Pride & Prejudice is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Joe Wright, in his feature directorial debut, and based on Jane Austen's 1813 novel of the same name. The film features five sisters from an English family of landed gentry as they deal with issues of marriage, morality and misconceptions. Keira Knightley stars in the lead role of Elizabeth Bennet, while Matthew Macfadyen plays her romantic interest Mr. Darcy.
Plot[]
During the late 18th century, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their daughters – Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia – live at Longbourn, their estate in rural England. Mrs. Bennet, eager to secure suitable marriages for her daughters, is delighted when wealthy bachelor Charles Bingley moves into nearby Netherfield. At an assembly ball, Bingley, his sister, Caroline, and his friend Mr. Darcy meet the local society. Bingley and Jane are immediately taken with each other, while Elizabeth instantly dislikes the snobbish Darcy and overhears his dismissive remarks about her.
Later, visiting the Bingleys, Jane falls ill after riding on horseback in the rain (at her mother's idea) and must stay to recuperate. While Elizabeth is visiting Jane at Netherfield, she verbally spars with the haughty Caroline and the aloof Darcy. Jane recovers and soon after, Mr. Bennet's cousin, Mr. Collins, a pompous clergyman, visits the Bennets; as the closest male relative, Collins will inherit Longbourn. Because the Bennetts did not conceive a son Mr. Collins will inherit the home when Mr Bennett dies. After spending time with the family, he intends to propose to Jane, but Mrs. Bennet says she will soon be engaged; she suggests Elizabeth, which Collins considers an agreeable alternative. The Bennet sisters also meet the handsome and charming soldier, Lieutenant Wickham, who is connected to the Darcy family. He wins Elizabeth's sympathy by claiming Mr. Darcy denied him his rightful inheritance.
At the Netherfield ball, Elizabeth dances with Darcy, though the encounter is strained. The rest of the dance does not go well for the family, even though Lizzie and Jane present themselves well, the rest of family do not. The next day, Collins proposes to Elizabeth, who soundly rejects him; despite her mother's anger, her father supports her decision. The Bingley party unexpectedly return to London as Caroline is anxious to return and meet Darcy's sister and Netherfield Park is closed up. Elizabeth urges Jane to visit their aunt and uncle, the Gardiners, who live in London, hoping she reconnects with Bingley. Elizabeth is astonished when her friend, Charlotte, fearing spinsterhood, announces her engagement to Mr. Collins. Despite Lizzie's objections, Charlotte assures her friend it's alright as she is not a romantic, is being offered a home and protection but also is already 26 years old and has no future being single.
Months later, Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr. Collins, who reside on Lady Catherine de Bourgh's estate. Elizabeth is glad Charlotte is happy with her new life, they are soon invited Rosings Park where Lizzie meets Lady Catherine and her daughter. Lizzie also unexpectedly meets Darcy, who is Lady Catherine's nephew, and is visiting with his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. During dinner Lady Catherine is astonished at Lizzie's strong opinions, while performing piano forte at Lady Catherine's request words are exchanged between Lizzie, Darcy and Fitzwilliam. At church one day, unaware that Jane is Elizabeth's sister, Fitzwilliam mentions that Darcy recently untangled Bingley from an imprudent match with an "unsuitable" family.
Distraught, Elizabeth is then met by Darcy, who surprisingly proposes marriage, declaring his ardent love despite her inferior rank. Offended and angry, she refuses him as she knows of his deeds. He defends separating Jane and Bingley, believing Jane indifferent, and rightly criticizes the other Bennets' occasional social impropriety, Jane and Lizzie were the only exceptions. Elizabeth also cites his mistreating Wickham and also firmly states to Darcy that he is the last man in the world she would marry. Angry and heartbroken, Darcy leaves her, he later delivers Elizabeth a letter describing Wickham's true character: Wickham was treated like a second son by Darcy's father even promising him a place as clergymen but Wickham refused and after being given 3,000 pounds squandered the bequest Darcy's father left him, then attempted to seduce Darcy's 15-year-old sister, Georgiana, into eloping to gain her fortune. As for Mr. Bingley and Jane, Darcy's separating the couple, he was only acting as a friend.
Elizabeth returns home, as does Jane, not long after, Lydia is invited by the Fosters to Brighton with the officers much to Kitty's disappointment and Lizzie's shock. She goes to her father and voices her objections especially in light of Lydia's character even pointing out that Kitty will follow. Mr. Bennett states that until Lydia has gone and exposed herself they won't have peace but also points out Lydia does not have a fortune or prospect that would tempt the officers. Accompanying the Gardiners on a trip to the Peak District, Elizabeth reluctantly tours Pemberley, the grand Darcy estate. She unexpectedly runs into Darcy, who invites her and the Gardiners to dine at Pemberley. Darcy's manner has softened considerably, his manners impressing the Gardiners, and Georgiana sharing her brother's flattering reports about Elizabeth bonding with her right away.
An urgent letter from Jane reveals that Lydia has run off with Wickham. While their father has gone to London to find them, Lizzie is saddened that their family is ruined and that Wickham should have been exposed sooner. Darcy leaves abruptly, and Elizabeth returns home, certain she will never see Darcy again and worries about her sister as well as the family reputation. Her mother fears Lydia's disgrace will ruin her other daughters' chances for good marriages. After a tense waiting period, Mr. Bennett returns home when Mr. Gardiner sends news that Lydia and Wickham are now married after being given a 1,000 pounds a year, and the newlyweds return to Longbourn. Lydia lets slip to Elizabeth that it was Darcy who found them and paid for their wedding but is told to tell no one, he also purchased Wickham's military commission. Eventually Wickham has been transferred to Newcastle and they won't be able to return for a year at least.
