Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Pride and Prejudice (2005)
- Katy Landres
- 19 hours ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 35 minutes ago
“You bewitched me body and soul and I love. I love… I love you.”
Who doesn’t swoon over one of the most memorable lines from Austen’s novel and from this 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice? From the music to the immersive sets and costumes, I felt as if I had walked back in time to be a part of the Austen world. It’s hard to believe that this film is celebrating 20 years, and I feel that I have grown up alongside it.
This version is one of my adaptations of Austen’s iconic novel because of all the memories and times I have spent with it. From almost every Sunday afternoon spent rewatching with my mother to even studying film theory and adaptation in undergraduate school, I fell in love with Matthew MacFayden’s Mr. Darcy, Keira Knightley’s in-your-face Elizabeth, and the other colorful palette of characters. Shout out to the late Donald Southerland's deeply relatable Mr. Bennet and the meme-able Tom Hollander as Mr. Collins.
Though this real connection to the film started with my mother and her love for the romantics. When this adaptation came out, we had to go see it in theaters. Being only a middle-schooler, I had no idea what I was getting myself into as I had just found my love for the romantics through such works as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight, and Ellen Schreiber’s Vampire Kisses. But after watching this film not once, but three times in the theater, I knew I was in love. I kept begging my mother to take me back to the theaters to see it, and she didn’t mind because she wanted to swoon too as she watched the iconic hand-flexing of the nervous Mr. Darcy.
When the film started airing on TV for viewers, it was always on our living room TV, usually on a Sunday afternoon, which just made the day feel even brighter. This film spoke to me on so many levels: from the musical score that felt as if it was reflecting every movement of the scenery to the characters taking on their respective roles, I was transfixed. I love this film so much that when I started my minor in film studies and was told to pick a film that had been adapted from a literary work, 2005 Wright’s Pride and Prejudice was at the top of my list. Having to compare this version of the story to the BBC mini-series and even the 1940 film adaptation, I still felt my heart leap when I would turn on the TV or put on my worn-out DVD of the film. It felt like I was saying hello to a friend each time, and to this day, I still get emotional when I watch the rain scene where Elizabeth is confronted by Mr. Darcy confessing his love for her for the first time.
Though I will say, as a film adaptation guru, this isn’t the most ‘correct’ version of the story. There are many key scenes that are altered because of filmmaking, time, and, of course, the director. Certain characters like Lady Catherine (Dame Judi Dench), Charlotte (Claudie Blakley), and the Bennet sisters are missing as the focus is primarily on Lizzy and Darcy, as well as the landscape of the English countryside that surrounds them. And of course, we cannot forget Jane (Rosamund Pike) and Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods). Director Joe Wright focuses more on the English countryside with wide panning shots of the scenery as a parallel to the complicated emotions of our two primary love interests. Austen's novel ensures that all characters receive equal time within the story by including letters between the Bennet sisters, mostly between Jane and Lizzy, and crucial moments where there are shifts in dynamics, like Lizzy's first encounter with Lady Catherine while visiting Charlotte and Mr. Collins. However, Wright adapts some of these key Austen moments to maintain the plot's pacing. For example, the letters between all the sisters are lost, but we still get to hear about Lizzy's encounters with Charlotte and Jane; the encounter with Lady Catherine, really, both of them are still included in the film, but are condensed for screen time.
Even Darcy’s first love confession scene is romanticized more than it is in the book; however, I feel that this choice to have it outside in the rain versus in the parlor with Lizzy just says what we all felt when reading the book. Mr. Wickham (Rupert Friend), however, gets less screen time [thank God!] than he is mentioned in the book, which, for us, Janeites, I feel is a relief.
Now, as we celebrate the 20th anniversary, I have been crawling back into my notes about the film from my film theory classes and listening to anniversary interviews from the cast who still feel a connection to the film. My favorite interview so far has been Macfadyen, who, because of his role in Pride and Prejudice, has found other roles that were very different and some that have earned him wider recognition (anyone ever heard of HBO’s Succession?). He still to this day gets recognized as Mr. Darcy, and he says that he is so grateful for the experience, as it has allowed him to grow as an actor, as this was one of the hardest roles to take on, as he was being compared to Colin Firth’s BBC Mr. Darcy. Ironically, they both find the other Mr. Darcy their personal favorite. To me, this is my favorite Darcy as Macfayden shows the many layers of Darcy’s vulnerability and pride that manifest in the simplest of ways: from small hand-flexes that we have all fallen in love with to the depths of his soul in his eyes as he stares off or retains those lingering gazes at Elizabeth.
Now that I am on my own, I still find myself on certain Sunday afternoons turning on one of the many streaming services or grabbing my deluxe copy of P&P to watch. The warmth, the music, the memories, and the love that can be obtained keeps me coming back.
Happy 20th birthday, Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice! Thanks for always being the warmth I needed and still need. May you continue to bring that romantic feeling to others.
The focus novel for next year's symposium is Pride and Prejudice. JASP 2026 will mark an exciting new chapter as the fun moves to Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Next year's program, titled “Pride, Prejudice, and the Pursuit of Happiness” invites participants to consider Jane Austen’s novels within the wider historical, cultural, and intellectual currents of her age. By situating Austen in the contexts of the Enlightenment and the broader revolutionary era on both sides of the Atlantic, we will explore how her fiction resonates with questions of liberty, independence, and human flourishing.
The 2026 program will feature both new attractions and beloved JASP traditions. Attendees will visit Fort Ligonier, a significant site in eighteenth-century global conflict, with opportunities to tour its museum and art gallery. At Seton Hill itself, participants will gather in the historic Cecilian Hall and elegant parlors for the hallmarks of JASP: stimulating discussions, community learning, and our much-anticipated Regency Ball.
We are also thrilled to welcome Juliette Wells, Anne Fertig, Maria Frawley, and Michael Kramp as our 2026 plenary speakers, who will bring fresh insights into Austen’s works and their connections to the American Revolution, and the new republic to which it gave birth. With its new historic setting in western Pennsylvania and rich thematic focus, JASP 2026 promises to be a vibrant celebration of Austen’s world and its enduring resonance in our own.