I’ve recently been on a mission to watch as many “Pride and Prejudice” adaptations as I can. I grew up with the 2005 movie, but I only recently read the novel for the first time. So I figured, what better way to make up for lost time than by watching the same plot again and again… and again. I quickly discovered there are more “Pride and Prejudice” adaptations than I can count, so I picked the most promising (or intriguing) options I could find. We have a lot of ground to cover – nearly 15 hours worth, in fact – so buckle up.
Pride and Prejudice (1995)
Starting off strong – this is by far the most accurate adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice” out there. Instead of attempting to cram the entire plot into a movie (like all the other adaptations on this list), it spreads the story out into a mini-series, giving us almost six hours of content.
Plot
Going into this, I adored the 2005 version, so I was not expecting it to be dethroned as my favorite adaptation. Six hours later, though, and it’s no competition. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth are easily my favorite iterations of Elizabeth and Darcy to date. Elizabeth is sarcastic and witty, and is also one of the smiliest interpretations I’ve seen, which works surprisingly well. Darcy has a serious staring problem – I swear half his scenes are just him gazing at Lizzy from afar. It does mean his yearning levels are jacked up to one-hundred and ten percent, however, so I think it’s a perfect choice.
The extra time also lends itself to exploring the non-romantic relationships in a way that other, shorter adaptations simply don’t have enough room for. The sisterly bonds and the relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet are some of my favorite parts of “Pride and Prejudice,” so seeing this version do them justice is really gratifying.
Changes
This adaptation is so accurate, in fact, that the only major change I can think of is the scene where Darcy climbs out of the lake – which is fantastic, so I’m really not complaining. Other than that, the series doesn’t add much to the original story. It is a truly faithful adaptation of the book – which also means I don’t actually have much else to say here.
Pride and Prejudice (2003)
This next adaptation is almost beyond words. I first heard of this movie as the “Mormon ‘Pride and Prejudice'”, and having grown up in Utah my entire life, I just had to give it a watch. After finishing it, I can say with certainty that it is the weirdest “Pride and Prejudice” adaptation I’ve ever seen – and yes, I’m including the one with the zombies.
Plot
This is a modern retelling, and instead of sisters, the girls are roommates. Kam Heskin is a good enough Elizabeth, but her characterization leans more towards a messy, relatable rom-com lead rather than an outspoken, witty heroine. She’s an aspiring author, though, which gives her that independence that is so very Elizabeth Bennet. Other than being the only one with a British accent, Orlando Seale’s Darcy barely feels like Darcy at all. He’s not nearly stoic enough, and his motivations make next to no sense.
The other characters are just as nonsensical. For reasons I can only chalk up to early-2000s Utah logic, Jane is Argentinian, and flamenco music follows her everywhere. Bingley is a himbo times ten (which I actually thought was hilarious). Lydia is their landlord… for some reason. The list goes on, because nearly every character in this movie is just bizarre.
The characters being religious actually took up much less of the plot than I was anticipating. One specific moment, though, was so ridiculous that I couldn’t stop laughing. Collins genuinely justifies his proposal to Elizabeth by saying, “We’ve been commanded to multiply and replenish the Earth” – absolutely wild.
Changes
I am truly baffled by some of these decisions, though, including, but really not limited to: Bingley making Mozart CDs for dogs, a daydream where Lizzy chucks a hymn book at Collins during a church meeting, and the characters crashing a spontaneous Las Vegas wedding. This movie is so campy, it almost wraps back around to being genuinely good… almost.
Bride and Prejudice (2004)
To be honest, I was not looking forward to watching this one. The last adaptation alone breached my tolerance level for low-quality 2000s movies, so I did not have high hopes going into it. To my disbelief, it only took fifteen minutes to convince me this is in my top three favorite “Pride and Prejudice” adaptations ever.
Plot
This movie is camp, but in an actually good way this time. Just twenty minutes in, there are already two elaborate musical numbers with an astonishing number of extras. It’s colorful and enthusiastic, as well as an unexpectedly accurate modern adaptation, given that it sits just under two hours. The most significant change is the removal of Kitty, leaving only four sisters – but there’s already so much going on, it’s really not noticeable.
Aishwarya Rai is brilliant as Lalita (Elizabeth). She’s intelligent, sarcastic, and fiercely confrontational, with a strong relationship to her sisters. Meanwhile, Martin Henderson’s Darcy is… racist? Okay, it’s not that simple, but a large part of the conflict between the two stems from Darcy’s misconceptions about India, which never fully get addressed. He kind of just reunites Jaya (Jane) and Balraj (Bingley), fights Wickham in a movie theatre, and plays a drum, then suddenly he’s redeemed. In general, he’s not the most compelling iteration of Darcy. He’s a bit of a loser, and a lot of the jokes in the movie are at his expense, which makes it hard to paint him as the brooding, mysterious love interest most adaptations usually go for.
This version’s strongest points lie in other characters, like Manorama Bakshi (Mrs. Bennet) and Kiran (Caroline Bingley). My favorite character, though, is this version’s Mr. Collins: Kohli Sahib. His mannerisms and dialogue are hilarious, and one line even inspires an entire (annoyingly catchy) song and dance from the Bakshi sisters.
It Was an Attempt
Despite being a comedy, the movie raises a complex conversation around colonialism and stereotyping. Whether it was executed well or not (I’m leaning towards not), it’s a pretty bold move for a 2000s rom-com. Either way, I appreciate the movie’s balls.