Bingley and Darcy return to Netherfield and visit Longbourn; Bingley proposes to Jane, who accepts. Late that night, Lady Catherine arrives to see Elizabeth she had received word that Lizzie and Mr. Darcy are engaged (a statement which surprises Lizzie) and demands she never become engaged to Darcy because, she claims, Darcy has been engaged to marry Lady Catherine's daughter since infancy. Lady Catherine also voices her knowledge of her sister's elopement and offends the Bennett family; deeply insulted, Elizabeth orders her to leave. Walking the moor early the next morning, Elizabeth encounters Darcy, who apologizes for his aunt's intrusion. Lizzie thanks Darcy for helping her sisters, Darcy says it was all for her. He professes his continued love, and Elizabeth, her feelings radically altered, accepts his proposal. While her father is surprised at them wanting to marry, she tells her father the truth of Darcy's actions, and Mr. Bennet gives Elizabeth his consent to marry, overjoyed she has found love. The film ends with the now married couple at Pemberly with Mr. Darcy proudly calling Elizabeth Mrs Darcy, the two kiss.
Cast[]
- Keira Knightley as Elizabeth "Lizzy" Bennet
- Matthew Macfadyen as Mr Darcy
- Brenda Blethyn as Mrs Bennet
- Donald Sutherland as Mr Bennet
- Rosamund Pike as Jane Bennet
- Jena Malone as Lydia Bennet
- Tom Hollander as Mr Collins
- Penelope Wilton as Mrs Gardiner
- Judi Dench as Lady Catherine de Bourgh
- Simon Woods as Charles Bingley
- Carey Mulligan as Catherine "Kitty" Bennet
- Talulah Riley as Mary Bennet
- Rupert Friend as George Wickham
- Kelly Reilly as Caroline Bingley
- Tamzin Merchant as Georgiana Darcy
- Claudie Blakley as Charlotte Lucas
- Cornelius Booth as Colonel Fitzwilliam
- Peter Wight as Mr Gardiner
- Roy Holder as Mr Hill
- Pip Torrens as Netherfield Hall Butler
- Meg Wynn Owen as Mrs Reynolds
- Sinead Matthews as Mrs Betsy
Filming[]
Moggach believed the novel was very filmable, "despite it containing no description and being a very unvisual book". To Wright, many other period films had relied on paintings for inspiration rather than photographs, causing them to appear unreal. He thus used "Austen's prose [to give him] many visual references for the people in the story", including using close-up shots of various characters. The filmmakers also changed several scenes to more romantic locales than those in the book. For instance, in the film, Darcy first proposes outdoors in a rainstorm at a building with neoclassical architecture; in the book, this scene takes place inside a parsonage. In the film, his second proposal occurs on the misty moors as dawn breaks; in the book, he and Elizabeth are walking down a country lane in broad daylight. Wright has acknowledged that "there are a lot of period film clichés; some of them are in the film and some are not, but for me it was important to question them".
During script development, the crew created a "constant going back and forth between script and location". The film was shot entirely on location within England on an 11-week schedule during the 2004 summer. Co-producer Paul Webster noted that "it is quite unusual for a movie this size to be shot entirely on location. Part of Joe [Wright]'s idea was to try to create a reality which allows the actors to relax and feel at one with their environment." Working under production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer, the crew filmed on seven estates in six different counties. Because "nothing exists in the United Kingdom that is untouched by the twenty-first century", many of the sites required substantial work to make them suitable for filming. Visual effects company Double Negative digitally restored several locations to make them contemporaneous; they eradicated weeds, enhanced gold plating on window frames, and removed anachronisms such as gravel driveways and electricity pylons. Double Negative also developed the typeface used for the film's title sequence.
Production staff selected particularly grand-looking residences to better convey the wealth and power of certain characters. Locations included Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, the largest privately held country house in England with its spectacular rooms frescoed by Antonio Verrio. Chatsworth House is often believed to have been Austen's inspiration for the Darcy residence. Chatsworth and Wilton House in Salisbury stood in for Pemberley. After a search of various sites in England, the moated manor house Groombridge Place in Kent was chosen for Longbourn. Location manager Adam Richards believed Groombridge had an "immense charm" that was "untouched by post-17th Century development". Reflecting Wright's choice of realism, Groombridge's interior was designed to be "shabby chic". Representing Netherfield Park was the late-18th century site Basildon Park in Berkshire, leading it to close for seven weeks to allow time for filming. Burghley House in Cambridgeshire stood in for Rosings, while the adjacent town of Stamford served as Meryton. Other locations included Haddon Hall (for The Inn at Lambton), the Temple of Apollo and Palladian Bridge of Stourhead (for the Gardens of Rosings), Hunsford (for Collins' parsonage and church) and Peak District (for Elizabeth and the Gardiners' tour). The first dance scenes were shot on a set in a potato warehouse in Lincolnshire with the employment of local townspeople as extras; this was the only set the crew built that was not already in existence.