Random thoughts on the newest (I think) Pride and Prejudice movie

With Kiera Knightley that is.. I confess the first time I started watching this, I never finished.. compared to the A&E version there was so much combined and cut out I turned it off. But I'm in an open-minded mood tonight and actually have the TV to myself so I decided to watch it on Oxygen. I missed the beginning but not much.. it's not as bad as I thought. Of course the acting is wonderful, except possibly for Matthew McFadyen, if that is the actor playing Mr. Darcy. I find him not near as good looking as Colin Firth and his portrayal rather blah. I like the actress playing Charlotte Lucas a bit better, she's not quite so serious all the time and I can picture her being Elizabeth's friend more than the actress who played her in the prior version. I was rather disappointed that the characters of Mr and Mrs Hurst - Bingley's married sister and her husband, were totally eliminated from the movie. Judi Dench is great as Lady Catherine, although I like the "other one" also. You rarely see Wickham in this one either, at least so far. I still have a bit of the movie to go..The actor playing Wickham is much better looking in this one, he reminds me a little of Orlando Bloom. I was surprised at how poor the Bennetts house looks and how grand Netherfield looks.. although I can picture Bingley living in such a home I thought the Bennetts, while not having near as much money were not so near the poverty level.. their home looks like it is not well kept and rather dirty in places. I also thought it kind of curious, that at the ball where Mr Darcy first asks Elizabeth to dance, almost all the women are wearing white gowns. Maybe it's something I don't know about the time period. Overall I'm not as disappointed as I thought I would be, though I still like the A&E version better. Maybe I will post some more later, when I finish watching! (or tomorrow, as it's getting late..)