in love with Mr. Darcy

Jane Austen sure knows how to write a man that women love. Wow. I don't know what it is about Mr. Darcy or why he's so attractive to me. I mean, he does spend half the book being annoying to some extent, and if you've only watched the movies you may not completely understand the appeal, but there's just something about him. And Colin Firth. And Matthew MacFayden.

If you've only watched the Keira Knightley version then you've seen a great movie, with great music and wonderful touches and scenery, but you've seen the story on fast forward. Don't get me wrong, if I don't have a lot of time, then that's what I watch. The scenery is gorgeous and the music is beautiful and the scene where he walks through the field to find her in the morning is one that takes my breath away. But they leave so much out.

The A&E version is the definitive version, I think. Colin Firth makes a great Darcy and Jennifer Ehle is a great Elizabeth. Now granted, the lighting isn't as wonderful and the music isn't quite as grand (although they do use the same piece of music during the Netherfield ball dance scene) but the inclusion of much more of the story is what makes it so much better. They really build up the tension between Elizabeth and Darcy, while showing you that he does like her in some manner, and what the relationships around them are really like.

They are both great movies. Any Jane Austen movie is usually pretty good, but P&P is my favorite. I love the Gwyneth Paltrow version of Emma, too. The Anne Hathaway version of Becoming Jane is such an interesting look at Jane Austen as well. One day I Netflixed all the Jane Austen movies I could find and spent a weekend watching them. Fun, right?

Well, right now, Elizabeth is telling Jane how Darcy proposed to her and she turned him down, so I must get back to the movie, and its happy ending.