Pride & Prejudice (2005 film)

Pride and Prejudice
Directed by	Joe Wright
Produced by	Tim Bevan Eric Fellner Paul Webster
Written by	Deborah Moggach
Based on	Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Starring	Keira Knightley Matthew Macfadyen Brenda Blethyn Donald Sutherland Tom Hollander Rosamund Pike Jena Malone Judi Dench
Music by	Dario Marianelli (Piano performed by Jean-Yves Thibaudet)
Cinematography	Roman Osin
Editing by	Paul Tothill
Studio	StudioCanal Working Title Films
Distributed by	Focus Features
Release date(s)	11 September 2005 (2005-09-11) (TIFF) 16 September 2005 (2005-09-16) (United Kingdom) 18 January 2006 (2006-01-18) (France)
Running time	129 minutes
Country	United Kingdom France
Language	English
Budget	$28 million
Box office	$121,147,947

Pride & Prejudice is a 2005 British romance film directed by Joe Wright. Screenwriter Deborah Moggach adapted it from the 1813 novel of the same name by Jane Austen. Produced by Working Title Films, the film was released on September 16, 2005, in the United Kingdom and on November 11, 2005, in the United States.

Moggach sought to be as faithful to the original dialogue as possible, but Wright encouraged deviations, such as how the Bennet sisters spoke to one another. Efforts were made to differentiate it from the 1995 TV serial adaptation; the time period was changed to the last eighteenth century, and attempts were made to avoid depicting a "perfect clean Regency world". Pride & Prejudice was shot entirely on location in England during an 11-week film schedule.

Plot

During the late 18th century, the Bennet family, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters—Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia—live in comparative financial independence as gentry on a working farm in rural England. As Longbourn is destined to be inherited by Mr. Bennet's cousin, Mr. Collins, Mrs. Bennet is anxious to marry off her five daughters before Mr. Bennet dies.

Mr. Bingley, a wealthy bachelor who has recently moved into Netherfield, a large house in the neighborhood, is introduced to local society at an assembly ball, along with his haughty sister, Caroline, and reserved friend, Mr. Darcy, who "owns half of Derbyshire." Bingley is enchanted with the gentle and beautiful Jane, while Elizabeth takes an instant dislike to Darcy after he coldly rebuffs her attempts at conversation and she overhears him describe her as "not handsome enough to tempt me." When Jane becomes sick on a visit to Netherfield, Elizabeth goes to stay with her, and verbally spars with Caroline and Darcy.

Later the Bennets are visited by their cousin, Mr. Collins, a pompous minister who talks of nothing but his patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Mr. Collins tells Mrs. Bennet that he has selected Jane as his future wife. But Mrs. Bennet replies that Jane is soon going to be engaged to someone else, and suggests Elizabeth instead. Meanwhile, the handsome and charming Lieutenant Wickham of the newly-arrived militia captures the girls' attention; he slanders Darcy, telling Elizabeth that Darcy cheated him of his inheritance. At a ball at Netherfield, Elizabeth, startled by his abrupt appearance and request, accepts a dance with Mr. Darcy, but vows to her best friend Charlotte Lucas that she has "sworn to loathe him for all eternity." During the dance, she attacks him with witty sarcasm, and Darcy responds in kind. At the same ball, Charlotte expresses concern to Elizabeth that Jane's behaviour to Mr. Bingley is too reserved and that Bingley may not realise she loves him.

The next day, at Longbourn, Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth, much to her chagrin; she refuses him, which causes hysterics in her mother, but she has the support of her father. When Bingley unexpectedly returns to London, Elizabeth dispatches a heartbroken Jane to their aunt and uncle in London, the Gardiners, in hopes of re-establishing contact between Jane and Bingley. Later, Elizabeth is appalled to learn that Charlotte will marry Mr. Collins, not because she loves him but to gain financial security and avoid becoming a spinster.

