitty Bennett) has been a working actress for most of her life, but this film really set her on the map. In fact, in 2013 Malone and Sutherland would reunite in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," albeit under very different character circumstances. Rupert Friend (George Wickham) went on to star in "The Young Victoria," another Academy recognized period drama, opposite Emily Blunt. Carey Mulligan (Kitty Bennett) has certainly made a name for herself and has claimed her piece of literary-cinema: she starred as Daisy Buchannan in 2013's remake "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Rosamund Pike (Jane Bennett) was recently nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in "Gone Girl," based off of the novel of the same name. Much like her "sister," Kiera Knightly, who was nominated for an Academy Award for this film.

And of course Wright's Darcy and Elizabeth reunited in 2012 for his production of "Anna Karenina." It is clear to see that these two actors, playing brother and sister, love each other very much and it is hypnotizing to watch Macfadyen and Knightly play characters so extremely different from when they starred together before.

Wright is no stranger to reusing actors in his feature films. Not only did Knightly star in "Pride and Prejudice" and "Anna Karenina," but she also starred as Cecila Tallis in "Atonement" (2007). Saoirse Ronan was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Briony Tallis in "Atonement," and she also starred in Wright's film "Hanna" two years later. Tom Hollander plays Mr. Collins in "Pride and Prejudice" and also appeared in "Hanna" as welll as Wright's film "The Soloist" starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. Brenda Blethyn (Mrs. Bennett) also makes an appearance in "Atonement" as Grace Turner. One can learn to appreciate the variety of castings as well as the hidden, or not so hidden, gems which have featured throughout Joe Wright's filmography. With all that said, I tend to think of Joe Wright as the David O'Russell of the English Period Drama.

This entire film is a cohesive piece of art and a homage to the source material from Jane Austen. For those who are not fans of Period Drama, I would recommend seeing the film at least once, or checking out some of Joe Wright's more contemporary pieces. Wright's next film, "Pan," will be released October 9th, 2015, starring Hugh Jackman.

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"Pride and Prejudice" is rated PG-13 and runs 129 minutes.

GIF credits: gredandforgrew, becauseiamthatselfish via Tumblr. I also got the definition of bridge symbols becauseiamthatselfish's post.