The legendary novel, “Pride and Prejudice”, by Jane Austen, has had a number of adaptions since its release in 1831. But who can blame Hollywood for trying to adapt the book that essentially created the blueprint for enemies to lovers and the romance genre in general? Two of the most notable adaptions were BBC’s (British Broadcasting Corporation) television series and the 2005 film. But the question is, which adaption is better?
The book takes place in the early 1800s in England and it follows Elizabeth Bennet, or Lizzy. The book starts off with Lizzy meeting the antagonist and extremely rich love interest, Mr. Darcy, who always manages to say the wrong things and always lets his pride get in the way of his heart (hence the name of the book). Lizzy grows to despise Mr. Darcy after she finds out he’s wronged multiple families including her own. While visiting her friend, Mr. Darcy comes to see her and after some banter finally makes an angry love confession and proposes to her. But in true Darcy style, he insults her whole family in the process and she rejects him by accounting all the people he’s hurt. Months later, after Darcy has explained that the horrible things she heard about him were misunderstandings and rumors being spread, they confess their love for each other. After he apologizes for insulting her family, he proposes. They then get married and live happily ever after.
One of the most well-known adaptions of “Pride and Prejudice” was BBC’s series. Starring Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, the show has one season and consists of six episodes. Obviously, the show with a 6-hour run time, is more detail-orientated and accurate to the novel than the 2005 film. But at some times, the show was too extensive and it focused too much on sticking to the original plot then keeping the audience captivated. For example, half of episode two was primarily about a side character and not the leading couple. Something that the series did really well, however, was portraying Lizzy and Jane’s relationship. In the book, Lizzy often refers to Jane Bennet as “her dearest sister”, and the show portrayed that really well.
Lastly, since the show had a longer running time than the film, they had the privilege of subtlety. Not only did they have more time to show the audience how Lizzy and Mr. Darcy’s relationship changes, but they also got to show how Lizzy shows her feminism in subtle ways. This is especially important because during the time period in which the book was written, it was not as socially acceptable to be an outright feminist, so it makes sense that the series highlights Lizzy’s underlying feminism.
The 2005 “Pride and Prejudice” film is the most widely known adaption which features Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy. These two capture the dynamic of the couple really well with their awkward intense stares and their iconic hand flex scene. The film is also much shorter than the show but still captures the important parts of the book, but since the film is a condensed version of the book, it’s way more emotional. For example, the love confession scene in both of the adaptions is dramatically different. While the show focuses more on accuracy with the setting being indoors and the dialogue being very similar to the book, the movie takes the scene outdoors and focuses more on Mr. Darcy’s unrequited love. Finally, the movie is a cinematic masterpiece with its beautiful scenery and artistic shots that capture the actor’s emotions.
At times the film outshines the show because it’s more fast-paced and emotional, but in all other aspects the series outweighs the film. In terms of adaptions, the show is the perfect reenactment because it has the book’s quiet yet forceful themes and romantic elements. The show embodies the book and is the best “Pride and Prejudice” adaption.