Months later, Elizabeth visits the newly-wed Mr. and Mrs. Collins at Rosings, the manor estate of the overbearing Lady Catherine; they are invited to dine at the grand house and there meet Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam, Lady Catherine's nephews. Here Darcy shows a greater interest in Elizabeth, especially when she replies to Lady Catherine's jabs with spirited wit. The next day, Colonel Fitzwilliam lets slip to Elizabeth that Darcy separated Bingley from Jane. Distraught, she flees out into the rain; Darcy chooses that moment to track her down and propose marriage. He claims that he loves her "most ardently," despite her "lower rank." Elizabeth refuses him, citing his treatment of Jane and Bingley, and of Wickham, and they argue fiercely, with Darcy explaining that he had observed Jane and had been convinced that she did not return Bingley's love. Darcy leaves angry and heartbroken. He finds her later and presents her with a letter, which exposes Wickham as a gambler who demanded and received cash in lieu of the position intended for him by Darcy's father, and who later, on being refused more money, attempted to elope with Darcy's 15-year-old sister, Georgiana, in order to obtain her £30,000 inheritance, but abandoned her upon learning that he would never receive a penny of the money, devastating Georgiana.

Elizabeth does not tell Jane what she has learned. Later, the Gardiners take Elizabeth on a trip to the Peak District and visit Darcy's estate, Pemberley. Elizabeth is stunned by its wealth and beauty and hears nothing but good things about Darcy from his housekeeper. There, she accidentally runs into Darcy, who invites her and the Gardiners to meet his sister. His manners have softened considerably, and Georgiana takes an instant liking to Elizabeth. When Elizabeth learns that her immature and flirtatious youngest sister Lydia, who was sent on holiday unsupervised, has run away with Wickham, she tearfully blurts out the news to Darcy and the Gardiners before returning home. Her family assumes their ruin for having a disgraced daughter, but they are soon relieved to hear that Mr. Gardiner has discovered the pair in London, and that they have been married. Lydia later reveals to Elizabeth that it was Mr. Darcy who found them and who paid for the marriage.

When Bingley and Darcy return to Netherfield, Jane accepts Bingley's proposal of marriage. The same evening, Lady Catherine pays Elizabeth a surprise visit and insists that Elizabeth renounce Darcy, as he is supposedly engaged to her own daughter, Anne. Elizabeth refuses, and unable to sleep, she goes walking on the moors at dawn. There, she meets Darcy, who has also been unable to sleep after hearing of his aunt's behavior. He admits his continued love, and Elizabeth accepts his second proposal. Mr. Bennet gives his consent after Elizabeth assures him of her love for Darcy.

In the U.S. release of the film, an additional last scene shows a newly-married Elizabeth and Darcy outside of their Pemberley estate showing affection for each other.

Cast

See also: Main characters of Pride and Prejudice

• Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet
• Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy
• Talulah Riley as Mary Bennet
• Rosamund Pike as Jane Bennet
• Jena Malone as Lydia Bennet
• Carey Mulligan as Catherine "Kitty" Bennet
• Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennet
• Brenda Blethyn as Mrs. Bennet
• Claudie Blakley as Charlotte Lucas
• Simon Woods as Mr. Charles Bingley
• Kelly Reilly as Caroline Bingley
• Rupert Friend as Mr. George Wickham
• Tom Hollander as Mr. William Collins
• Judi Dench as Lady Catherine de Bourgh
• Rosamund Stephen as Anne de Bourgh
• Cornelius Booth as Colonel Fitzwilliam
• Penelope Wilton as Mrs. Gardiner
• Peter Wight as Mr. Gardiner
• Meg Wynn Owen as Mrs. Reynolds
• Tamzin Merchant as Georgiana Darcy
• Sinead Matthews as Betsy

Production

Writing and filming

As Working Title Films co-chairman Tim Bevan explains, his studio began development on Pride & Prejudice out of a desire to "bring Austen's original story, concentrating on Lizzie, back in all its glory to the big screen for audiences everywhere to enjoy." Screenwriter and novelist Deborah Moggach attempted to be as faithful to the 1813 novel as possible, believing it "is so beautifully shaped as a story - the ultimate romance about two people who think they hate each other but who are really passionately in love. I felt, 'If it's not broken, don't fix it.'" Raised with three other sisters, Moggach was particularly interested in the story's family dynamics. She was careful in adapting Jane Austen's dialogue, commenting that she "sort of pulled a comb through" it. The screenwriter continued that while they could not reproduce the novel's "fiercely wonderful dialogue in its entirety," they attempted to keep much of it. Moggach inputted small details that acknowledged wider events outside of the characters' circle, such as the events then occurring in France. Citing the fact that Austen first began writing Pride and Prejudice in 1797, the period setting was changed from 1813 (the novel's publication date) to the late eighteenth century; this decision was partly because director Joe Wright wanted to highlight the differences within an England influenced by the French Revolution, and also because he hated dresses with an empire silhouette. Caroline Bingley references the former in the film, critiquing French ballroom designs for being unpatriotic.

