So I know that I've already talked about another Jane Austen novel on here, but bear with me. This week I'm going to talk about the issues with film adaptations of the novel, specifically the 1995 (Colin Firth) version and 2005 (Keira Knightly) version. So, the main difference between these two (discounting the omission of plot points/characters) is their portrayal of the Bennet family dynamic and the interactions between the sisters, mother, and father. In the 1995 version, the mother, Mrs. Bennet, is a very unsympathetic character--in fact, as a viewer, I kind of wondered why Mr. Bennet had not just committed her already--and the family is obviously minorly, or maybe not so minorly, dysfunctional. We as an audience cringe at Lydia, Kitty, and Mrs. Bennet for their obnoxious behavior and ostentatious fortune hunting; it's just very uncomfortable to watch. In the 2005 version, however, Mrs. Bennet appears much more justified and sane--she is conscious that if her daughters are not married by the time their father dies then they will be social outcasts, and she very much takes it upon herself to see that they make good ends. The girls are also very interested in the Netherfield new-comers, and there is much more open sisterly affection. Okay, so what? These changes just so happen to affect the characterizations of other characters in a rather negative way.
Let's start with Darcy. Darcy's whole appeal in the end of the novel is that he is wealth blind--he doesn't care if you're rich or poor so long as you can conduct yourself in a reasonable, rational manner. The impropriety of the Bennets is scaled up in the 1995 version, so we see this facet rather easily; however, in the 2005 version, the Bennets are a romanticized version of their counterparts in the novel, so Darcy's objection to them loses its credibility, making him seem like MUCH more of a snob. So by making the Bennet family a better family, the 2005 version makes Darcy a more repellent character. And that's not good--we like him.
And on to Lydia. Lydia's elopement is supposed to stem from her lack of understanding of the world and its moral code and values because her family couldn't spare the time to nurture her and develop her properly (I mean, she could also just be a terrible person, but I'm not going to get into the whole nature vs. nurture thing here). In the 2005 version, the sisters are much more united and the family is much closer to each other than as displayed in the 1995 version. Okay, so if Lydia grew up in the loving family that set a decent example for the standards of marriage, why does she throw her sisters under the condemning eye of the world and abuse the love of her parents? Her elopement is made much more despicable when she comes from a loving, united family background.
So there you have it: you try to smooth out the edges, and you end up making characters completely horrible people. Now President Eisenhower: that's a domino effect.
