Pride & Prejudice: Lots of Comments

* I liked the movie because I love the book. I think they did a pretty decent job. But still, while watching it, I felt that there was so much that they could have done better. I think several minutes are wasted because Lizzie is shown just gazing somewhere. Why? Couldn't they have replaced such minutes with some spirited dialogue instead?

* The best thing about this new adaptation is Matthew MacFadyen. He is so handsome and dashing and dreamy, and happily he's in most of the scenes. I think he's a much better Darcy than Colin Firth in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice miniseries, though that was the better adapatation.

* The movie is a faithful adaptation of the book and I'm not sure that's wise in this case. There's so much story to tell that everything is told very fast. There's no time to build up any kind of dramatic tension. It's up to the viewer to provide the emotion and the dramatic tension for the scenes he's watching. For instance, the scene in which Lizzie is crying because Lydia has run off with Wickam and she's scared that Lydia is ruined and that her family's reputation is ruined and she's angry with herself for not telling her family about Wickam's character and she's afraid for herself that Darcy will never have anything to do with her family now? Not sad at all. Maybe it's not a good idea to stick too closely to the book if you don't have a lot of time?

The movie doesn't demonstrate what it is about Lizze and Darcy's characters which makes them perfect for each other or the same for why Jane and Binley like each other. Actually, I take that back. The movie does succeed in demonstrating Darcy's attractions. He's tall, handsome, rich. He's a good brother. He comes across as a strong silent man of good character, so you do understand why a woman would love him. But Lizzie, Jane, Bingley aren't developed at all.

* Proposal scenes: The first proposal scene with Darcy is disappointing. They should have allowed Darcy to insult Lizzie longer and more forcefully. The saving grace is that you get to see MacFadyen dripping wet in the rain. < Sigh > The final proposal scene is quite satisfactory. First, you get a long shot of MacFadyen walking towards Lizzie. < Sigh > Several lines of the proposal were taken verbatim from the book. < Sigh > Would that we should all get such marriage proposals.

* The movie is better that the 1995 miniseries in that they take care to emphasize the money angle throughout the movie.

* What's with the chickens? To underscore the point that the Bennets are much poorer than Darcy or Bingley, everytime they show the Bennet residence, it's swarming with chickens and other kinds of poultry. They seem to be shooting for realism, so the whole scene looks dirty and gross. In contrast, the Darcy and Bingley residences feature serene lawns. As for the homes themselves, the Bennet and Collins residences don't look nice and in fact look dinghy. Part of the charm of period movies is supposed to be that you get to see some nice old houses.

* Lizzie is shown giggling several times. Austen's Elizabeth Bennet does not giggle! Also another gross touch, they repeatedly show her licking her fingers at the table. Why? To show that she's earthy or sensual or something? She just comes off as kind of coarse.