Despite Deborah Moggach's desire to work closely with Austen's dialogue, Wright made an effort to not "be too reverential to [it]. I don't believe people spoke like that then; it's not natural." Another alteration to the dialogue concerned politeness; Wright noted that while Austen's work had characters waiting before speaking, he believed that "particularly in big families of girls, everyone tends to speak over each other, finishing each other's sentences, etc. So I felt that the Bennet family's conversations would be overlapping like that."

"I wanted to make something that is about young people, about young people experiencing these emotions for the first time and not understanding the feelings they are having. If you have a 40-year-old man as your star not understanding the feeling he’s having then it becomes a bit unbelievable and suspect, rather like The 40-Year-Old Virgin or something instead of Pride & Prejudice."

— Director Joe Wright commenting on the ages of the actors in the 1940 adaptation

Joe Wright, previously a television director, made his directional film debut with Pride & Prejudice. He was considered a surprising choice. Wright's previous work had impressed the film producers, who then sent him a script despite the fact that Wright had not read the novel. He commented that at the time, "I didn’t know if I was really all that interested; I thought I was a little bit more mainstream then this, a bit more edgy. But then I read the script and I was surprised I was very moved by it." He next read the novel, which he called "an amazing piece of character observation and it really seamed [sic] like the first piece of British Realism. It felt like it was a true story; had a lot of truth in it about understanding how to love other people, understanding how to overcome prejudices, understanding the things that separate us from other people… things like that." The only adaptation of Pride and Prejudice Wright had seen was the 1940 production, which was the last time the novel was adapted into a feature film. The director purposely did not watch the other productions, both out of fear he would inadvertently steal ideas and because he wanted to be as original as possible.

In comparison to the 1995 BBC version, Paul Webster desired to make an adaptation that "doesn't conform to the television drama stereotypes of a perfect clean Regency world." Wright and Moggach opted for a "muddy hem version" of Longbourn, presenting a more rural setting than in previous adaptations out of a desire to have the Bennets be in "very close proximity to their rural life." The filmmakers changed several scenes to more romantic locales than the ones in the book. For instance, in the film, Darcy first proposes outdoors in a rainstorm near a beautiful lake (Stourhead) in Wiltshire; 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.

"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."

— Co-producer Paul Webster on filming in England

It was filmed entirely on location within England during an 11-week schedule in the summer of 2004.^{[citation needed]} Shooting occurred at several stately homes, including Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, the largest privately held country house in England. Chatsworth and Wilton House in Salisbury stood in for Pemberley), Groombridge Place in Kent (as Longbourn), Basildon Park in Berkshire (as Netherfield Park), and Burghley House in Cambridgeshire (as Rosings – the adjacent town of Stamford served as Meryton). Other locations included the Temple of Apollo and Palladian Bridge of Stourhead (for the Gardens of Rosings), Haddon Hall (as The Inn at Lambton), Hunsford (for Mr. Collins' parsonage and church), and Peak District (for Elizabeth and the Gardiners' tour).

Casting

Knightley (left) remarked that she was blown away with Macfayden's line-reading as Mr. Darcy.

Though Wright had not initially pictured someone as attractive as Keira Knightley for the lead role of Elizabeth Bennet, he cast her after he realised that the actress "is really a tomboy [and] has a lively mind and a great sense of humour." Wright found casting of the film to be "very hard" because he was very particular about "the types of people [he] wanted to work with." Co-producer Paul Webster found the casting of Darcy especially difficult due to the character's iconic status and because "Colin Firth cast a very long shadow" as the Darcy from the 1995 television adaptation. The crew had to balance who they thought was best for each role with what the producers wanted– namely a big name attraction. Wright later commented that his choice of Keira Knightley allowed him to cast comparative unknown Matthew Macfadyen, something that would have been impossible had a less well known actress been chosen for Elizabeth Bennet. Wright called Macfadyen "a proper manly man... I didn’t want a pretty boy kind of actor. His properties were the ones I felt I needed [for Darcy]. Matthew’s a great big hunk of a guy."

