Film Reviews & Movie Analysis

To kick things off I’m going to start with my favourite movies (and these are by no means in any particular order) the first of which being Pride & Prejudice (2005).

Statistics
Director: Joe Wright (Atonement, Anna Karenina, Pan)
Screenplay: Deborah Moggach
Actors: Kiera Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Donald Sutherland, Tom Hollander.
Running Time: 127 minutes
Adaptation: Jane Austen’s novel of the same name

Synopsis
You must be living under a denser rock than I do if you don’t know the age old tale of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Their story is set amidst themes of propriety, forgiveness and family, as our protagonists are thrown together by chance, but remain entwined through circumstance and eventually love.

Why I love it
As much as I hate to admit it – I’m a sucker for romantic movies, and there’s just something so simple and classic about romance in the past, where courting is the norm and flings are frowned upon. The soundtrack adds a lot of weight to my love for this film. It’s so uniquely fitting to the characters and the story that hearing the opening chords of the main theme Dawn immediately transports your mind to an English countryside.
Matthew Macfadyen makes a positively dashing Mr Darcy, and some how manages to make a role donned by so many others before him his own – And trust me I would know, I’ve seen almost every adaptation.

Why you should watch it
Considering it’s adapted from a novel written in the 1800’s, they kept the dialogue digestible, so you’re not bogged down trying to understand the language.
There are a number of subtle sub-plots interwoven within the main story line. Whilst the main protagonists are having their own issues, the secondary characters are caught up in their own dramas. The fun comes from trying to spot it, as most of the sub-plot unfolds through facial expressions and lingering glances.

How many times I’ve seen it
Countless.
I have honestly sat through the credits after finishing the movie, and then started it all over again. It’s such a beautifully conceptualised piece of work, so simple and so effective and so one of my favourites.