Pride & Prejudice Parent Guide
A light, bright and sparkling adaptation of the well loved novel.
Parent Movie Review
Adapting one of the best loved novels of all time takes a certain amount of courage. And when that novel is Pride & Prejudice, with its legions of obsessive fans, a director needs to make sure he gets every element right. With this adaptation, Joe Wright comes very close.
The movie opens with Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley), second of five daughters born to a nervous mother and bookish father. Mr. Bennet (Donald Sutherland), being a landed gentleman, has no need for employment so he secludes himself in his study while his estate slowly decays. Shrill, shrieking Mrs. Bennet (Brenda Blethyn) is obsessed with the fact that her husband’s estate is entailed on a male relative, meaning that she and her daughters will be homeless and impoverished upon his death. It is therefore imperative that at least one of her daughters marry very, very well.
It appears that Mrs. Bennet’s prayers have been answered when the very eligible Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods) moves into the neighborhood. She ensures that her daughters are at the next ball, where eldest (and most beautiful) daughter, Jane (Rosamund Pike), can be introduced to him. Attending the ball with Mr. Bingley is the even more eligible Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen), who is handsome, fabulously wealthy, and very dour. In a moment of frustration, he insults Elizabeth, thus starting their relationship off on the decidedly wrong foot.
In true Austen fashion, the tale is replete with biting dialogue, witty rejoinders, gossip, misunderstandings, and brilliant irony. Add in a weaselly clergyman, a smooth-tongued scoundrel, a scandalous elopement, an insulting proposal, and a meltingly romantic finale and you have 129 minutes of highly entertaining period drama.
While Austen fans might quibble over details in the film adaptation, other viewers will find little to complain about. In fact, audiences will likely enjoy watching as Elizabeth and Darcy learn to look beyond their initial pride and prejudice and discover that love can be found in the most unexpected places.
Directed by Joe Wright. Starring Keira Knightley, Matthew MacFadyen. Running time: 129 minutes. Theatrical release November 10, 2005. Updated March 24, 2022Watch the trailer for Pride & Prejudice
Pride & Prejudice
Rating & Content Info
Why is Pride & Prejudice rated PG? Pride & Prejudice is rated PG by the MPAA for mild thematic elements.
Violence: None noted
Sexual Content: A clergyman accidentally uses a term that connotes sexual activity, to his embarrassment.
Profanity: None noted.
Alcohol / Drug Use: A secondary character has too much to drink at a ball. She is hung over the next day. There is wine served at meals which is drunk by most of the characters.
Page last updated March 24, 2022
Pride & Prejudice Parents' Guide
Elizabeth and Darcy both have negative first impressions of each other. Why? How do we develop first impressions? Why is it so difficult to change them?
Loved this movie? Try these books…
The best place to start is with Jane Austen’s classic novel, Pride and Prejudice. Fans can also go on to read Emma, Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion, and Mansfield Park.
Ever wonder about Darcy’s perspective? Pamela Aidan has written An Assembly Such as This, first novel in her trilogy, which tells the story from Darcy’s point of view.
What if Elizabeth had accepted Darcy’s first proposal? Lara S Ormiston has published an enchanting story of their growing relationship in Unequal Affections.
Celebrated mystery author P.D. James crafted a 19th century whodunit in Death Comes to Pemberley. When a man is killed on his estate, Darcy must determine the identity of the killer to save the family from scandal.
Stephanie Barron has written a series of murder mysteries featuring Jane Austen as the detective. First in the series is Jane and Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor.
Author Seth Grahame-Smith has taken the Pride and Prejudice story and put it in a comic horror setting in his novel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Home Video
The most recent home video release of Pride & Prejudice movie is February 27, 2006. Here are some details…
DVD Release Date: Feb 28, 2006
Connoisseurs of drawing dramas are sure to appreciate the delicious 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice. Available in either wide or full screen presentations, the DVD release is served up with a commentary by director Joe Wright. There are also a host of featurettes to feast upon, including: A Bennet Family Portrait (an intimate look at each of the five vibrant Bennet sisters and their parents), Jane Austen, Ahead of Her Time (the history of a revolutionary storyteller and a very private woman), Behind the Scenes at the Ball (a behind-the-scenes look at this lavishly stunning new version of the classic romance) and HBO First Look: Pride & Prejudice, A Classic in the Making (complete with talent and filmmaker interviews). Audio tracks are provided in English, French and Spanish (all in Dolby Digital 5.1), with subtitles in English, Spanish and French.
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Indian moviemakers and actors from Bollywood did their own music-filled version of Jane Austen’s novel in the colorful, cultural film Bride & Prejudice. Emma Thompson does double duty as screenwriter and actress in another Austen tale of impoverished women in Sense and Sensibility.
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