As the title suggests, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a mix of classic literature and zombies. The movie is based off of the book with the same name written by Seth Grahame-Smith in 2009 which is a modern adaptation of the literature classic Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Both stories follow the story of the Bennet family where Mrs. Bennet (Sally Phillips) is obsessed with marrying her five daughters to wealthy young men. The main love story follows the second oldest daughter Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy (Sam Riley), but with not only social class in the way but a zombie plague as well.
Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books, so when I heard about this movie I couldn’t wait for its release on February 5. I was not disappointed. It had the perfect mixture of jump scares, gore, fight scenes and romance. Rated PG-13, it is a movie that a family can go and enjoy together. In the book adaptation, England has been plagued with a zombie outbreak. The five Bennet sisters are young women who are skilled piano players and ballroom dancers but also include martial arts, swords play and hand to hand combat. The first of many fight scenes happens in the middle of a town ball. The Bennet sisters circle back to back with weapons at the ready taking on hundreds of zombies.
The actors in this movie are very well cast and suit each role they are given. Lily James plays an intriguing Elizabeth Bennet and is perfectly matched to Sam Riley who plays Mr. Darcy. Riley’s voice however, has been under much criticism as his voice is much higher and raspier than other actors who have played Darcy in the past. Each actor had the added job of becoming believable fighters in the Chinese martial arts. They went through intense training for the film, and it paid off since
Even though the fighting and zombies are the main focus of the movie, many believe that Matt Smith stole the show with his performance as the Bennet’s cousin Parson Collins. In the original book Collins is a dry character who is obsessed with his wealthy next door neighbor, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Smith lightens the mood in this movie as he portrays Collins as a dorky and clumsy man bringing the theater into a chorus of laughter.
Many book to movie adaptations have failed for not staying true to the book. Steven’s had the hard job keeping the popular storyline, adding zombies and taking out the right parts to still have movie make sense and be easy to follow for first time viewers. I have read the Jane Austen novel and the Seth Grahame-Smith novel and I can safely say that Stevens’s adaptation is successful. The first scene of the movie is an explanation of the plagues progression and slowly eases the viewer into 1800’s England. Though Steven took out many iconic moments from the original book, including Mr. Darcy’s lake scene and Elizabeth Bennet going the Darcy estate with her aunt and uncle, the movie was still makes sense.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was not necessarily a box office hit since it was overshadowed by much bigger movies coming out at the same time. But if you are looking for an action packed and slightly romantic zombie movie with twist of an ending, this is the movie to see.
Image Courtesy of film.thedigitalfix.com