Those ardent, long gazes...

I recently borrowed my sister-in-law's DVD box of the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and yesterday got to watching it - the first time since the series was first broadcast in the 90s. Generally speaking I'm not really into romantic films and tv shows, because when the only subject matter is the romance, there needs to be real chemistry between the leading actors. That rarely happens, I find. But I make an exception on this version of Pride and Prejudice - as well as another Jane Austen adaptation, Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility. Jane Austen's novels are not just about romance and girls' (and their mothers') marriage aims. They are also wonderful in their gentle humour on the manners and mannerisms of Austen's own time and in their depiction of women's lot in an era, where the only way for a woman to survive was to find a financially secure man to marry. The tv and film adaptations I mentioned capture all this perfectly. As for the romance, the chemistry is definitely there. Me, I'm a sucker for those ardent, long looks and great passions relayed in subtle and outwardly restrained gestures and expressions. And oh yes, Mr. Darcy is indeed most agreeable.