Pride & Prejudice

Remember the name Kam Heskin: if enough people see this effervescent, astute, modern adaptation of Jane Austen's romantic 19th-century novel, the actress who plays its doggedly independent heroine is going to be a quickly rising star. Uniquely pretty but self-doubting, and popping with charm, sass, smarts, and screen presence, Heskin plays Elizabeth, a graduate student and aspiring writer with little interest in her many unsuitable suitors--much to the dismay of her four boy-crazy, girly-girl roommates. But in spite of herself she's drawn to Darcy (Orlando Seale), a socially blunt, seemingly pompous English friend-of-a-friend who rubs her the wrong way every time fate throws him in her path--which happens far more often than she'd like. Creatively updated and terrifically colorful, this hip, funny--and, curiously enough, Mormon-produced--retelling integrates some of Austen's old-fashioned values by setting the film in Salt Lake City (where even nowadays being virginal and obsessed with getting married at 20 is more the norm) while also making fun of the recent post-feminist backlash by mocking man-trapping advice books like The Rules. Director Andrew Black embraces his source material by quoting Austen's text via onscreen chapter stops, yet he gives the film a thoroughly modern sensibility with imaginative camerawork and a catchy soundtrack. More importantly, he gets sublime light-comedy performances from his unknown cast (the film's only minor downfalls stem from two badly matched, secondary boyfriend-girlfriend pairings). Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a lackluster commentary track, and raw-footage behind-the-scenes featurettes that are informative and enjoyable (except for the standard musical montage sequences). Bottom line: although the image quality looks a little washed-out, this little indie is still worth picking up.] (R. Blackwelder)