Sony Pictures
Here are my disclaimers, before we begin. I have never read Pride and Prejudice, the classic 1813 novel of romance, character, and morality. Nor have I seen any of the eleven adaptations for television or film, except for Bride and Prejudice, the Bollywood version of the story set in modern times. I’m familiar enough with the general story, of course. I did read the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith which I found initially quite funny but decreasingly so as it went along. So there’s that.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is based on the bestselling novel based on the classic story, brought to life by director and writer Burr Steers. The movie has been in production since 2009 and has had more than a few issues along the way. Of particular note is that Natalie Portman initially was going to star as main protagonist Elizabeth Bennet but she left the project, and Jennifer Lawrence collaborator David O. Russell also was going to direct years ago. But that is, as the saying goes, old news.
In the movie, we tell a story in the middle of 19th century England, but with a twist: a mysterious plague has gripped the land and unleashed hordes of zombies. This is quickly explained with a quite clever opening sequence with period appropriate pop-up art and a dry narration, setting the stage for the film’s tone. Because much to my surprise and delight, the movie plays it almost entirely straight, which has always been my preference for movie parodies. We are introduced to the Bennet family, led by patriarch Mr. Bennet (a perfectly cast Charles Dance) who has taught his five daughters martial arts overseas in China (one of the sillier aspects of the novel).
Naturally their mother is more interested in finding brides for her girls, as some things haven’t changed even during a zombie apocalypse. The girls are invited to a local party thrown by new neighbor, the rich Mr. Bingley (Douglas Booth) with differing thoughts on the matter. Demure (but deadly) Jane (Bella Heathcote) is interested in finding a husband while Elizabeth (Lily James) finds the idea a bit silly. But while at the party, sparks fly between Jane and Mr. Bingley and tensions fly between Elizabeth and Mr. Bingley’s arrogant, mysterious friend Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley). Of course Mr. Darcy is exceedingly wealthy himself.
The movie uses the backbone of the original Pride and Prejudice novel with a few tweaks to the “Zombies” version to create a more cinematic and dynamic tale. Soon enough we are introduced to Mr. Wickham (Jack Huston), a rival for Elizabeth’s intentions and with a mysterious past of his own, including troubles with Mr. Darcy. Matt Smith shows up as the annoying cousin Pastor Collins, who wants to marry one of the Bennet girls.
So there’s a bit of romance, deception, drunkenness, and decapitation. Everything is exaggerated due to the zombie hordes, although the violence is odd — it’s a PG-13 movie, but it’s still pretty gruesome. I found the action to be pretty fun; the actors did a pretty good job training for the movie. The metaphors of the zombie fit neatly into the world of Pride and Prejudice, making the joke work better on the screen than on the page. Everyone acts like it’s a serious drama, which makes the little odd bits jump out.
It wasn’t uproariously funny, but it was quite enjoyable. Lily James is delightful here as Elizabeth, and I wager she’d do well in all manner of projects in the future. She and Sam Riley’s Mr. Darcy have that critical “love or hate” chemistry, and whether they’re fighting with words or swords, it works pretty well. Charles Dance isn’t in the movie enough, and neither is an even more perfectly cast Lena Headey as the Lady Catherine de Bourgh, finest zombie hunter in all of England. She is great in every little scene, but I would’ve liked to have seen more.
The romance itself isn’t particularly unique, but that’s the point. It becomes a standard sort of action romance in many respects, so the joke is the juxtaposition. I was surprised by how much emotion the actors put into scenes, even if I didn’t personally emotionally connect to them. For me the concept is just too silly for that. I think mainly my expectations were low enough that this movie, imperfect though it was, was paced so well and with such a classic Gothic style, that I just found myself overall impressed by the effort.
So despite all the trouble, the movie ends up being pretty good. I think fans of the book (“Zombies” version) will like this, but those unfamiliar or with faint hearts may find even the tame violence a bit much. Some of the specific little twists didn’t quite pay off, and some of the characters weren’t that interesting, but considering that the main two worked — I think that’s good enough.
Have you seen this movie? Tell us what you thought about it. We’d love to hear from you!
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