Pride and Prejudice

Herald rating: * * *

The question on most people's lips is whether Matthew MacFadyen is a better Mr Darcy than Colin Firth was in the 1995 BBC mini-series, indicating the film's potential audience is more interested in romantic thrills than an impressive and just interpretation of Jane Austen's literary classic.

This is exactly how this film should be approached in order to avoid disappointment. Director Joe Wright isn't a newcomer to period dramas (he directed the mini-series Charles II: The Power and the Passion). However, this is his first attempt at a feature film and he couldn't have picked a more beloved story of romance hindered by misunderstandings and a rigid class pecking order to make his mark.

Those appalled by the Bollywood adaptation Bride and Prejudice will be relieved that Wright has taken a safe option with this adaptation, remaining faithful to Austen's sentiment and retaining the late 18th-century English setting.

Academy Award nominee Brenda Blethyn steals the show as Mrs Bennet, desperate to marry off her five daughters, and Donald Sutherland is surprisingly well-suited to the role of her worn down, gentle husband. Would-be suitors Mr Collins (Tom Hollander) and Mr Bingley (Simon Woods) put a smile on your face, but these performances are nothing less than expected from a cast of this calibre.

The most controversial casting must be Knightley and MacFadyen. Purists will find Knightley too beautiful to play plain Elizabeth Bennet, but she is surprisingly natural, fresh and spirited as the second Bennet daughter, and is perfectly accompanied by Rosamund Pike as her elder, more eligible sister Jane.

For those who consider some roles to belong to an actor, Firth will always be the arrogant, wealthy and snobbish Darcy; but while he mastered the arrogant Darcy, MacFadyen masters the vulnerable Darcy and somehow makes this charmless character charming.

Wright does attempt to offer us something new. His Pride & Prejudice has a grittier feel about it, an added element of realism highlighting the class differences between the modest, middle-class country folk and the wealthy landowners.

However, the addition of mud and farm animals to the Bennet's yard isn't enough to make this Pride & Prejudice a standout.

CAST: Judi Dench, Keira Knightley, Matthew MacFadyen, Donald Sutherland, Rosamund Pike, Brenda Blethyn
DIRECTOR: Joe Wright
RUNNING TIME: 127 minutes
RATING: G
SCREENING: Village, Hoyts & Berkeley Cinemas