This Jane Austen adaptation's dramatic music and golden-lit fields bring out Knightley's remarkable charm. She's well-suited to play Elizabeth in Pride & Prejudice. And per Austen style, couples are defined, divided, and brought back together: Upright sort Bingley ("I'm not a big reader, I prefer being out of doors") falls for Elizabeth's humble sister Jane (Rosamund Pike). And Darcy starts squabbling with Elizabeth. He broods and grumps while she twists around and around on a rope swing in the family barn—the image slowed down to make sure viewers note her daunting loveliness. Darcy certainly does, again and again, even as he does his best to resist.

Though Elizabeth and Darcy's volatile romance is the basis for Austen's class critique, it's still a romance. And Elizabeth must come to realize not only that she is attracted to this difficult fellow, but also that he's generous and tender (perfectly adequate boyfriend material); he's just a bit oppressed by his own relative, the ferocious Lady Catherine (Judi Dench). The film follows Austen's shape but tones down the author's sharpness. And Elizabeth makes the sentimental choice at last, when she actually falls in love with her monied, much-desired frenemy.