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Now on to my previous favorite (I’ve only knocked it down to #2, so don’t worry). This adaptation is probably the most popular version, and rightfully so. The cast is absolutely stacked, with Keira Knightley as Elizabeth, Matthew Macfadyen as Darcy, Rosamund Pike as Jane, Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennet – I could go on. Everyone’s performances are beautiful and perfectly suited for the tone the movie crafts. The cinematography is breathtaking, and especially when paired with the soundtrack – one of my favorites ever, by the way – several shots give me chills every single time.
Plot
Thankfully, the sisterly relationships hold strong in this movie, even though the story is massively condensed. Out of necessity, though, this version does cut most of Elizabeth’s interactions with Wickham – so much so that I often forget he’s even in the movie at all. He never feels like a real contender for Elizabeth’s affections; he’s a much more obvious plot device to further push Lizzy and Darcy apart, then back together.
Critiques
This adaptation specifically makes it abundantly clear that it is a romance movie above all else. Elizabeth’s relationship with Jane is really sweet, but other than that, it trades a lot of deeper moments for extra romantic tension. Don’t get me wrong, this movie does the whole “yearning” thing like no other, but sometimes it takes away from the nuance of the original material.
The final story beats particularly bother me, because this version waters down Darcy’s amends significantly compared to the novel. His grand gesture regarding Lydia and Wickham is only meant to support the larger redemption of his character, not be his entire redemption. Rather, he should realize his mistakes and actively change his approach to others because of it. But the movie gets so swept up in the romance of it all that Lizzy even claims to have been “entirely wrong” about Darcy, despite the fact that she hadn’t been, at least not at first. The other movie adaptations also have this problem, but considering the quality of this particular adaptation, it’s especially disappointing.
On top of this, this version gives one of my favorite lines from the book to Mary rather than Elizabeth: “What are men to rocks and mountains?” That narration gives a lot of characterization to Lizzy, both in general and in that specific moment in the plot, and passing it off to the overly prudent character feels disingenuous to Elizabeth.
Iconic Scenes
Regardless of the accuracy, though, this movie has so many perfectly executed scenes that I can’t stay mad for long. The stunning misty morning walk scene, the awkward Mr. Collins potato scene, and, of course, the iconic hand flex scene make up for nearly all the details the movie drops. A personal favorite I only noticed on this rewatch is when Darcy helps Bingley practice his proposal speech outside the Bennet house. Darcy pretending to be Jane with a completely straight face makes me laugh even just thinking of it. Even with its flaws, this version is simply too influential for me to judge at all harshly. It’ll always hold a special place in my heart.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)
At this point, this was the fourth “Pride and Prejudice” adaptation I’d watched in as many days, so I was really excited to see something new. Unfortunately, this movie was a bit of a let-down – and also surprisingly unengaging. It’s set in a universe where a zombie virus has spread throughout early 19th-century England. Many people, including the Bennets, learn to defend themselves, while somehow, the aristocracy and polite society stay mostly intact. It’s a ridiculous concept, but I’m all over it – it’s a shame it wasn’t more well-executed.
Plot
Lily James plays another just-okay Elizabeth. She’s still stubborn and opinionated like the novel Lizzy, but considering that her entire family are warriors, she doesn’t stick out much. Sam Riley, on the other hand, might just be my least favorite Darcy I’ve seen. His character is flat at the best of times, and completely disagreeable at the worst. The one redeemable detail about this iteration is that he wears a long, 19th-century-style leather coat – kinda sick, to be honest.
Critiques
Overall, the tone of the movie is weirdly hard to get a read on. There’s obviously some level of self-awareness as to the outlandish concept, but it doesn’t come across as strongly as I was expecting. It feels oddly serious, which was really not the right direction. It actually cuts some of the humor written into the original, too. Mrs. Bennet is the most normal and composed I’ve seen her, but they still try to poke fun at her later on, which is really ineffective. The movie sits in the uncanny valley of dark comedy – half self-aware, half sullen, and wholly unsuccessful.
Simply put, the movie tries to juggle way too many things. As I’ve mentioned, movie adaptations of “Pride and Prejudice” usually have to drop nuance to fit into the time constraint, and this version is no exception. To make it worse, though, this movie also has to explain how a war with zombies fits into the world – all in under two hours. The romance plot – a.k.a. the main part of “Pride and Prejudice” – is seriously underdeveloped, and there are numerous blatant world-related plot holes. In an effort to do something unique, this movie fumbles all of its plot points.
Positives
Still, I won’t pretend this version is a complete failure. There are plenty of fantastic additions that kept me watching. The set design and costumes are undeniably incredible. Slits in their ball gowns with knives hidden in their garters? Hell yes. Darcy’s first proposal to Elizabeth turns into a fight scene out of nowhere, which is bizarre and also kind of amazing. Lady Catherine is a badass with an eye patch, and Mr. Collins is strangely likable – he’s actually my favorite part of the entire movie. I’m not surprised, considering he’s played by Matt Smith, but he was such a genuinely delightful version of Mr. Collins that every appearance made the blandness of the movie worth it. Even though I expected much more out of this one, I still had a good enough time.
Final Thoughts
It turns out that five adaptations is about how many I can stomach all at once. I really was not anticipating as many adaptations as are out there, but I think my mission has been successful. It’s truly fascinating seeing how differently people can tell the same story. Differences or not, though, it is the same story, and wow, am I ready to watch something else for once. I think I’ll pass on the upcoming Netflix “Pride and Prejudice,” just for now.
If you’re curious about other “Pride and Prejudice” adaptations, head over to this list!
Check out Kaden’s latest article about February’s Next Fest!
