Pride & Prejudice exceeded all expectations. They have actually made their own movie. I couldn't even compare it with the Colin Firth adaptation--not because it was better or worse, but because each movie approaches the material in different, equally successful ways.

One thing that particularly struck me about this movie was the emphasis on community, on family. The drama of courtship is carried out, for the main part, in the community, not in private (though there are private scenes, one feels that they are still a part of the community-at-large). Single men and women flirt at the ball while their older counterparts look on and encourage it. The family eavesdrops at the door when Mr. Bingley proposes. Elizabeth and Darcy verbally spar in the presence of their friends and family. What I mean by mentioning all this is that I was reminded of Pastor Pete's exhortation at my wedding on the importance of community upon a marriage, of the charge he laid upon my friends and family to uphold our marriage and do everything in their power to help us on our way. I was thinking of this as I watched the blooming of love between Elizabeth and Darcy because it seemed that the fact that their courtship (if one can call it that) took place in the middle of community made their relationship all the more powerful.