I just finished rewatching the movie adaptation of
Pride and Prejudice (just felt like it; or perhaps unconsciously bidden by recent events haha) and I like this scene. I have come across quite a number of people who are very much averse to Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennett (is it because she's a bit too... aggressive as Elizabeth? I don't know.), and this includes my sister somewhat, but as I've ascertained just now, I don't mind her portrayal at all. In fact, I quite like it. I quite like the movie overall -- the way, it's been directed and kind of summarises the story in a fast-paced manner. Austen novels, if I may be frank, tend to be unbearably draggy (I tried to keep reading
Emma and didn't get past the halfway mark, and I skipped chunks of
Sense and Sensibility;
Pride and Prejudice remains the only Austen novel I have successfully read cover to cover) and this adaptation makes the story more palatable to the general audience, I feel.
Anyway, this scene is full of tension and drama and wonderfully-charged language. And oh, poor Mr Darcy's heart shattered to smithereens. I think Darcy just had horrid timing about confessing his feelings; she was very angry at this point. And of course his insulting her before saying he loved her did not help, haha. How can the man be so stupid.
And then I kept trying to figure out who had the pride and who had the prejudice -- Mr Darcy too proud and Elizabeth too prejudiced? Then again, weren't both of them guilty of both? Because doesn't pride engender prejudice? Or is it vice versa.
We are all fools in love. I think that can be a very comforting platitude.
And here's the BBC version of the same scene for good measure.
2 comments:
Yes, the movie had some nice cinematography and camera work and I generally liked the way it flowed. (Although there were some odd directing choices, I thought: e.g. the part where Elizabeth sits in the darkened room and time passes and it's all drama as she realises she has Wronged him or whatever.)
But Keira Knightley was weirdly -- aggressive feels too strong a word to describe her in the movie but I suppose it'll have to do since I can't think of a better way to put it. Also, I thought Bingley was made really goofy and juvenile-looking. HAHA.
I think the BBC mini-series just fit my own impression of things a lot more than the movie did.
haha, I agree that Mr Bingley in the movie is goofy and a bit dim! but I stand by the movie, maybe because all the drama does make it more exciting to me. all comes down to taste eh.
Post a Comment