That wig was a bad choice. I wonder what the point was? Did the director wish to suggest that as Darcy ages, he loses his hair and becomes less attractive? This does happen often enough. Similarly, with Anna Maxwell Martin, were women supposed to be comforted that their heroic Elizabeth looks no better than every second person you could meet on the street? I mean, in real life, the actress looks much better than she did as the tired, wrinkling, eyelash-less Elizabeth.
Pride and Prejudice is serious literature but it also something of a fairy tale to multitudes of obsessively loving fans, of whom I count myself one. So, intellectually, I think I understand the casting and the choice to make Darcy and Elizabeth look older (he seems shorter than I would have imagined from Austen's description while she, the slight and little Lizzy, has grown to tower over her housekeeper and her youngest sister, who was the tallest in the book). Even the maids in this production look prettier than Lizzy... but, obviously, beauty is not every thing.
Still, I like my Darcy tall and with a full head of hair (sprinkle it with gray if you wish to tip your hat to realism) and I like my Lizzy pretty, maybe not the most beautiful girl in the room, but the most vivacious and eye-catching. The one you cannot look away from. A fairy tale but fairy tales work well in movies and TV.
Pride and Prejudice is serious literature but it also something of a fairy tale to multitudes of obsessively loving fans, of whom I count myself one. So, intellectually, I think I understand the casting and the choice to make Darcy and Elizabeth look older (he seems shorter than I would have imagined from Austen's description while she, the slight and little Lizzy, has grown to tower over her housekeeper and her youngest sister, who was the tallest in the book). Even the maids in this production look prettier than Lizzy... but, obviously, beauty is not every thing.
Still, I like my Darcy tall and with a full head of hair (sprinkle it with gray if you wish to tip your hat to realism) and I like my Lizzy pretty, maybe not the most beautiful girl in the room, but the most vivacious and eye-catching. The one you cannot look away from. A fairy tale but fairy tales work well in movies and TV.