I, Jeane A, Darcyholic, Love Matthew MacFadyen and Joe Wright's P&P!

Welcoming Jeane A: P&P 2005 Blogger

Hi, Darcyholics!  I am very happy to be have Jeane A. visiting with us today.  Jeane hosts the P&P2005 Blog and I was blessed to be a guest on her blog the end of last year.  I was thrilled that she was willing to visit with us today.  Jeane leaves NO doubt of who her Darcy of choice is!  I know you will enjoy getting to know her and learning about her blog, her Darcy, her love for P&P and her trip to England.

Upcoming Guest Posts Are As Follows:
March 27--Lucy S.
March 30--Elizabeth Kantor
April 3--Bonnie Carlson
April 6--China Fuentes-Montero
April 10--Matt Duffy
April 13--Regina Jeffers
April 17--Elizabeth Ashton
April 20--Susan Mason-Milks
April 24--Linda Wells
April 27--Veronica (Dark Jane Austen Book Club)
May 1--Jane Vivash and Matthew MacFadyen
May 4--Susan Adriani
May 8--Annette W.
May 11--Beth Massey
May 15--Erlynn K.
May 18--Rebecca T.
June 1--Kara Louise
June 5--Sharon Lathan
And Many more to come!

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Comments on Jeane’s post will be entered into our monthly drawings   Entries will be based on comments on blog posts; but additional chances will be given for joining this site, tweeting this post, Joining this site as a member!, sharing this on Facebook or your blog, Friend me on Facebook, clicking 'like’ on Barbara Tiller Cole, Author's Facebook page, Join Darcyholic Diversions Facebook Page or following BarbTCole on Twitter.

I Love Matthew MacFadyen's Mr. Darcy and Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice film

First of all, I would like to thank the lovely hostess, Barbara for her kind invitation to guest post here on her awesome Darcyholic blog. She asked me to write about how I discovered Matthew Macfadyen (my favorite Mr. Darcy) and why I love the 2005 Pride & Prejudice film.

Matthew is my Favorite Mr. Darcy

Matthew Macfadyen, obviously, is my favorite Mr. Darcy. I must say I have never seen nor heard of Matthew Macfadyen prior to seeing him in the 2005 Pride & Prejudice film. So, my first impression of him as Mr. [Fitzwilliam] Darcy in the P&P movie was that (believe it or not) I didn't love him at first sight/glance, but I did grew to love him (especially when he first held Lizzie's hand in the carriage and I had the same unexpected look as Lizzie did, lol...plus the first proposal scene, the Pemberley scenes, the second proposal scene, and the Mrs. Darcy ending scene) as Lizzie did and at every scene he appeared on-screen on this film. I couldn't help, but asked on my very first viewing of P&P movie, who this mysterious and handsome man (with a dreamy blue eyes and a Darcysexylicious voice) was? He fascinated, intrigued, kept me interested and glued watching him in the beautiful P&P film. The next thing I knew, I was looking him up on google, IMDB, checking out his fansites, and watching his other movies (I could find) that he co-starred/starred/appeared in. I became a huge MM fan after seeing him in P&P movie, all because of his Darcy role and his amazing portrayal of Mr. Darcy. In my humble opinion, I thought Matthew played the best Darcy and he just portrayed the iconic role superbly with vulnerability, passion, and emotions, which I didn't see from other Darcy actors. He transformed himself completely into the Darcy character (that all I saw from Matthew was Darcy and not Matthew as himself...so, I was immersed and intrigued watching him as this enigmatic Mr. Darcy) and made him so believable as the arrogant, snub, proud, and stubborn (in outside appearance), yet shy, reserve, quiet, vulnerable, kind, generous, caring, and loving/romantic (on the inside and whenever he was around Elizabeth Bennet privately in later scenes) in the film. I may not have loved him at the beginning, but as the film progressed and along the way towards the end, I was bewitched and in love with his Darcy (as his Elizabeth did). If not for his brilliant performance of Darcy in this movie, I wouldn't have discovered this talented, brilliant, and versatile actor that is Matthew Macfadyen (and he's very handsome to look at too). He is such a fantastic character actor, underrated and versatile too. If you haven't seen him in his other movies, you definitely should check them out. I highly recommend you see his other films such as In My Father's Den, Death at a Funeral, Any Human Heart, Little Dorrit, and The Pillars of The Earth to name a few. He was great in them and you hardly recognized him too as he's so great in transforming himself into his characters. I'm very glad Joe Wright, the producers, and casting director of P&P movie cast him as Mr. Darcy. Even more amazing was to find out that he was their first choice too even though many actors were said to have auditioned for the role of Darcy, but fortunately they came back to cast him as he was the one that they had first considered casting all along. Good thing they picked him, their first choice, as he was perfect as Mr. Darcy, at least for me (and those who are fans of his Darcy role). Matthew was and always will be my favorite Mr. Darcy. Once he played the character, I couldn’t imagine anyone else playing his version of Mr. Darcy or seeing Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Bennet with another actor playing her Mr. Darcy. Whenever I re-read the novel or read its sequels, variations, and inspired novels, Matthew's Darcy is always the one I think of and picture in my head (as well as Keira's Elizabeth Bennet). While I liked and enjoyed other Darcy actors (what's not to like? they're all good looking and good actors too), MM is just the one that made me take notice and love his Darcy portrayal a thousand times more than the others. So, yeah, that makes him my favorite actor to play Mr. Darcy. Not too mention, he made me love his Darcy even more when he had read a passage from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice novel, the first proposal scene (Chapter 34, pages 184-189).

