Dir. Joe Wright
Pride and Prejudice, as a story, is about women in a particular time and place. One woman in particular, Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley). Better men and women than I have analysed Jane Austen's original text, and better film critics have done the same to the myriad of adaptions that have taken place down the years. Probably the most highly acclaimed is the BBC's 1995 adaption starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, which is fantastic, but unfortunately overshadows this oft-forgotten classic.
Like any classic, nearly every scene strikes you with a feeling of 'This is just fantastic!', and again, like most classics, this happens due to many factors coalescing into a truly satisfying whole. The scene which struck me the most, and is a great example of the particular merits of this film, comes approximately half-way through the film, where Elizabeth visits Darcy's (Matthew Macfadyen) estate. Despite their strong attraction to each other, Elizabeth rejected Darcy's earlier proposal to marry, finding him arrogant and presumptuous. It's strong stuff, as most women in this time would kill for the chance to be married to this upper-class, rich, attractive man (Side-note: The recent BBC War & Peace adaption similarly goes into this territory, and is well worth a watch). Elizabeth then, has a strong conviction to marrying on her terms, and is opposed to being treated as a piece of property, or marrying someone who she does not wholly love, as displayed earlier with Mr. Collins (Tom Hollander).
In Darcy's estate, she finds a gallery of marble statues. It is here that she is wooed by Darcy, and he isn't even present. Gentle piano music accompanies the scene as Elizabeth appreciates the artistry of not only the building itself, but the beautifully-sculpted marble statues. This is a collection assembled by Darcy, and so by appreciating his tastes, she can appreciate him, and she does appreciate his choices. As she looks at these statues, we wonder if she shares the same thoughts as Darcy, and of course this is true, as she is clearly re-apprising Darcy, as how could a man so arrogant , find this art as beautiful as she does?
It goes beyond this however, as one statue in particular catches her attention, Monti's Veiled Vestal Virgin. The Vestal Virgins were sacred women who guarded and kept burning the sacred flames of Rome, dedicating their lives and womanhood to this task, forsaking any relationships. A man such as Darcy, who can appreciate the subtext of this statue, as well as its aesthetic beauty, is clearly a man who understands the plight of women, their role in relation to men, and more than anything, their beauty beyond their sexual nature. They are therefore, not objects, not something 'to-be-married', but people in their own right. These are issues that Elizabeth has rebelled against and is clearly conflicted over - will she be a virgin all her life by passing over these men who wish to be her husband? Is her reasoning for doing this strong enough?
Yet here is a man who understands this, wants to marry her, and, as she muses over a bust of Darcy himself, is attractive. She responds to the housekeepers questions: Knowing him "only a little", and stating that yes, he is "handsome". But he is attractive not only in physical beauty, but in soul, and her knowing him a little, is clearly something she now wishes to remedy. She has fallen in love with him, and we know this only be her appreciation of these statues, and her short answers to the housekeepers' questions. Knightley deserves all the plaudits she gets for this scene alone, as it is all her, with some help from a little music, minimal dialogue, and of course, some beautifully sculpted statues.
