The Ultimate Pairing: Pride & Prejudice & Mean Creek

Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice is a very impressive achievment. The story easily puts every other romantic comedy out there to shame, no doubt about that, but Wright's classy, exciting and consistently fascinating hanlding makes this a great movie in its own right. I found myself completely drawn into every aspect of the film's plot, especially Lizzie and Darcy's turbulent relationship, which really comes to life in one mid-way confrontation scene that should be remembered as one of the best of the year so far.

Keira Kinghtley, to my upmost surprise (she was the aspect I was most sceptical about in the movie), completely pulls off Elizabeth, despite being a little too glamorous for the role. This movie marks her graduation from un-demanding, unimpressive roles to something meatier. Matthew McFayden (a personal Brit favorite of mine) delivers a quite different take on Mr. Darcy, choosing to show him as a conflicted and emotionally damaged human being. McFayden's portrayel is effective and really got under my skin.

The cinematography, orchestrated here by Roman Osin, involved me in the film in a way that I wouldn't have been otherwise. The tracking shots were a great way of immersing the audience and fitting all the characters and conversations of the ball scenes in, without those scenes feeling messy and overpacked. Wright and Osin made an attempt at putting the audience right in the middle of the action, and it completely works.

So, while I'm no P&P nut, I am quietly impressed with Wright's achievment. There are narrative problems - for example, the implication of Lydia's running away and the impact it would have had cannot be appreciated by anyone who isn't already aware of it, because this film rushes through it - and certain characters, such as Judi Dench's Lady Catherine de Bourg, are given so little screen-time they are reducd to stereotypes. But it's an enchanting film nonetheless.


Mean Creek could not be a much more different movie. The romance in this film is stony to the point that you have to look hard to find the affection between the couple (Rory Culin and Carly Schroeder). The cinematography is beautiful, but in a sombre, haunting way. Parts of it even come from the view of one character's video camera, making for an up-close-and-personal experience of the highest order. Estes (the director) is actually extremely clever in his use of the video camera, because not only does it give you an up-close perspective of the all the characters in the boat, it simultaneously tells you everything you need to know about the character operating it.

The character in question is George (played by Josh Peck), who as the film opens, appears to be little more than the 'school bully' character of the story. He redeems himself in a predictable way and gains the understanding of one who he has bullied. As a teenager myself, this plot strand instantly shunts the film in the direction of 'fantasy' in my eyes. Although I appreciated what I was watching, I never bought into the idea that it could actually happen.

But - yes, there's a 'but' to calling this film fantasy - if there's one thing you could say about Mean Creek, it's that it really, really tries. On paper, the film should not work. An ensemble of child/teenage actors, a far-fetched plot and a perfect set up for cliched and overly dramatic confrontations does not a great movie make. Estes tries to subvert the expectations, and while he is not entirely succesful, I was still emotionally engaged with the film and found myself quite devestated by the emotional final scenes. Most of Estes' actors make their characters work - Rory Culkin, Trevor Morgan, Carly Schroeder - although some stick too close to stereotpyes - Scott Mechlowicz, Ryan Kelley - so while their performances are by no means bad, we've seen their kinds of characters many times before (hard man with a good heart, quiet kid who is easy to get to) and thus they weaken the film's dramatic weight.

The best performance though, surprisingly, is that of Josh Peck. Mostly known for playing the tubby sidekick in Nickelodeon's (actually quite good) Drake & Josh, here Peck is both scary and sympathetic. His monologue over the final shots of the film is heartbreaking.