This becomes the most romantic version of "Pride & Prejudice" because we are not surprised along with Lizzie when Darcy shows up and makes the most backhanded proposal of marriage in the history of Western literature. The screenplay by Deborah Moggach (Emma Thompson receives special thanks in the credits, apparently for script doctoring) makes one significant change in the proceedings by simply having the moment when Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen) falls for Lizzie clearly written on his face. At the Meryton ball she finds the perfect moment to throw the callous words that she has overheard back into his and with the rapier still skewering her victim she turns on her heels and walks away in triumph.

When next he sees her she has walked over to Mr. Bingley's house to care for her sister Jane (Rosamund Pike), who has been taken ill because of the matrimonial machinations of their mother. Lizzie's hair is down and she is positively glowing. When we see the look of Darcy's face it is clear that he is beyond smitten, even though through the veneer of upper class manners the signs are decidedly subtle. From that moment on his affection becomes transparent to us, although Lizzie is surprised to learn of its existence. Joe Wright also creates a motif where the first time Darcy and Lizzie touch, as he helps her into a carriage, resonates by an emphasis at key moments throughout the film of Darcy's hands.

Elizabeth Bennett is the most delightful of the Austen heroines because she has the virtue of not backing down. Indeed, I believe Darcy first takes real notice of her because she stands up to him at the ball. When she refuses to back down from Lady Catherine De Bourgh (Judi Dench) at the dinner table it struck me that one of the reasons she is so attractive to Darcy is because she is not trying to be. Certainly Mrs. Bennett (Brenda Blythen) has taught her five daughters it is how to be on their best behavior to catch a husband, and in a world of such propriety her candor is refreshing. Darcy's curt dismissal of her looks as being tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt him, becomes ironic because for my money it is her brains that make Elizabeth Bennett a real beauty both to him and to us.

The screenplay necessitates cutting much of the action to reduce the tale to a two-hour film. I appreciated being spared the unfortunate incident of Mary at the pianoforte as well as the constructed scene for the final fadeout and my only minor complaint would be that Lady Catherine does not utter her exit line from the novel when she takes her leave of Elizabeth in their final confrontation although I fully understand that the words cannot be uttered under those circumstances and the fact that Lady Catherine shows up immediately on hearing the rumor makes up for being denied the pleasure of hearing Dame Judy declaim that line.

I had heard that the Jane Austen Society was less than pleased by Knightley's posture in this film, but one of the strengths of this production is that the Bennetts clearly live in the country. There are dirt roads that lead to their home, where a large hog wanders through the front door, and when Mr. Darcy and the Bingleys make their first appearances at the local ball the dancing has an exuberance (not to mention slapping of hands) that makes it patently clear that we are far from the hallowed halls of Pemberly or the civilized life of London. But the outside locations are as sumptuous as the gilded rooms in this film, and cinematographer Roman Osin makes both look gorgeous.

For those who consider "Sense & Sensibility" to be the current cinematic benchmark for Austen adaptations I can report that "Pride & Prejudice" is its superior in terms of both romance and comedy by virtue of both crying and laughing more at this 2005 film.. Where Ang Lee's 1995 film comes out ahead is in its depiction of sisterhood, as Jane and Lizzie cannot rival Elinor and Marianne in their bonds of affection, which is understandable since it is more central to that Austen novel. Even so there is a cute moment of confidences shared beneath the covers and Lizzie's spirited defense of her sister's shyness. However, this one really is all about Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.