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I like my Jane Austen the same way my rich aunt liked her Martinis: very, very dry, straight-up with a twist. Of course, I like the twists to come from Jane Austen herself, but when it comes to film adaptations, there's a certain amount of "based on the novel" you have to deal with. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Pride and Prejudice, which is arguably Jane Austen's brightest work. A rabid fan of this book, such as myself, casts a critical eye on every adaptation because nothing can equal the subtle wit of Jane Austen's pen.

Take, for instance, the recent film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. As a movie, I thought it was pleasing to look at, the main characters were very attractive and it basically got the story right, though not as accurately as the 1995 BBC miniseries. You can't really hold that against this version, since it's a feature length movie and not a five hour long TV extravaganza. There's bound to be compression and rearrangement of details. I don't have a problem with that. What I do mind is when the movie changes the characters' motives, feelings and personalities to a degree that you don't recognize them. Such was the case with the 1999 adaptation of Mansfield Park. Fanny Price, that timid milquetoast, was transformed into a sort of mini version of Jane Austen herself. The resulting film is highly entertaining, and it's one of my favorites, but it has nothing really to do with the book. This Pride & Prejudice does a better job getting it right.

Pride & Prejudice is the story of the Bennets, a family of comfortable means, but whose five daughters will be destitute when their father dies. In particular, it's the story of Elizabeth Bennet, whose wit, playfulness and love of the absurd makes her her father's favorite, as well as my own.

Back in those days, property was handed down through the male line. If there was no son, everything went to the nearest male relative. In this case, the lucky man was the superlatively stupid Mr. Collins, a distant cousin and pompously self-deprecating clergyman. Basically, the girls are screwed. Their only hope is to make an advantageous marriage. This is plainly Mrs. Bennet's plan. She's constantly on the lookout for eligible bachelors, when who should come to town but Mr. Bingley (he has five thousand pounds a year!) , his snooty sisters (only one sister in this movie version) and the handsome and imposing (but very, very rich) Mr. Darcy. Mrs Bennet has her heart set on Mr. Bingley's marrying her eldest daughter, the beautiful, yet modest, Jane. Things seem to be working to her advantage at the ball where they meet for the first time--Her mother is practically picking out Jane's wedding dress while she and Mr. Bingley dance. Mrs. Bennet is ready for Mr. Darcy to take any of her other girls (ten thousand a year!), until his snobbish snubs and conceited manner turns her (and everyone else in town) against him.

This is the first instance the movie gets wrong. In the book, there is no love-at-first-sight, Darcy truly thinks nothing of Elizabeth at the ball and he feels free to say so. Elizabeth overhears his infamous remark ("She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me."), but she laughs it off. This is the crux of the novel--this is where the title comes from. Darcy shows a disgusting amount of pride, his pride prejudices Elizabeth against him. My other complaint is that they make it seem like Lizzy was infatuated with Darcy right off the bat--she wasn't. That's what makes Darcy so interesting. When he finally falls for her, he loves her so completely, even while she insults him right and left, even after she flatly refuses his offer of marriage in anger and under false reasoning. But for these slight derivations, I would absolutely love this movie.

I have to admit, they did a really good job explaining how incredibly important it is for the girls to marry well. It's especially heartbreaking when Lizzy's best friend, Charlotte Lucas, announces her engagement to the ridiculous Mr. Collins. Charlotte is usually portrayed mercenary, but here she's a real woman with no other way out than to accept whoever offers.

I really enjoyed Simon Woods as Bingley. Here he's a little more stupid than in the book, but it's a charming sort of stupidity that I find appealing. The scene where he practices his proposal with Darcy is perhaps too cute to be in a Jane Austen movie, but there it is. Keira Knightly is lovely and lively as Elizabeth, but she really does have a strange smile. I also can't stand they way they did her hair, it just hangs in her face, the droopiest bangs ever. I wanted to reach out and push them aside while I was watching the movie, I found it that distracting. I love Matthew Macfadyen as Darcy. There is something sad and soulful about his eyes. Perhaps that makes him not such a good Darcy, because he doesn't look quite as stuck-up as he should, but he's magnificently moving during the proposal scene.

Oh, the proposal scene! This is my other big complaint with the movie. In the book, the proposal happens indoors, safe and dry within the parsonage sitting room. The movie takes it to the great outdoors, during a thundering rainstorm, no less. Way to Bronte-fy Jane Austen! This isn't Heathcliff and Cathy we're dealing with, guys. Pride and Prejudice doesn't end with Mr. Darcy making sure the grave digger will mix his remains together with his beloved Lizzy. Please keep your authors straight.

Pride & Prejudice is a very entertaining movie, even for a nitpicking Janeite like me. The costumes are superb, the settings are spot-on, the cinematography and music are beautiful. It's a worthy addition to anyone's DVD collection, especially if one likes witty humor, empire dresses, and happy endings.

Buy it!