Like most adaptations of Jane Austen’s beloved novel, this lives or dies according to Mr. Darcy, the sourpuss romantic foil to headstrong heroine Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley, showing her usual spunk). The best Darcys are preternaturally gloomy and reserved, and indeed Matthew Macfadyen appears to have stepped right out of Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride here. As Darcy and Elizabeth slowly lower their respective guards, director Joe Wright never allows stuffiness to set in, instead weaving his camera in and out of the chatty action.
