Pride and Prejudice

Whilst unearthing the seeds from a pomegranate tonight, I watched the beginning of the 2005 Pride and Prejudice. I'm finishing it up now (the movie, not the pomegranate), so here's a review.

Pluses:
- The actress who plays Jane is truly lovely.
- Beautiful attention to setting, be it a humble countryside home or a magnificent estate.
- Very pretty music.

Minuses:
- The hairstyles are just horrible.
- Too short and choppy with unnecessary modern phrases and actions thrown in throughout.
- Irrationally sympathetic treatment of Mrs. Bennet's character near the end.

This version of Pride and Prejudice comes too soon after the 1995 version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, which puts it at a serious disadvantage because it compares so poorly with it in regards to plot and character development. The 2005 version is simply too short to do justice to Jane Austen's wonderful writing and complex characters. Still, it is enjoyable to watch once in a while and takes much less time to view than the 1995 version.