Time well spent

Six hours of sheer waste of time, I am sure everybody would say as hubby dear kept reminding me every now and then. Honestly, I have never done something like this - watched a movie/mini series continuously for six long hours. But that is what I did this Saturday, and to me it was time well-spent. I watched the BBC mini series of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle in the lead roles the whole of Saturday. Jane Austen's book has remained one of my favourites ever since I read it the first time almost 20 years ago. There are so many layers of the Victorian society concealed within the many pages of the book, that it is a new discovery everytime I read it. And it is enjoyable in every sense of the word. I have watched the movie version of the book - the Lawrence Olivier version (1940), which was in fact a travesty and not quite so authentic. But this adaptation of the all-time favourite novel is incredible. What makes this series so very believable is the near-perfect portrayl of the characters by all the actors, especially Colin Firth. Darcy I believe is not a easy character to play, especially when you have to make the transformation from being extremely disagreeable to sympathetic. I think Darcy is a character steeped in many layers, and in order to understand him one had to peel each of those layers one after another. That is not really easy to do when the layers seemed to be glued from within. This complexity has been amazingly captured by Colin Firth especially in his restrained portrayal of the character. Jennifer Ehle also is amazingly believable in her portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet. And not enough can really be said about the costumes and locations used in the movie. I know I can't recommend this mini series enough; it is an astonishingly well-done delineation of the individual and society. Watch it, and watch it at one go and you will enjoy the experience.