Review
of Pride and Prejudice (1995
BBC Miniseries)
Pride
and Prejudice. Dir. Simon
Langton. Perf. Jennifer Ehle, Colin Firth. BBC One, 1995. Miniseries.
(3.5 of 4 stars)
As
fun as it is to read a novel and be absorbed into its world,
entranced by its characters, and gripped by its plot, watching an
adaptation of a book is an entirely different beast. Because until
the characters in a book are enlivened and represented by real
actors, all they are are words on a page and thoughts in your head.
The Pride and Prejudice BBC
miniseries is without a doubt a sincere adaptation of Austen's Pride
and Prejudice. Every major plot
point from the book is hit on, the characters are true to their book
counterparts, and while the miniseries adds new scenes and dialogue,
it never feels forced or out of place. Everything seems pretty much
perfect. When I was watching the series I didn't think I would enjoy
it as much as I did, but I quickly realized that even though it
wasn't something I'd normally watch, it was still wholly satisfying
and worth every minute of my time.
What truly sells the story is the
actors. I have to give credit to the actor who played Mr. Bennet,
Benjamin Whitrow. His voice, his tone, his movements – all of it
came together to show a man who is certainly more wise and knowing
than most of the other characters give him credit for. He frequently
makes quips about how abhorrent his wife is, or how silly and dumb
his children can be, and that certainly provides for a lot of laughs.
He's often seen with a book in his hand, and he always has something
witty to say (with most of it flying past Mrs. Bennet). In the very
beginning, within a minute or so of the miniseries starting, Mr.
Bennet is shown as being a sly and funny man when Elizabeth arrives
at the house and overhears one of her sisters having a fight with
Lydia. All Mr. Bennet does is role his eyes and laugh, but it's such
a nice little moment between him and Elizabeth. Another nice moment
is later on in the miniseries when he gives Elizabeth a letter to
read and he keeps saying over and over again for her to keep reading
the letter, as she hadn't yet gotten to the best or most surprising
parts of it.
Mr. Collins is likewise a hilarious character, and David Bamber plays
him very well, making him one of my favorite characters in the movie.
He's stupid, arrogant, and a pushover, and yet I couldn't help but
like the bumbling dolt. One of my favorite scenes is when he tries to
talk to Lady Catherine, yet gets rebuffed. He looks and acts like a
complete and utter fool, placing his hand over his mouth like a
child, and opening his eyes as wide as possible.
One
problem I do have is with the actress that played Mrs. Bennet, Alison
Steadman. I don't know whether she just overacted, or if she was told
to play Mrs. Bennet in such an exaggerated fashion, but it just
doesn't quite work, and it often becomes distracting. Alison
certainly made Mrs. Bennet a miserable character to watch, because so
often I just wanted to slap her. While her portrayal of Mrs. Bennet
might have been overacted to a certain degree, she did a pretty bang
up job of showing how idiotic and annoying Mrs. Bennet could be. Her
fits often make her seem like little girl who didn't get her way; she
very much behaves like an immature, and spoiled, brat.
The
showpiece of the miniseries is of course Colin Firth as Darcy, though
Jennifer Ehle did a good job as well. I can't imagine how hard it had
to have been to play such a private and personal character, but he
did it flawlessly. It's telling that I find the most satisfying part
of the movie to be when Darcy smiles at the end. It's actually
probably one of my favorite moments that I've seen in quite some
time.
The
miniseries also expertly shows the importance of marriage. Given that
marriage is the main point of the novel, it wasn't hard for the
miniseries to convey that. It also really opened my eyes up to how
much of a tragedy Pride and Prejudice truly
is. Darcy saves the day – and the Bennet family from ruin – and
yet the people who are aware of this make up a very small number.
Mrs. Bennet is an insufferable, senseless bitch, who goes from hating
someone one second to kissing their ass the next. Wickham is a dick
(his name should have been Dickham) as he not only ruins Lydia's
chance for a happy life and good marriage, but also forces Darcy into
giving him loads of money. Dickham gets everything he wants in the
end, and nothing he deserves. Overall, this miniseries is essentially
and truly an excellent version of Pride and Prejudice. The
length is long, but the actors, the music, the settings – all of it
works in conjunction to create a piece that any fan of Jane Austen
should watch.
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