Leave to the Canadians...Pride and Prejudice
A couple months ago, I saw a trailer for the new Pride and Prejudice, and I said it looked awful. Elizabeth Bennett looking into a canyon, Elizabeth and Darcy breathing at each other in a summer thunderstorm, Elizabeth holding and kissing Darcy's hand (WTF?!). But recently, more than one American critic has exclaimed that it's actually a brilliant movie. Roger Ebert gave it an A. He gave Mansfield Park (1999) 4 Stars, so I'm a bit...wary...of his opinions. The folks at CBC were more critical:
Hmm. I am kind of intrigued now, and I want to see for myself just how good, or bad, it is.
"Austen’s book is supposed to be a parody, critical of the mores it depicts. In his attempt to update it, Wright makes soap opera out of satire. While realism is the intent (lots of long shots, zooms, overlapping dialogue), the result is melodrama. Wright often clutters his frame with livestock, a reminder that the Bennett household is a kind of barnyard. But he’s quite content to let the romance play out in clichéd resplendence. Wright also seems to mix his Austen up with his Bronte: there is more than a whiff of Wuthering Heights in the film’s reliance on wind-swept moors and unbridled tresses. Austen aficionados would be better off passing on the popcorn and returning to their libraries.
Hmm. I am kind of intrigued now, and I want to see for myself just how good, or bad, it is.