crosspost: on the 1980 P&P

[anghraine]

lexiconallie at Tumblr asked:

What do you think of the 1980 miniseries of Pride and Prejudice? It's on hulu if you haven't seen it and you're interested (add watch/550364 after hulu's url) It seems very accurate to the book and it's my personal favorite adaptation.

I own it on DVD :)

As far as accuracy goes, it’s an odd sort of one. In general there’s a mix of slavish imitation + a ton of discreet creative license, which usually is my least favourite approach. And cinematically it’s… uh. But it shines so much with character: the acting, casting, the very specific sense of the character, they’re all great. It’s the opposite of the others in that respect (and many others :P).

It doesn’t emphasize the ways the characters are familiar in life or in genre, or even through the influence of P&P specifically. It’s a stark contrast to, say, the 2005 Elizabeth or 1995 Darcy, which certainly draw from the book, but focus on the aspects most coherent with their genre types and amplify those to the loss of much else. Really, most characters from those adaptations could be comfortably imported into completely different stories. But the 1980 goes narrower instead of broader, turns each character into a very, very focused interpretation of that character. Almost all of them feel less like common ideas of the characters and more like specific people–an emphasis more on the little foibles and features that make them unique than on the ones that make them recognizable.

So there’s Lady Catherine the stylish, middle-aged snob–obnoxious, but not absurd. She has a gravitas, and you can see why people take her seriously, even though lol it’s all bullshit. There’s a whining, petty Mrs Bennet who is neither a laughingstock nor particularly sympathetic. We get less of Elizabeth as Feisty Heroine™ and more of her amusement, vanity, and self-command.

And predictably, what I find most interesting is how it handles the Darcy siblings. It really doesn’t take pains to make them particularly lovable (any more than it takes pains to make Lady Catherine ridiculous or Mrs Bennet trivial). Darcy’s memorable qualities are certainly present, but overwhelmingly dominated by a stiff, inexpressive discomfort that bleeds through virtually every moment he’s onscreen, to the point that it’s difficult to notice anything else.

Georgiana’s resemblance to him is much more pronounced than usual; though mild, shy, and much more approachable than him (per the book), it doesn’t make her adorable. She’s not effusive, not charmingly shy, but intense, withdrawn, and undemonstrative with nearly palpable awkwardness.



In most adaptations, Darcy and Georgiana benefit, in a meta sense, from sharing the screen. Apart from the sympathy garnered from their very good relationship in itself, they come off as more “normal” by immediate contrast to each other. Darcy seems less withdrawn and awkward (or, in the 2005, less overpoweringly and unapproachably so) by comparison to Georgiana. Georgiana comes off as sweet and cute by comparison to severe, confident Darcy. But in this one, Georgiana mirrors Darcy all the more closely when they share the screen. Their discomfort around people, their physical stiffness/detachment, their oddness is only emphasized by appearing together.

We end up impressed less by how much they like Elizabeth, though that’s there, than by how much they don’t want to be having a conversation about it.

And it’s–they’re nice people! They’re shown to be nice people. But the adaptation focuses a lot more on this side of them that’s silent and uncomfortable and alienating; it lets them be alienating, especially Darcy. Most Austen fans find David Rintoul’s Darcy outright uncanny. Yet this is a character who explicitly says that he can’t catch tone and show expression like other people. He’s a character whose demeanour annoys and intimidates the people around him. A Darcy who is so intensely uncomfortable that he makes everyone else uncomfortable too, including the audience, is … a perfectly legitimate take on him. But most of all, it’s a very specific take on him. He isn’t pop culture Darcy or romance archetype Darcy or angst muffin Darcy. People go, oh that one, weirdo robotic Darcy.

And even if he isn’t my Darcy, I admire the production for letting him be this peculiar unmistakable figure. I enjoy watching a P&P that’s less archetypes of everything and more very unique people that might not be as funny or romantic, but who I’m never going to confuse with anyone else. It doesn’t always work (e.g., Mr Bennet really doesn’t, at all) but I respect the hell out of it.