Мой первый журнал SUNRISE November № 1 2018 | Page 53

FILM REVIEW
A Look Without Prejudice
The plot is quite simple, but sounds new at the
same time. It's England, the end of the 18th
century. The parents of the five Bennet sisters
are concerned with getting their daughters
successfully married. And so the respectable
family's slow-paced life is turned upside down
when their new neighbor suddenly arrives, a
young gentleman named Mr. Bingley… It goes
without saying that there are quite many
refined aristocrats among the new neighbor's
friends, and they don't mind courting the
charming sisters. But the things aren't so
simple. The willful Elizabeth meets a friend of
Bingley, the handsome and arrogant Mr. Darcy,
and a serious conflict develops between
them, which can result in either love or hatred…
This book has left a trace in many
hearts, including mine as well. The matter is
that Jane Austen wanted to create such
characters whose actions could make the
majority of the female audience to think over
the following things: a marriage of
convenience isn't always a happy marriage,
pride must not make you turn a blind eye to
obvious things, and prejudice must not stand
in the way of true happiness and cause pain to
others. The story is very beautiful in itself, it
sounds very present-day and topical, even
though the traditions and conventionalities
dominating in it are characteristic of the
Victorian era.
Coming back to the film, it should be
noted that except for Mr. Darcy and Miss
Elizabeth Bennet there are also other
characters who successfully make the main
characters more prominent. Just take the
Bennet sisters, and Elizabeth has as many as
four of them! Jane, Mary, Kitty and Lydia are
real beauties, bright and charismatic! There's
a queue of potential suitors behind their
backs, but not all of them are in a hurry to get
married.
No doubt, Elizabeth is presented in the
film as a willful girl, independent of other
people's opinions. She is self-confident, and
believes in the book-learned ideals where the
man must possess self-esteem, be intelligent,
and know how to behave in the society. The
role of such a heroine could be performed only
by a girl of true British origin, with impeccable
command of English and refined manners, in
combination with mischievous playfulness.
And that girl was Keira Knightley. Although,
according to the director himself, initially she
wasn't supposed to play in the film at all
because he didn't find the actress's boyish
nature appropriate for it, but after a personal
meeting with Knightley he became definitely
assured that exactly this feature would be
November 2018 №1
SUNRISE
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