I have, it is true, ranted and railed about the tiresome trope of romances with handsome millionaires, but there is one exception at least that always gets me, to the extent that I have to dry my eyes, frequently, to the constant amazement and amusement of my wife.
We were delighted to see the film with Keira Knightley a few weeks ago. I do like Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet, it’s great to see Chatsworth filmed as Pemberley and I love the music as well. However, the critical scene – where Mr Darcy first proposes to Elizabeth – is a little clumsy, the body language suggesting that they are on the edge of kissing, only to draw back at the last moment. It’s a visual trope we see a lot these days, but it doesn’t really fit with the turbulent emotions of the moment.
The 1995 BBC series (with Colin Firth as Mr Darcy and Lyme Park as Pemberley) is on TV at the moment, the episodes one after the other. The series format allows the flavour of the book to come out properly, and this adaptation conveys the often suffocating formality of the era very well.
The book itself is a delightful read and the romance is very well played out; it is crafted cleverly, and is interesting for its social commentary.
The series was indeed a very good adaptation of the book, liked it a lot…