All Things Pride and Prejudice

The script, written by Fay Weldon, is written more closely to Jane Austen's original language than any of the other film versions. Austen was a master at writing dialog and her witty use of language is one of the joys of her novels, so adherence to the original language is generally a plus for those of us who love Austen's prose. The down side of that faithfulness is that readable prose is not always the same thing as prose that sounds natural when delivered in conversation. The dialog in this version often sounds stilted and unnatural.

Unfortunately, most of the performers , including,  the two principal ones, sound very much like actors delivering lines in an amateur play rather than people conversing in real life. A few of the middle-aged actors, such as Michael Lees and Barbara Shelley, who play Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, deliver their lines naturally, but all of the actresses, excepting Sabina Franklyn (as Jane), who play the Bennet sisters are all too obviously performing parts rather than inhabiting their characters.

Elizabeth Garvie is a bit too old for the role, but that's a problem for most of the film versions.  Elizabeth is not supposed to be as drop-dead gorgeous as Jane, but should be pleasing to gaze upon, with especially fine eyes, and a personality, intelligence, and expressiveness that enhances the beauty of her visage.  Elizabeth Garvie is pretty enough to be Elizabeth at first sighting but there is nothing about her behavior or facial expressions that enhances her looks. Her eyes are not "fine." Elizabeth Garvie only matches Elizabeth in the letter of the description, but she doesn't match her in spirit or the deeper intents of the novel.

Garvie's shortcomings are modest in comparison to those of  David Rintoul as Darcy. Rintoul's credits include only one film outside of television (along with 18 television series, miniseries or movies). Rintoul plays the part as though he has a broomstick perpetually stuck up his butt. Yes, Darcy is reticent when in company and excessively proud, but one of the points of the novel is that Elizabeth's initial impression of Darcy was prejudiced by his aristocratic manner. Then, her prejudice was further increased when she overheard his disdainful remark about herself and, again later, when she was mislead by Wickham's story. Darcy is supposed to have an aloof manner, but underlying that haughtiness and pride, both Elizabeth and we viewers are ultimately supposed to recognize in Darcy the kindness and warmth about which the housekeeper at Pemberley speaks. Rintoul gives us a fundamentally unlikable Darcy and one for whom Lizzie's initial impression seems more accurate, in the end, than her revised feelings of admiration.The scene in which Darcy first proposes, which is supposed to be the story's highlight, comes across as two amateurs reciting memorized lines, without any spontaneity of feeling. Without a palpable warmth and attraction between the two leads, the romance comes across as hollow.

Among the other roles, there are some casting strengths as well as some more deficits. Sabina Franklyn as Jane is the only one of the Bennet sisters who comes across as a real person. Tessa Peake-Jones, as Mary, overacts in her part. Although she spouts some pedantic nonsense from time to time, she also actually comes across as more appealing in this version than Elizabeth. She does a nice job with the line, "One coughs when one must, doesn't one?" Clare Higgins is never natural as Kitty, plus she's too tall and too old for the part.  Lydia is never developed as a character in this version until after running away with Wickham. Then, after Lydia returns to Longbourn married, Natalie Ogle hams it up excessively in the role. Moray Watson is pretty good as Mr. Bennet and Priscilla Morgan is adequate as Mrs. Bennet, though nothing special. Judy Parfitt is very effective as Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Osmund Bullock is ineffective as Bingley as is Marsha Fitzalan as Caroline Bingley. Malcolm Rennie is very good as Mr. Collins and Peter Settelen is adequate as Mr. Wickham.

The production values are nowhere close to the quality of any of the other true adaptations. The costumes and sets look cheap and stagy. There's very little opening up of the story to take advantage of the potentials of cinema.

This version of Pride and Prejudice pretty much epitomizes what people sometimes criticize about BBC Masterpiece Theater kinds of productions: stilted, dry, slow, stagy, amateurish actors reciting lines as though they had just memorized them, and poor production values due to limited budgets. The film's biggest strengths are that it delivers many of Austen's best lines intact and includes a few scenes omitted from other film versions. Some of the supporting performers are good and provide another take of how different characters can be rendered. The film's biggest shortcomings are poor production values, a stiff, unyielding, and unemotional David Rintoul, and four (out of five) Bennet sisters, including Elizabeth, poorly cast and/or scripted. When the two leads in a romance sound like they're reciting lines rather than living their parts, no other aspect of the film will be enough to compensate.