Days 5 & 6
I'm a little behind, but I spent seven hours at the mall yesterday, so I don't feel I'm slacking that much! These ones are both totally obvious, anyway.
Day 5: What is your favourite moment in the books?
Darcy's letter. He was always my favourite character, I always knew Wickham was lying, but the letter still completely bowled me over. It's perfect - undercutting the righteous triumph of the previous chapter, dropping some massive revelations in completely characteristic ways (Darcy's voice is at once more raw than we've ever heard it and unmistakably Darcy), showing Darcy's shift from bitter, sarcastic indignation to gracious forgiveness as he's writing it and further revealing his character in the process, forcing Elizabeth to get a sharp reality check and confront her own flaws. It provides a physical artifact to stand in for Darcy (and in a broader sense, Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship) during his narrative absence. And the end is a very evident declaration of love that, in context, is considerably more powerful than an actual declaration of love would be.
"If your abhorrence of me should make my assertions valueless, you cannot be prevented by the same cause from confiding in my cousin; and that there may be the possibility of consulting him, I shall endeavour to find some opportunity of putting this letter in your hands in the course of the morning. I will only add, God bless you."
Day 6: What is your favourite movie adaptation?
Unquestionably this:
This is, in fact, only a small number of roles that (1) show up in this mini-series and (2) are among my favourites. I even love most of the ridiculous non-canon stuff, like Kitty's crush on Bingley. Both Darcy and Georgiana occasionally verge on the Terminator-ish, but I actually really like that he is not suddenly charming and approachable at Pemberley - he still has that stiffness and awkwardness to him, but he's agreeable and considerate, and that's what matters. I also really like that Georgiana is not just adorable, but has his formality and discomfort and her own nervousness - you can see why people would think she's proud, even though she manifestly is not. Trivially, I also like she looks basically like a cross between Darcy and Anne de Bourgh.
The performance that this version is mostly praised for (when it is) is Elizabeth Garvie's Elizabeth Bennet, and it's completely deserved. Maturity-wise she seems to fall comfortably between Jennifer Ehle and Keira Knightley - where Ehle seemed too entirely self-possessed (I was surprised she was as young as she was - my age, I guess) and KK too girlish (and modern-girl girlish, at that), Garvie's Elizabeth comes across as very young but with a kind of graceful dignity. She's less abrasive than either Ehle or Knightley's Elizabeths - there's always a certain sweetness about her (per the narrator's description!), but she's never bland or saccharine; her wit, spirit, vanity, and assorted sharp edges are still very much present.
Again, I also really like her superficially - over-exposure to the fandom, maybe, but she fits my mental idea of Elizabeth far better than fanon's, which is obviously based on Ehle or Knightley. She's slim and energetic, per her description, but not rail-thin, and pretty with large, striking dark eyes and a warm complexion - that's about the entirety of what we know about Elizabeth's looks. The fact that she fits all of that without remotely fitting the fandom insistence on the dark one = vivacious, smart, edgy, the blonde one = pure, sweet, vapid is just especially enjoyable.
Bingley comes across as pleasant, kind, and reasonably intelligent (looking at you, P&P 2005), while clearly not in the Darcy-Elizabeth league of banter; he and Darcy seem genuine friends. Jane is sweet and gentle but not remotely dull, not even placid. And dark! Lady Catherine is a forceful, active woman in her forties, still a tall blonde (with some excellent scarves); she's not particularly bright, but she doesn't come across as the aristocratic version of Mrs Bennet that she's so often assumed to be, either. She could credibly have a reputation as a clever, competent woman. Mrs Bennet herself is indisputably my favourite one - her real nastiness isn't overlooked (Brenda Blethyn's Mrs Bennet, while an excellent performance, is definitely softened), but she's not a caricature either: just a rather stupid, selfish woman in a decidedly unfair situation. With Charlotte, there's a very strong emphasis on her friendship with Elizabeth and the camaraderie between them; she's very sympathetic (more so than Lucy Scott's, which I also like very much) without getting saddled with the painfully modern, painfully unsubtle dialogue that we heard in the 2005 version.
It pretty much goes on and on. Mr Collins - not creepy, not pathetic, just a pompous, entitled ass. Lydia is a selfish ditz who is genuinely annoying, but in a very teenaged kind of way. Wickham is less smarmy than Adrian Lukis', but a little more substantial than Rupert Friend's. You can see why Elizabeth would like him so much, but it's also easy to believe he's a total douche. I've been pretty vocal about my love of the elegant Gardiners, particularly young, stylish Mrs Gardiner, who falls somewhere between aunt and cool big sister in her interactions with Jane and Elizabeth. There are tons more, too.
This production is really about the character performances - so, on top of happening to suit my particular preferences, it's an adaptation I have an immense respect for as well. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it is the one I most enjoy.
(If I were to say which one I think is objectively the best, incidentally, I'd probably go for Persuasion with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. That was just an excellent adaptation all around, even if I don't derive quite the same amount of glee from it.)
