Death Comes to Pemberley

100 Movies in 100 Day
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Death Comes to Pemberley

Sometimes I wish I lived in a Jane Austen novel. Except when I have the realization that I would probably end up a maid with no prospects and no fancy husband. It's so nice to pretend that you live in a world of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. What happens after the fairy tale ending? What happens in 10 years once Darcy and Elizabeth are married? What about the rest of the family? That is the question Death Comes to Pemberley asks. It is a retelling of the classic Jane Austen story, more of a sequel. I will say it is quite dramatic compared to its original literature. It seems like a mix between Jane Austen and Agatha Christie. The cast on this mini-series is very impressive. We have Matthew Rhys as Mr. Darcy, Matthew Goode as the gorgeous Mr Wickham, Jenna Coleman playing Lydia and Anna Maxwell Martin playing Elizabeth.

Death Comes to Pemberley starts with Elizabeth and Darcy having a young son. They're just getting ready for a fancy ball and many people are coming to visit. One surprise is Lydia and her husband Mr. Wickham decide to come, uninvited, to the party. Keep in mind from the Jane Austen novel Lydia and Mr. Wickham were not welcome in the family anymore. Mr. Wickham tried to get Georgiana Darcy to run away with him and elope, quite the Scandal back then. He then tried again with Lydia. He married Lydia but it almost tore apart the Bennett Family. The movie begins with Mr. Wickham and a friend getting into an argument in the woods on their way to Pemberley. The man storms off, ends up injured in the woods and then dies. Everyone assumes Mr Wickham did it and the whole community is turned upside down. Keep in mind, this could ruin a family's reputation back then.

The movie follows the ups and downs of life during the Regency Era but it adds a murder mystery. I've never seen a murder mystery set during the Regency Era. It was kind of odd to see the way the courts were conducted, it almost felt play like. It had the air of a Shakespearean thriller but it was very odd when you Jane Austen into the mix. The film does a good job of sticking the original source material, Pride and Prejudice and keeping the characters relatively similar. It also makes you wonder how what these characters react to something so dramatic. Back when you think of Pride and Prejudice Lydia was always so flighty and crazy and they continue that tradition it's so interesting to see. She drives you absolutely bananas for the majority of the series but then you kind of see how much she's actually grown. She becomes a manipulative Mastermind and her actions are kind of brilliant. Of course there's Matthew Goode as Wickham and he brings charm in the chaos. The line smooth operator comes to mind. Matthew Goode is charming but he also can turn to sinister in a moment's notice. You find yourself questioning Mr. Wickham. We are unsure if he's capable of murder or not. Mr Wickham continues to be a horrible person and they don't shy away from that. We know from Pride and Prejudice that he's a dishonorable man but does that mean he's capable of murder? That is something that Mr. Darcy has to ask himself.

This is a three part mini-series with each episode being an hour. I will say it flew by and it's very interesting if you like Murder Mysteries and you appreciate a good Jane Austen novel. I would definitely check this out. I didn't know what to expect and again I'm a pretty true blue Jane Austen fan, so I went into it with skepticism. I didn't know if I was going to like it and I really enjoyed it. Plus, it's from the BBC and they're usually very good at what they produce. So if you get a chance I would say take a look at Death Comes to Pemberley and give it a go.