At the end, director Wright wraps the whole thing up with a fairy-tale coda more Shakespearean than Austen-tine. Yet it all works.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
A movie for the age, and a keeper for the ages, Pride & Prejudice brings Jane Austen's best-loved novel to vivid, widescreen life, as well as making an undisputed star of 20-year-old Keira Knightley.
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
Of Austen's novels, none is more beloved than this one, so it's good to see it once again brought to the screen with the pride which it deserves.
Village Voice by Jessica Winter
Director Joe Wright coordinates a delightfully cohesive acting ensemble.
Most importantly, the director, script, and cast (rounded out by Judi Dench and well-placed imports Donald Sutherland and Jena Malone) all recognize that Austen is about much more than pretty costumes and knowing looks.
New York Magazine (Vulture) by Ken Tucker
If only Knightley had a co-star equal to her here: The 1995 edition of Colin Firth, come to think of it, would have been perfect.
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
Keira Knightley, in a witty, vibrant, altogether superb performance, plays Lizzie's sparky, questing nature as a matter of the deepest personal sacrifice.
Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer
In the end, the finest achievement of Wright's movie is that it fully captures what Martin Amis, writing on Pride and Prejudice, said of Austen: "Money is a vital substance in her world; the moment you enter it you feel the frank horror of moneylessness, as intense as the tacit horror of spinsterhood." All that, and a great love story, too.
Rolling Stone by Peter Travers
Romantic yearning hasn't looked this sexy onscreen in years.
Dallas Observer by Robert Wilonsky
There's something more REAL about this version, more human, more lived-in; though their words may have been penned 200 years ago, when Austen was a young woman writing about her idealized self, this cast and crew nudge the material into the now.
This is a wonderful adaptation of Jane Austen's novel. Upbeat and funny but still true to the tone of the original, it's a very fun watch.
Keira Knightley is wonderful as Lizzie Bennet, and she really carries this movie with a lot of spirit. The cinematography has some truly lovely moments, and the script stays witty and Austenian.
A film I’ve watched at least three times in a genre I tend to avoid. The chemistry between Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen is irresistible, even for me. An enjoyable and witty adaptation, which, as we’ve learned from less successful films, is hard to pull off.
This might be one of the very best films to put on during a rainy afternoon, and one of my favorite things to watch with my mom. The cinematography is stunning – capturing some of the most beautiful, detailed shots of architecture and the natural world – and the score just carries you away.