Directed by: Burr Steers
Written by: Burr Steers, Jane Austen (Quirk Books novel) & Seth Grahame-Smith
Starring: Lily James, Sam Riley, & Jack Huston
Have you ever read Pride and Prejudice? The original, not the one with zombies. No? Yes?
Well I haven't. Despite being an English major, I actually Sparknoted it and watched the films when it was assigned to me in college. I was never really a huge Jane Austen fan nor Shakespeare for that matter. Anyway, due to that fact, I wasn't thrilled to see this film...especially since I don't like zombies.
During the 19th century in England, zombies are taking over the world. In England there is really only one safe haven left that has no zombies, or so they thought. Unfortunately for the Bennet sisters, they have to find husbands while battling daily for their lives. Elizabeth Bennet, the second eldest of the sisters, has the unfortunate meeting with Mr. Darcy, who's best friend is interested in Liz's older sister Jane. After various encounters with Mr. Darcy and no romantic luck that is evident to her, she ends up interested in George Wickham, an old friend of Mr. Darcy. Despite Wickham's charm and good looks, he is hiding something up his sleeve and Liz may need Mr. Darcy's help to figure it out.
Okay so that was a horrible summary, but I tried. Just think of the original, but with zombies. Bam, that's it.
The plot of the film was well done. I didn't think it would be so easy to incorporate zombies into this Jane Austen novel, but apparently it is. I appreciated the modern spin on the tale, with making the Bennet sisters somewhat more independent. They knew how to fight and did not need to be a damsel in distress thanks to their father.
The actors did a pretty great job, but of course they had to just copy the previous Pride and Prejudice films, such as the one with Keira Knightly (2005) and the other one with Colin Firth (1995). (These are the most famous.) The characters are pretty much the same besides the addition of fighting skills.
I appreciated the experimental camera shots, such as at the beginning where the camera was the zombie. It worked, but I wished it was done at least one other time. All the other technical aspects were good too. There were a few spots where I wish they had added more lighting, but maybe the zombies weren't dead enough in those particular scenes.
Speaking of zombies, the makeup was great. I never really like zombies and seeing them in this film made my stomach turn, especially the mother and baby zombie. Ugh, still gives me the creeps.
Anyway, this film was great and all, but I don't think it is deserving of 4 popcorns. More like 3 1/2, so instead I'll just give it 3. It was entertaining, but there was something missing.
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