six degrees of separation

the movie marathon, part deux

pride and prejudice (2005)

this book by jane austen was a breakthrough in english literature, with enviable status as a universally acknowledged classic and permeating influence in pop culture. but in spite of its impressive credentials, it became one of my ultra-favorite books simply because of the story.

fast forward 2005: there's a pretty convoluted back story here. the british broadcasting company produced a television mini-series on this book which was shown in 1995. the lead role of mr darcy was played by pre-shakespeare in love colin firth, which caused all of the female british population to fall in love with him. i'm not sure if this mini-series is still playing on lifestyle network, i was just reminded by my friend so i'll have to check it out. a few years later, helen fielding began writing a newspaper column that told the story of a fictional publishing assistant named bridget. one of her love interests is the reserved barrister named mark darcy. in one interview, helen revealed that mark darcy was actually based on colin firth's portrayal of mr darcy, so when bridget jones's diary was made into film, she didn't want anyone else but colin to play mark. now colin and bridget co-star hugh grant starred in another richard curtis screenplay called love actually, along with many other popular british actors. this included hot young actress keira knightley, who now plays the protagonist elizabeth bennet in the 2005 film adaptation of pride and prejudice.

i didn't see this film in the theatre. i actually bought a dvd copy from my friendly office pirata, something i don't do often (honest!), because i was so excited about this movie. i finally watched it when i was on sick leave. it ran 2 hours but then the book really was long-winding, and considering the previous version was a mini-series this is a pretty good abridgement.

in case you're unaware of the story, here it is in a nutshell. elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a not-so-rich family in victorian england. one of the peculiar customs of the time (also a pivotal theme in jane austen's sense and sensibility) is that a family's titles and estate can only be passed down to a male descendant. in absence of a male son, it goes entirely to the nearest male relative. because of this law, none of mr bennet's five daughters will receive any income when mr bennet dies, so the mother is hard pressed to contract advantageous marriages for her daughters so that they (especially the mother) will live comfortably without the bennet estate. enter mr bingley, the new kid in town, nice and genial and moneyed to boot. so mother bennet schemes to get him paired with eldest daughter jane, the beauty of the family. meanwhile, bookworm lizzie had a few verbal tussles with bingley's friend, the older and more remote (but also tons richer) mr darcy. despite all appearances, nothing was settled between jane and bingley, and lizzie discovers afterward that darcy was the culprit. but surprise, surprise! darcy declares love (albeit unwilling) for our heroine, which she did not accept (hello! like, where in hell did that come from?).

a few months later, lizzie went on a sightseeing trip with her favorite aunt and uncle, and they ended up in mr darcy's home town. they inevitably crossed paths with darcy, and lizzie discovered a different side to her erstwhile nemesis. however the idyllic reunion was cut short when lizzie's ditzy sister (in other words, talandi) ran off with a british officer, remotely related to darcy. because of the scandal, the family had to come after the lovers so lizzie had to go home. it was all settled eventually, but lizzie learned later that mr darcy had plenty to do with it -- again, surprise, surprise. is this the straw that broke the camel's back... err, that finally turned lizzie around? it's not that hard to guess how it ended, especially if you know that this is a romance story. extra snaps for guessing who between lizzie and jane got her happy ending first. (whew! nutshell, huh?)

so, besides keira's academy award nomination, what makes this film special? first off, two names: donald sutherland and dame judi dench. i was like, whoa. dame judi's take on lady catherine de bourgh is quite reminiscent of her queen elizabeth I on shakespeare in love (geez, another connection! the british film industry is starting to look like an advert for 6 degrees). except that lady catherine is a selfish snob, so expect a darker portrayal here. meanwhile, i loved donald as the absentminded (spaced out and deadma comes to mind) patriarch. compared to the straight-out snobbish lady catherine or the materialistic and social climbing mrs bennet, his character is actually a complex one: he is a caring father but rather self-absorbed. while he doesn't care much for social niceties, to the endless frustration of his wife, he prefers to leave the parenting to his wife's suspect capabilities. his hands-off policy is partly to blame for some of his girls' mishaps, but he can be roused from apathy when his favorite daughter lizzie is concerned. donald managed to pull off an endearing performance, and he hit on the right amount of humor at the final scene.

i also liked how the movie provided visual narration for the period. most films and tv series set in the regency or victorian period depicted either a rigid formality or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, a brazen wantonness of behavior, which often turns the viewers off. this movie offered a more relaxed and laid-back visual, from the costumes to the furniture. even shakespeare in love, with the ruffled shirts and so much bling, seemed too stiff in comparison. maybe there really is a difference in the era, or the locale, but the setting of pride and prejudice was easier to relate to.

most of all, the movie remained faithful to the material. there are some minor variations, in order to retain its brevity, because jane austen has the tendency to describe in minute detail. some changes were made for more visual impact, but this is minimal. as a concise version of the novel, the movie was a success. in fact, it succeeded in creating more interest to the novel, because it showcased the beauty of the plot that made it a classic. being a fan of the novel, i loved it even more because of the movie. and in that respect, it is a winner in its own right.

last hurrah: the end credits of the film mentioned emma thompson, who actually had a hand in revising the screenplay. a few years back, she won the oscar for her screenplay adaptation of jane austen's second most popular novel (at least in my opinion), sense and sensibility. this is also one of my favorite films, and i could see that the stories were similar which necessitated the similar storytelling. now this is where it gets freaky. the heroine elinor was played by emma, her beau edward by hugh grant, and her future brother-in-law colonel brandon by alan rickman. the three were also directly related in love actually, though this time emma and hugh played siblings while alan was the straying husband. the role of elinor's mother went to gemma jones, who also played bridget jones' mum! and here's more: dame judi dench, colin firth and tom wilkinson were in both shakespeare in love and the importance of being earnest; tom wilkinson played mr dashwood (elinor's father) in sense and sensibility; rosamund pike, who played jane bennet, is the traitorous mi6 agent (and m's pet) on die another day; tom hollander (mr collins on pride) is keira's co-star in the pirates of the carribean sequels; and emma, colin and thomas sangster (the orphaned son in love actually) are all in emma's movie nanny mcphee. if i get all the six-degrees stuff in here (and there’s more, which i’ll spare you from) i'll never get done.

(next: big momma is resurrected)