According to Wright, Rosamund Pike was cast as the eldest Bennet sister "because [he] knew she wasn't going to play her as a nice, simple person. Jane has a real interior world, she has her heart broken." Despite being Pike's ex-boyfriend, Simon Woods was cast as her love interest Mr. Bingley. The other three Bennet sisters were played by Talulah Riley, Carey Mulligan, and Jena Malone. The only American actress among the Bennet sisters, Wright believed Malone to have a "pretty faultless English accent". Donald Sutherland reminded Wright of his own father, and was cast as patriarch Mr. Bennet; the two communicated through email, and Wright believed the actor possessed the "strength to handle those six women." Brenda Blethyn was hired to play Mrs. Bennet; Wright explained that it was "a tricky part, as she can be very annoying; you want to stop her chattering and shrieking. But Brenda has the humour and the heart to show the amount of love and care Mrs. Bennet has for her daughters." Wright convinced veteran actress Judi Dench to join the cast by writing her a letter that read "I love it when you play a bitch." Other cast members included Tamzin Merchant as Georgiana Darcy, who was hired despite having no previous acting experience after she wrote a letter to the casting director.

Music

Pride & Prejudice [Music from the Motion Picture]
Soundtrack album by Dario Marianelli
Released	November 15, 2005
Genre	Soundtrack
Label	Decca Records

Main article: Pride & Prejudice (soundtrack)

Dario Marianelli was hired to compose the film score, the first of three collaborations he would have with Joe Wright. Their relationship began when Paul Webster, who had worked with Marianelli on the 2001 film The Warrior, introduced him to Wright. Marianelli recalled their meeting, "In our very first conversation we ended up talking about Beethoven early piano sonatas: they became a point of reference, and their spirit (or my understanding of that spirit, at least) became the starting point for the score. A few pieces had to be written prior to the shoot, for scenes in which the actors are playing the piano: those pieces already contained the seeds of what I developed later on into the score, when I abandoned historical correctness for a more intimate and emotional treatment of the story." The score featured pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, whom Wright considered one of the greatest piano players in the world. Marianelli was unable to be present on set when actors' played his music in various scenes, due to the birth of his second daughter.

Track listing
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Dawn"	2:38
2.	"Stars and Butterflies"	1:59
3.	"The Living Sculptures of Pemberley"	3:01
4.	"Meryton Townhall"	1:12
5.	"The Militia Marches In"	0:56
6.	"Georgiana"	1:35
7.	"Arrival To Netherfield"	1:39
8.	"A Postcard to Henry Purcell"	2:39
9.	"Liz on Top of the World"	1:22
10.	"Leaving Netherfield"	1:41
11.	"Another Dance"	1:14
12.	"The Secret Life of Daydreams"	1:55
13.	"Darcy's Letter"	3:56
14.	"Can't Slow Down"	1:10
15.	"Your Hands Are Cold"	5:23
16.	"Mrs. Darcy"	3:43
17.	"Credits"	4:47

Post-production

The story was compressed into 2 hours and 9 minutes of screen time. Wright remarked that the story is "obviously about Elizabeth and Darcy, following them, and anything that detracts or diverts you from that story is what you have to cut." Some of the most notable changes from the original book include:

• Heavy time compression of several major sequences, including Elizabeth's visit to Rosings Park and Hunsford Parsonage, Elizabeth's visit to Pemberley, and Lydia's elopement and its subsequent crisis.
• The elimination of several supporting characters, including Louisa Hurst, Mr. Hurst, Lady and Maria Lucas, Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, the Gardiners' children, Mrs. Annesley, Mrs. Younge (Georgiana Darcy's governess), several of Lydia's friends (including Colonel and Mrs. Forster), and various military officers and townspeople.
• The elimination of several sections in which characters reflect or converse on events that have recently occurred - for example, Elizabeth's chapter-long change of mind after reading Darcy's letter.

The North American release version included a final scene (not in the novel) of the married Darcys enjoying a romantic evening at Pemberley. This ending did not test well with British audiences, so it was cut for UK and international release. The British version ends with Mr. Bennet's blessing upon Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's union, thus circumventing the last chapter in the novel, which summarizes the lives of the Darcys and the other main characters over the next several years.