 Watch Matthew Macfadyen as he reads a scene from Pride and Prejudice

(with music and scenes from Pride and Prejudice film)

Joe Wright’s film adaptation is my kind of Pride & Prejudice

I love, love, love the Pride & Prejudice (2005) movie. Of course, it’s this version of P&P that made me love Austen’s Pride and Prejudice novel and all things P&P). Though more so in this version as it got me hooked and addicted enough to start my own P&P Forum, My Space, P&P Blog, Twitter, and FB fan page. In my humble opinion, the 2005 version was the BEST P&P film adaptation I've seen (and I've seen the 1995 BBC/A&E, 1980 BBC miniseries, and a bit of the 1940 film, plus inspired films such Bride & Prejudice, Pride & Prejudice 2003, and Lost In Austen and own all, except for the 2003 P&P, on DVD). I love that that this version took creative license in some scenes (ie. Lizzie and Darcy's first *electric shock* touch, the exquisite first and second proposal scenes, the romantic "Mrs. Darcy" ending scene, etc.) and dared to be different than previous adaptations, but yet still stayed true to the heart and spirit of the book. It was seen through Elizabeth Bennet's eyes much like the book and I love that Keira Knightley played Elizabeth Bennet as I thought she did an outstanding job (made me a huge fan of hers as well) and she and Matthew's Mr. Darcy just perfectly complemented each other. They made a beautiful Elizabeth & Darcy pairing and whenever their characters meet and on-screen together they just sizzle with an undeniable on-screen chemistry and I believe them as Elizabeth & Darcy. They were just perfect and incredible together. I loved and enjoyed watching them as Lizzie & Darcy. They were (and always will be) my favorite Elizabeth & Darcy paring. Their version of these iconic P&P couple just made me love their characters even more and the Pride & Prejudice story itself as I've never did before. They (Keira & Matthew) along with the rest of the outstanding cast (Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland, Judi Dench, Rosamund Pike, Tom Hollander, and Jena Malone to name some) made me a big fan of Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I went back and re-read the original novel as I've never have before when I saw a few other P&P versions. This version made me finished reading the book and made me love it and its characters even more. There's just something magical and amazing about this film that I can watch it at least once or twice a day, everyday and never tire of it. It always cheer me up, makes me smile, and it has never happen to me with other films (and I love movies in general and has seen many different genres) or other version of P&P or Austen adaptations. This film just had it all what I wanted to see from this version of Pride & Prejudice. Everything about this film was just breathtakingly brilliant and amazing. There's always something new I discover (as many times…I’ve lost count after the first 50, lol… as I've seen this film) that I missed from my previous viewings all because I was always mesmerized by watching Darcy & Elizabeth on-screen. Everything about this film was beautiful. Every little detail was a gem. From the impressive casting of Keira & Matthew as Elizabeth & Darcy to the rest of the outstanding supporting cast, the brilliant direction by Joe Wright, the beautiful and timeless score/soundtrack by Dario Marianelli (he should’ve won an Oscar for this one instead of his score in Atonement). I love the amazing soundtrack to this film as much as I love the movie. Also, this film did not try to be an exact replica of the original P&P novel and its dialogue, but kept the memorable lines in tact and others worded differently yet still similar in meaning that it made it more easier for anyone to understand more so than the actual words from the novel. I also loved that this film made Darcy's first and second proposals amazingly beautiful, unique, creative, and memorable...as well as took it to another level, outside the box, and made it interesting and fresh to a modern audiences of today. Not too mention, the young and talented actresses (Rosamund Pike, Keira, Talulah Riley, Carey Mulligan, and Jena Malone) who portrayed the 5 Bennet sisters not only played a believable sisters, but also their ages were close to their counterparts from the book especially Elizabeth Bennet (KK was 19 when the movie was filmed and 20 when it was released similar to EB in the book). In addition, MM's age was closer to his character's age from the novel. Even more amazing was the lush cinematography and the beautiful scenery and locations, making this film impressive visually and stunningly beautiful to watch. What's not to love? Plus, the two hours length of time was perfect for this version. It may not seem like it on your first viewing, but it makes you yearn for more and makes you wish it was longer. The rest you can read in Jane Austen's masterpiece Pride and Prejudice novel, the original source to this adaptation, as you're supposed to. You don't need every detail or word for word to see it visually as it’s impossible to translate every page into the big screen. Besides, you can read the rest in the book for more details. The movie basically gives you a nice summarize version of the novel, giving an option for those who don't like to read the books, as it gives you more information that’s missing from the film, as well as for those who love to read (and watch its adapted version from the pages of the book come to life on the big screen). For me, this film’s version of Pride & Prejudice and its original source, the book of the same title is the perfect companion of each other.

You can read more of why I love the 2005 Pride & Prejudice film here: 16 Beautiful Things I love about the 2005 Pride & Prejudice film, my thoughts on Watching Pride & Prejudice film on Blu-ray, and how I started my P&P Blog: Confessions of a P&P Blogger

Also, you can read all about my My first European trip (September 2010) and My First European Trip (part 2) (I had visited a couple P&P filming locations too!) and see some Photos: Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall as Pride & Prejudice's Pemberley and Inn at Lambton (P&P/Derbyshire filming locations)