Day 5: What is your favourite moment in the books?
Darcy's letter. He was always my favourite character, I always knew Wickham was lying, but the letter still completely bowled me over. It's perfect - undercutting the righteous triumph of the previous chapter, dropping some massive revelations in completely characteristic ways (Darcy's voice is at once more raw than we've ever heard it and unmistakably Darcy), showing Darcy's shift from bitter, sarcastic indignation to gracious forgiveness as he's writing it and further revealing his character in the process, forcing Elizabeth to get a sharp reality check and confront her own flaws. It provides a physical artifact to stand in for Darcy (and in a broader sense, Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship) during his narrative absence. And the end is a very evident declaration of love that, in context, is considerably more powerful than an actual declaration of love would be.
"If your abhorrence of me should make my assertions valueless, you cannot be prevented by the same cause from confiding in my cousin; and that there may be the possibility of consulting him, I shall endeavour to find some opportunity of putting this letter in your hands in the course of the morning. I will only add, God bless you."
Day 6: What is your favourite movie adaptation?
Unquestionably this:
This is, in fact, only a small number of roles that (1) show up in this mini-series and (2) are among my favourites. I even love most of the ridiculous non-canon stuff, like Kitty's crush on Bingley. Both Darcy and Georgiana occasionally verge on the Terminator-ish, but I actually really like that he is not suddenly charming and approachable at Pemberley - he still has that stiffness and awkwardness to him, but he's agreeable and considerate, and that's what matters. I also really like that Georgiana is not just adorable, but has his formality and discomfort and her own nervousness - you can see why people would think she's proud, even though she manifestly is not. Trivially, I also like she looks basically like a cross between Darcy and Anne de Bourgh.
The performance that this version is mostly praised for (when it is) is Elizabeth Garvie's Elizabeth Bennet, and it's completely deserved. Maturity-wise she seems to fall comfortably between Jennifer Ehle and Keira Knightley - where Ehle seemed too entirely self-possessed (I was surprised she was as young as she was - my age, I guess) and KK too girlish (and modern-girl girlish, at that), Garvie's Elizabeth comes across as very young but with a kind of graceful dignity. She's less abrasive than either Ehle or Knightley's Elizabeths - there's always a certain sweetness about her (per the narrator's description!), but she's never bland or saccharine; her wit, spirit, vanity, and assorted sharp edges are still very much present.
Again, I also really like her superficially - over-exposure to the fandom, maybe, but she fits my mental idea of Elizabeth far better than fanon's, which is obviously based on Ehle or Knightley. She's slim and energetic, per her description, but not rail-thin, and pretty with large, striking dark eyes and a warm complexion - that's about the entirety of what we know about Elizabeth's looks. The fact that she fits all of that without remotely fitting the fandom insistence on the dark one = vivacious, smart, edgy, the blonde one = pure, sweet, vapid is just especially enjoyable.
Bingley comes across as pleasant, kind, and reasonably intelligent (looking at you, P&P 2005), while clearly not in the Darcy-Elizabeth league of banter; he and Darcy seem genuine friends. Jane is sweet and gentle but not remotely dull, not even placid. And dark! Lady Catherine is a forceful, active woman in her forties, still a tall blonde (with some excellent scarves); she's not particularly bright, but she doesn't come across as the aristocratic version of Mrs Bennet that she's so often assumed to be, either. She could credibly have a reputation as a clever, competent woman. Mrs Bennet herself is indisputably my favourite one - her real nastiness isn't overlooked (Brenda Blethyn's Mrs Bennet, while an excellent performance, is definitely softened), but she's not a caricature either: just a rather stupid, selfish woman in a decidedly unfair situation. With Charlotte, there's a very strong emphasis on her friendship with Elizabeth and the camaraderie between them; she's very sympathetic (more so than Lucy Scott's, which I also like very much) without getting saddled with the painfully modern, painfully unsubtle dialogue that we heard in the 2005 version.
It pretty much goes on and on. Mr Collins - not creepy, not pathetic, just a pompous, entitled ass. Lydia is a selfish ditz who is genuinely annoying, but in a very teenaged kind of way. Wickham is less smarmy than Adrian Lukis', but a little more substantial than Rupert Friend's. You can see why Elizabeth would like him so much, but it's also easy to believe he's a total douche. I've been pretty vocal about my love of the elegant Gardiners, particularly young, stylish Mrs Gardiner, who falls somewhere between aunt and cool big sister in her interactions with Jane and Elizabeth. There are tons more, too.
This production is really about the character performances - so, on top of happening to suit my particular preferences, it's an adaptation I have an immense respect for as well. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it is the one I most enjoy.
(If I were to say which one I think is objectively the best, incidentally, I'd probably go for Persuasion with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds. That was just an excellent adaptation all around, even if I don't derive quite the same amount of glee from it.)