Reaction

London bus with Pride & Prejudice ad

Critical reception

The 2005 film was only the second faithful film version after "the famed, but oddly flawed, black-and-white 1940 adaptation, starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier," and until 2005, The Times considered the 1995 television adaptation starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth "so dominant, so universally adored, [that] it has lingered in the public consciousness as a cinematic standard." Comparing six major adaptations of Pride and Prejudice in 2005, the Daily Mirror gave the only top marks of 9/10 to the 1995 serial and the 2005 film, leaving the other adaptations behind with six and fewer points. The 2005 film is rated 86 percent fresh by Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic reported Pride & Prejudice had an average score of 82 out of 100, based on 37 reviews, and classified the film as a universal acclaim.

Some critics noted the 2005 film's time constraints do not capture the depth and complexity of the television serials and called the film "obviously [not as] daring or revisionist" as the 1995 TV serial. Joan Klingel Ray, president of the Jane Austen Society of North America, preferred the young age of Knightley and Macfadyen, saying that Jennifer Ehle had formerly been "a little too 'heavy' for the role," while Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, while heavily praising Keira Knightley for having given an outstanding performance as Lizzy Bennet "which lifts the whole movie," considered the casting of the 2005 leads "arguably a little more callow than Firth and Ehle." He does add that "Only a snob, a curmudgeon, or someone with necrophiliac loyalty to the 1995 BBC version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle could fail to enjoy her performance." Critics were divided about Matthew Macfadyen's portrayal of Darcy, expressing pleasant surprise, dislike for his lack of gradual emotional shift as in the novel, and praise for his matching the insecure and sensitive personality of the book character better than Firth.

Box office

The movie took the number one spot in the UK its first week, earning £2.5 million ($4.5 million) while playing on 400 screens. It stayed on the top spot for two more weeks, earning a total of over £14 million at the UK box office at that time and was featured on 1,335 screens at its widest domestic release.

The film debuted with an opening weekend of US$2.9 million on 215 screens. Two weeks later, this was increased to 1,299 screens, and box office returns increased to $7.2 million. The film has grossed over $121,147,947 worldwide at the cinema box office.

Awards and accolades

Pride & Prejudice garnered a number of nominations in the 2005/2006 film awards season, most notably four nominations in the Academy Awards: Best Actress in a Leading Role for Keira Knightley, Achievement in Art Direction, Achievement in Costume Design for Jacqueline Durran, and Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score) for Dario Marianelli's score. It was nominated for five BAFTAs and won the BAFTA Carl Foreman Award for Most Promising Newcomer (for Joe Wright, director).

Awards Ceremony	Award Category	Subject	Result
Academy Awards	Academy Award for Best Actress	Keira Knightley	Nominated
	Academy Award for Best Original Score	Dario Marianelli	Nominated
	Academy Award for Best Art Direction	-	Nominated
	Academy Award for Best Costume Design	Jacqueline Durran	Nominated
Golden Globes	Golden Globe for Best Film - Musical or Comedy	-	Nominated
	Golden Globe for Best Actress - Musical or Comedy	Keira Knightley	Nominated
British Academy Film Awards	BAFTA for Best Film - British	-	Nominated
	BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Brenda Blethyn	Nominated
	BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer	Joe Wright	Won
	BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay	Deborah Moggach	Nominated
	BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design	Jacqueline Durran	Nominated
	BAFTA Award for Best Makeup & Hair	-	Nominated

DVD release

The standard DVD was released for home use on February 28, 2006 in widescreen and fullframe.

The deluxe edition includes both widescreen and fullframe, the original soundtrack CD, collectible book, collectible booklet, and 9-dual layer.

References

Bibliography

• Cartmell, Deborah (2010). Screen Adaptations: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: A Close Study of the Relationship between Text and Film. London: A& C Black Publishers Ltd. ISBN 1408105934. 

External links

• Official website
• Pride & Prejudice at the Internet Movie Database
• Pride & Prejudice at AllRovi
• Pride & Prejudice at Box Office Mojo
• Pride & Prejudice at Rotten Tomatoes
• Pride & Prejudice Companion Book
• Pride & Prejudice Production Notes