Therapist Reacts to PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Is Pride and Prejudice a better love story than Twilight? We definitely think so!

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker, filmmaker Alan Seawright, and Cinema Therapy writer/producer Megan Seawright take a look at why the classic Jane Austen enemies to lovers story actually works, why people still love it today, and whether or not Darcy and Elizabeth are actually a good match. They're talking about what it takes to actually change, to acknowledge when you're wrong, and to overcome your pride and prejudice to see people for who they truly are. And how Megan and Alan's relationship started out a bit like Darcy and Elizabeth's...

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Cinema Therapy is:
Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker, and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright, and Alan Seawright
Edited by: Sophie Téllez
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen
English Transcription by: Anna Preis

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[koomel]

My favorite thing about the "long shot" of Darcy with the swelling piano, is that he is WALKING to her - he hears what his aunt did to Elizabeth, but instead of rushing off in a carriage or on his fastest horse and galloping to her like a prince ready to sweep her off her feet, he WALKS!!! He comes in on HER level, the girl who claims to love walking (when half the time she walks because she has to), he decides to enter the scene with such a simple but powerful gesture of love, on FOOT. He's also not all dressed up and high collared like usual, he wears a simple shirt and trousers, very casual, as if to say "I'm here as the man you have made me into". Beautiful.

[catherinebatty]

One of the things that makes Darcy such a good romantic character is that when Lizzie rejects him, he leaves it. He does not push her to change her mind or tell her why she is wrong to reject him. He writes to her to correct some inaccurate facts about him, but he clearly states the intent of his letter is not to renew his intentions towards her. Jane Austen knew where it was at.

[aubreezily]

"But one word from you will silence me forever."
Fitzwilliam Darcy is the perfect example of maintaining your position of how you feel in moments of emotional vulnerability, but still remaining respectful of their own feelings as well. His and Lizzie's individual growth make their relationship so compelling and lovely.

[skyhideaway]

one thing that really struck me as hilarious is how Darcy sees Lizzy's sister as being uninterested in Mr Bingley, just because she was shy, when Darcy himself was so terrible at expressing his interest towards Lizzy and gave her the impression that he hated her.

[thainadaterra]

At Darcy's first proposal scene, when they've finished their spat, and Darcy leans in a bit — wanting to kiss her... and he sees that she's also leaning in too, but still stops; apologises, and then backs away. It speaks loudly about Darcy's character and morals. Lizzy made it very clear seconds before that she didn't want him, and instead of doing what he wanted to do anyway (like many rom films), Darcy showed that he listened to her, took what she said seriously and respected her — and her decisions. Honestly, one of my favourite moments!

[trinaq]

I love how the title applies to both Lizzie and Darcy. They are both proud individuals whose prejudice via secondhand information blinds them to the others' true nature.

[LittleMissAndy]

I stumbled upon a take on this earlier today:
Jane Austen really said: ‘I respect the “I can fix him" movement but that's just not me. He'll fix himself if he knows what's good for him' and
that's why her works are still calling the shots today.

[madalenamagalhaes]

I LOVE Mr Bennet's teary eyes when Elizabeth reveals her love for Mr Darcy. It's actually the most emotional moment in the film, for me.

[trinaq]

Fun Fact: The novel was almost titled "First Impressions", which is very apt, since our first impressions of other people aren't always accurate, as is the case with Lizzie and Darcy.

[amyleigh]

I always really loved how Darcy’s evolution is directly and explicitly represented in his clothing. The more he warms up to Elizabeth the looser his collar is and he is more exposed, literally.

[TressaDeFox]

Fitzwilliam Darcy is an ideal man: he listened, took no for an answer, helped not expecting gratitude, and all his faults real or percived, has never made him malicious.

[rileynewman-gatton]

I read somewhere that Matthew mcfayden is super nearsighted and so in the long shot when he's walking toward Elizabeth, Joe wright actually had to wave a giant red flag behind the camera to make sure he was walking towards the right place. And he still plays it SO WELL!!

[synergeticgamesstreamarchi]

I love Darcy's little eye twitch when he realised Elizabeth heard what he said about barely being tolerable. Great moment. You can just see the internal screaming.

[heidikay]

Lizzie was confident and had a sense of self-worth. She was a fully formed person before and after Darcy, but both were made better by their relationship, and through a willingness to admit wrongdoings and embrace change. Bella had none of those things, and neither Twilight character experienced any real growth.

[jaminavestajugo]

I hope most readers/viewers get that Darcy isn't a "bad boy." Wickham is the really dangerous one. Darcy is mainly awkward and very much a product of his time and class. Matching up with a seeming "bad boy" works mainly because he's got a heart of gold under the prickly exterior. There's enough evidence throughout the story that Darcy was really a caring guy the entire time, but had his judgment clouded by various factors.

[dulmiwick]

It's different from Twilight because while Elizabeth, like Bella, has an attraction towards Darcy, she never loses her sense of reason. She realizes she likes and loathes him and knows that as long as she loathes, him being with him is impossible. Elizabeth is a prime example of staying true to oneself and not completely losing it over the tiniest hint of attraction to another person.

[JannyKey]

I"ve heard someone say somewhere that Darcy is the perfect man because he takes the critisism and works on himself to become better.

[DearxMyxSongs]

And to think, that sunrise between them, perfectly framed, wasn’t planned. There’s so many genius moments since Wright just set things up and let organic moments happen and the movie is magic thanks to it.

[elizabethbetts]

I love in the end when she replies “well then, your hands are cold” is because her usual wit and sarcasm have been stripped from her and for once she’s actually speechless and has no retort to his honest expression of humility and love.

[sofh]

Movie trivia: the scene in the rain was written FOR them. Kiera Knightley, uncommonly for Hollywood, was cast first, as so did the casting reads with the Darcy auditionees. Matthew comes in, and reads, and they do the scene almost exactly like this - even though it wasn't written that way. They get closer and closer, and even do that small lean in for the kiss at the end before realising and pulling away, and Joe Wright saw it and was like 'THAT'S IT'. And then adapted the scene from the original Collins' house (where it's set in the book) to be outside, in the rain, with the thunder, to punctuate the pure drama and chemistry the two actors created