GUEST POST BY: KAYLA CAMILLI

School: Maria Carrillo High School
Dream job: author, book editor, or movie critic
Favorite place: my grandfather’s ranch
Fun activity: hanging out with my family, especially my cousins
Favorite books: the Harry Potter series
Favorite person in the world: my little brother
Goal: to always wear a smile

This article first appeared Nov. 17, 2010.

“Pride & Prejudice”

Director: Joe Wright

Release: 2005

One of my favorite movies to curl up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and watch is “Pride & Prejudice.” Movies sweep viewers into another time and place, a reality where we can live through vivacious characters completely different from us. I love the way we catch a glimpse of a foreign world and wade into an immense ocean of forgotten history. To experience a life we might have led if we were born in another era.

“Pride & Prejudice” is an enchanting love story, based upon the brilliant novel written by Jane Austen, and stars Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, and Donald Sutherland. Taking place in the early 1800s, this period film tells the story of a young woman named Elizabeth Bennet, who is bound by the necessity of marrying a wealthy man, as are her four sisters, to avoid destitution. Cursed with a foolish mother and three silly sisters, Elizabeth and her eldest sister, Jane, seem to have hopelessly slim chances of marrying substantial, worthwhile men of fortune. When Elizabeth comes across an eligible, haughty aristocrat, Mr. Darcy, she is disgusted by his arrogance and swears to “loathe him for all eternity.”

However, she is about to discover first impressions are not always correct. In the 1800s, where love and happily ever afters scarcely exist, young women are restricted by society, expectations, and the rules of propriety. Yet, Elizabeth Bennet will allow nothing to put out her fiery, independent spirit; she uniquely refuses to marry unless for love, rather than settling for mere establishment and protection. Words flow into a flowery, archaic dialect whose cadences of propriety and sense often reveal humor, wit, and sarcasm in the many verbal spars Darcy and Elizabeth engage in. Ironically, her strong will and intelligence attract the attention of the one man she is determined to avoid.

Overall, “Pride & Prejudice” won itself a place in my top five favorite films; the actors were dedicated, dialogue was unforgettably sharp, and the ending was irresistible. I am certain others will enjoy a story of friendship, wit, and true love.

***

Thanks, Kayla. I admit I loved this movie and the chance to watch two headstrong people fight against the idea that they might be right for one another.

Here is a trailer for this excellent film.