A Diet of Pig Brains Keeps One Civilized: PRIDE & PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES

 Tinsel & Tine’s Glimpse into

PRIDE and PREJUDICE and ZOMBIES

By Editor Le Anne Lindsay


I used to stay up all night playing ‘Resident Evil 2,’ and it wouldn’t stop until the sun came up. Then I’d walk outside at dawn’s first light, looking at the empty streets of London, and it was like life imitating art. It felt like I’d stepped into an actual zombie apocalypse –Edgar Wright

The screenings for Hail, Caesar! and Pride+Prejudice+Zombies was on the same night.  I choose PPZ because I’m always fascinated by this ever present theme in our collective unconscious that one day we will no longer be worried about race, creed, politics or gender, instead the only separation will be Alive vs Undead! That, and I’m also a sucker for all the pomp, circumstance and genteel romance of a Jane Austen novel.

I understand that Natalie Portman started the ball rolling on bringing “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” to the big screen. That she loved Seth Grahame-Smith’s book of the same name which parodies the 1813 British novel “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen. I’m not a huge fan of Portman, except for her performance in Black Swan, but still I think this would have been a good vehicle for her. Although, newcomer, Lily James (Cinderella) made a perfect Zombie Slaying Elizabeth Bennet.

T&T agrees: The film keeps momentum, little scares, and crazy visuals running right along, and most appealingly, all the characters intertwine with a sort of school yard gossip regalia, and Austen’s soap opera theatrics have managed to stay alive in this odd form. Miss Bennet has always been iconic, and curiously enough this iteration makes for a hellish heroine rather than a prime one. It’s a testament to Lily James’ commitment to the character and leadership throughout the film that she guides through bloody waters and acts as someone the viewer comes to trust and admire. READ MORE Blake Gobal COS.net

There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened
at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to
intimidate me. ― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

“We have all of the Pride and Prejudice beats in this movie, it’s just set in this alternate world where the zombie apocalypse is
taking place, as opposed to the Napoleonic Wars. The themes of wealth and marriage translate well, and the zombies were a good
replacement for the lower class”… – Cross Creek Pictures producer, Brian Oliver

“You have this fiercely independent heroine, you have this dashing heroic gentleman, you have a militia camped out for seemingly no reason whatsoever nearby, and people are always walking here and there taking carriage rides here and there. It was just ripe for gore and senseless violence. From my perspective anyway.” – Author Seth Grahame-Smith reasoning’s for mashing up Pride & Prejudice with zombies. – Production Notes

T&T disagrees: What differentiates “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” from its literary source material is its big action sequences, but they’re staged, lit, shot and edited in such muddled fashion, it’s often difficult to tell what’s going on. There’s no visual context to the assaults and no way to determine their source or size, which depletes these scenes of their tension, making it impossible to become engaged. Christie Lemire Roger Ebert.com 

I had no problem with the lighting and was quite impressed with the choreography of every zombie battle scene.

Bottom Line: Is Pride & Prejudice & Zombies a Masterpiece? No. But director Burr Steers who also adapted the screenplay, does a fine job retaining the feel of “Pride & Prejudice” while keeping us off guard as to the next zombie attack.   The sound effects are fantastic, I jumped and winced at every kill, not because the slayings were too graphic, but because boots smashing zombie skulls emits a horrid sound!   It took me a while to feel Sam Riley as Mr. Darcy, I guess because Colin Firth is so firmly planted in my mind; However, by the end, I felt he adequately portrayed all the stiff pride the character is known for, while having a single minded determination to rid England of zombie scourge.  Matt Smith as Parson Collins, a suitor and cousin to the Bennet sisters, is quite good at comic relief!   The idea that most women of this time are allowed and encouraged to study martial arts and weaponry, rather than piano and sewing is amusing.  Supposedly, women of the most Aristocratic families study in Japan, and those of less noble birth, study in China. The Bennet sisters – Elizabeth (Lily James), Jane (Bella Heathcote), Kitty (Suki Waterhouse), Lydia (Ellie Bamber), and Mary (Millie Brady) – seem like delicate English country roses in empire waist gowns, until it’s time to clear away zombies, strapping on knives and swords under their garters and firing pistols with precision, each sister’s skill nearly equaling the next.

T &T’s LAMB Score: 3 outta 5

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