Pride and Prejudice and Zombies |
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 • USA / UK • 2016 • 108m •   • Directed by: Burr Steers. • Starring: Lily James, Sam Riley, Bella Heathcote, Ellie Bamber, Millie Brady, Suki Waterhouse, Douglas Booth, Sally Phillips, Charles Dance, Jack Huston, Lena Headey, Matt Smith, Emma Greenwell. • Music by: Fernando Velázquez.      Jane Austen's classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England is faced with a new challenge -- an army of undead zombies.
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Anyone expecting the serious undertones of Ms. Austen's1813 novel will be disappointed but the title should have provided a pretty solid hint. While her characters and general story line act as a structure here, it's really based on Seth Grahame-Smith's YA hit novel delivering zombie battles and often zany humor. Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down) directs his own adapted screenplay and seems to really be having a great time – right along with his talented cast. The sets, costumes, dialogue and fight scenes work together to create an unusual movie experience that will generate plenty of laughs while not dwelling on the zombies or violence (it is PG-13). Expect most critics to destroy this one because it's made simply for fun, not for art.
Of course, any Pride and Prejudice spin-off (even one with zombies) must pay particular attention to Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. It turns out that Elizabeth and her four sisters are highly trained warriors raised to survive against the undead. It's even clearer for Mr. Darcy as he is billed as a zombie hunter and protector of Mr. Bingley, the rich bachelor hooked on Jane Bennett. Things get muddled by the devious Mr. Wickham, a focused Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and especially the flamboyant fop Parson Collins. The interactions between these characters bounce between loyalty, romantic attraction, emotional turmoil and hand-to-hand combat with enough comedic elements that most viewers will find plenty of opportunities to laugh.
The talented cast is all in. They play it mostly straight (with one major exception) to achieve the balance between somber and silly. Lily James ("Downton Abbey") and Sam Riley (On the Road, 2012) are both fun to watch as Elizabeth and Darcy. They are the film's best fighters both with swords and words. Bella Heathcoate (Dark Shadows, 2012) is "the pretty one" Jane, who is wooed by Douglas Booth (Noah, 2014) as Mr. Bingley. Lena Headey ("Game of Thrones") makes an impression in her limited screen time as an eye-patched Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and Jack Huston ("Boardwalk Empire") is well cast as Wickham. Screen veterans Charles Dance and Sally Phillips take on the role of parents to the five Bennett daughters, but it's Matt Smith ("Dr Who"), who turns the film on its ear with his unconventional twist on the oddball Parson Collins, who pretty much steals each of his scenes. He had those in the theatre laughing out loud more than a few times.
Pity is the word that comes to mind for any young man who takes these Bennett girls to the prom or more likely to one of the societal balls. The weapons hidden under their formal gowns offer fair warning to zombies and handsy suitors alike. It's this element of strong women (physically and emotionally) that might even allow Ms. Austen to appreciate what's happened to her characters were she alive to see it.
Even though the film offers plenty of fun with laughs and action and romance, let's hope it doesn't kick off a new zombie-adaptation trend. Here are a few titles that we hope never see the big screen: Sense and Sensibilities and Zombies, War and Peace and Zombies, Crime and Punishment and Zombies, The Old Zombie and the Sea, Wuthering Zombies, Romeo and Juliet and Zombies, and Alice's Adventure in Zombieland.
Review by David Ferguson from the Internet Movie Database.
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