(I always find it amusing when that's quoted in English)
So we hit up Sonoma last night (I'm fascinated with their tap system) and stumbled across the most marvelous "round, long finísh, full body reds": from bin 42 TRUTH “lindsey’s cuvee” 05- cabernet sauvignon : syrah : petit verdot - california. Very tasty. The quintessential red, in my mind.
We also had a bit of the "hudson valley camembert, new york, creamy, soft, sweet, milky" which was suPERb. The waiter asked if we were into something "a bit funkier" and this was his recommendation; although, I've met funky cheese, and I didn't consider this one. Anyway, we will certainly be popping by Cowgirl Creamery to pick up something along these lines again.
Last week J brought home some Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss Bier, which I absolutely love. He also picked up their Sunset Wheat which neither of us had tasted before. It has a surprising amount of blueberry flavor, but not sweet or "fruity", and we both now love it. We will certainly be adding them to the "favorite brewer" list, and sampling all they have to offer. (I particularly appreciate the food pairings they suggest with each beer on their website; nice!)
Had the Bronte sisters written Pride and Prejudice, this is what it would have looked like. Kiera Knightly (Elizabeth Bennet) may have physically smiled more than her predecessors in that role, but the film itself had a grave undertone that is untrue to the spirit of Austin's original work.
The casting is a diverse and masterful collection of talents, and yet the acting leaves much to be desired. Bingley is dopey-ly-charming as ever, but full young, as are the Bennet girls, giving the over all impression that mariage is the result of a whimsical crush, rather than a balanced combination of reason and affection. The brevity of the film, and the necessity to cut much of the book, only substantiates this feeling. There is too little material to base an "ardent love" on, particularly between Darcy and Elizabeth. Knightly is not up to the task of playing Elizabeth Bennet's sharp wit derived from deep observation and balanced with affection; Darcy looks more like a lost puppy dog than a young but experienced gentleman. Mr and Mrs Bennett are adorable in their own ways, lessening the impact of their "position" on the entire plot. Bingley's sister is too snooty to feel pity for. Even the ever fabulous Dame Judy Dench is not enough to save this film.
As unexciting as the acting was, I believe the director is responsible for this flop. So unfaithful was he to the true tale, he makes his audience fall in love with a story that doesn't exist. I would go so far as to say that someone wholly unexposed to Austin would be disappointed with the book if they fixed their heart on this film. I hope it would be otherwise though.
For starters, the lines are horribly sliced up and re-distributed to different characters and at all the wrong times. But I'm sure the reason behind this alteration stems from the director's desire to cast them in different light than previously seen; too different, I'm afraid, to be faithful to Austin's clear depictions of them.
The most material loss is that you don't see our Elizabeth, or Darcy for that matter, learn any great lesson. She is simply a silly, uneducated girl who makes a simple and willful mistake in judging character; if even is a mistake, by this representation. There is no moral character for young viewers to strive for. No maturity gained through following in the footsteps of Elizabeth's experience. Indeed, she seems fully capable of making that mistake again, and again, and again.
In fact, I would go so far as to say, the director seems to have taken all "sin" out of the story. The mother is excused for her marriage-obsession and impropriety on the grounds that it is prudent underneath. Mary is actually a very sensitive girl, her father truly caring and in tune with his family, and above all, Lydia is just an imaginative little innocent with an addiction to "romance"; without indication of the deep social harm that arose from her sickeningly selfish "elopement", or behavior in general. In the end everything is represented as being harmless, but to my eyes it seems more than that. Or less I ought to say, for it seems like nothing has changed by the end of the film. Indeed, it is all so "watered down", there is little plot left besides guy-meets-girl; which is probably all the director think this story is anyway. Austin is much better than that.
So,
while Austin enthusiasts like myself will automatically embrace
anything with her name on it, this modern version has utterly failed to
capture the hearts of us all, and the famed 6-hour, A&E version
still reigns supreme as undoubtedly the best Pride and Prejudice thus
far produced.
