Movie: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
My Rating: 3 stars
I’m not a Jane Austen fangirl. I know girls who spent much of their adolescence pouring over her books over and over again. They’d pine for whatever wealthy lord happened to be tramping through that particular volume in his expensive riding boots. But, that was never me. I’ve read a few of Jane Austen’s novels along with all the other poor souls in 9th Grade World Literature class. So, I’m familiar enough with the plots of her stories. They always seem to involve a resourceful, intelligent girl who wins the heart of a snobbish, wealthy man. Snore city. So, I wasn’t initially inclined to sit down and watch this movie. But then, as usually happens, my curiosity got the better or me. I thought that maybe I just might enjoy watching ladies in pretty dresses cleaving the heads of the newly undead—especially when those undead are wearing charming bonnets. And, I did end up liking that element well enough.
I do enjoy a good retelling of a classic story. I suppose this isn’t exactly a retelling in the traditional sense. It isn’t an old story set in modern times or anything like that. It’s simply a case of an old text falling into the public domain, and a self-satisfied author deciding to be cute by adding a small dose of the zombie apocalypse. Accordingly, our capable Bennet sisters are trained in kung-fu, and are helping to rid the English countryside of roaming hoards. Oh, and they find love along the way. It’s predictable enough. But, the filmmakers did appear to be working with a big enough budget to make the movie look great. The costumes, sets, and cinematography are all very beautiful. And, the acting is tolerable. Although, I suppose that Jane Austen’s stories are supposed to be performed in a terribly overwrought style. So if that’s what they were going for, the actors performed expertly.
You’ll pretty much getting exactly what you’d expect from this movie. No surprises here. The concept may be a silly one, but I think the filmmakers actually did a pretty good job of executing it. Take a peek at this movie if you’re looking for a fresh (or putrid) new way for Lizzy and Darcy to fall in love. Or, if you’d like to see zombies in fancy dresses and riding breeches. That could be fun. The movie is good for both of those things. But, it’s not really a must-see. Perhaps you should watch this movie on an airplane. It’s just light and diverting enough to keep one distracted on a cross country flight.