Battle of the sexes: Round Two
Pride and Prejudice gets another makeover... but does it really need one?
'Pride and Prejudice': everybody has heard about it. Guys hate it but the girls love it. In fact, the old plot of the misunderstanding that soon clears up to allow true love through is a recurrent theme in romantic comedies. Just to name a few, there is 'How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days' and the ever-popular 'Bridget Jones' Diary'. The original version of 'Pride and Prejudice' (which was 3 hours long) which followed the exact sequence of the story written by Jane Austen shot Colin Firth to stardom. The latest one must have been expected to blast both Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen to stardom as well.
However, the question that plagues me is not the quality of the remake but rather the point behind the remake. The story of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet was written more than a hundred years ago and despite the fact that it still strikes a chord with today's audience, has it simply been overdone? In our generation, where scriptwriters look to novels for inspiration, (remember 'Lord of the Rings'?) perhaps 'Pride and Prejudice' should have been left alone.
Firstly, 'Pride and Prejudice' is a period film that would not have benefited in any way from the new technologies that have appeared in today's movie industry. Granted, the cinematography in the latest version is breathtakingly beautiful. The shots of the English moors and the countryside were nothing less than inspiring. However, 'Pride and Prejudice' is more than a discovery programme. Amazing cinematography is not an excuse to remake this movie.
The second question we should address is the apparent dearth of literature in today's world that must have led to the exhausted remake of 'Pride and Prejudice'. Have we simply lost our story-spinning touch since the invention of the Internet? Granted, 'Pride and Prejudice' is a classic and the remake has probably helped keep it from disappearing from the literary world.
Jane Austen, like Oscar Wilde, firstly fools the readers into deciding who the bad guy is from the very beginning only to be proven wrong when the plot unravels. However, there are also new pieces of literature with amazing new plots and angles such as 'The Time-Traveller's Wife'. Why are we looking in the past for inspiration when we have inspiration right here?
'Pride and Prejudice' is a brilliant satire of the ridiculous customs and worries that plagued the female species in that period of time. However, what worries me is the fact that none of the female population of today's world gets Jane Austen's message in this movie. Just look at this month's cover of Cosmopolitan for proof. I'd like to believe her real message was not the love story but the female species' ridiculous obsession with betrothal. Why must we be in such a hurry to get hitched? Is it only through marriage that women become complete? We have come such a long way since the women of those times. Why do we still look at betrothal as the only way we can be accepted in today's society? Has nothing changed at all?
To be honest, this remake of 'Pride and Prejudice' was the best remake I've ever seen. Keira Knightley brought a softer, more vulnerable side to Elizabeth Bennet's character that helped endear her to today's audience. Matthew MacFadyen was definitely more 'lost' than Colin Firth was 'uptight' in this remake. However, MacFayden is a dear and he has the cutest puppy-dog eyes. As he strides across the moor in his semi-transparent white shirt and billowing black coat, there is no one that has better screen presence than he does as Mr. Darcy. If I had not seen the original version and have not been a fan of the book, I would have been totally awed by the on-screen chemistry that flowed between the two of them.
'Pride and Prejudice' is but overdone beef, tough and hard to swallow. What we need in today's film world is a new angle and possibly a full stop to women's obsession with getting married. We are women, hear us roar! And if you are not yet inspired, take some time off to listen to Natasha Bedingfield's 'Single'. Maybe once we actually cease our obsession with marriage, Jane Austen will cease to turn over in her grave.
