Twenty years after its theatrical release, Joe Wright’s luminous Jane Austen adaptation “Pride & Prejudice” continues to delight fans — we’re talking hand flex freaks, “a million times yes” devotees, and anyone who loves a romantic reunion in a dawn-lit field — and is preparing for a very well-received theatrical re-release next month.
That’s good news for fans, but perhaps even better news for some of its many wonderful cast members, including three-time Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan, who made her film debut in the feature as the delightfully ditzy fourth Bennet daughter Catherine (better known as Kitty).
During a recent interview with Mulligan in support of her latest role in the charming “The Ballad of Wallis Island” (out next week from Focus Features, and with much more to come from Mulligan on IndieWire in the coming days), I mentioned that a recent article sharing the news of the upcoming re-release of the film for its 20th anniversary was met with huge interest from our readers.
“What?,” a delighted Mulligan responded. “That’s so crazy. That’s crazy!”
Asked her memories of the gig, Mulligan (who was just 18 when she shot the film in 2004) was effusive. “I mean, it was the dream job,” she said. “I felt lucky at the time, obviously, but I look back now and think, ‘You lucky fucker, that you managed to land that as your first gig.’ It’s extraordinary. And then what a cast to have gotten to learn from. I was literally a student watching these unbelievable actors around me with zero responsibility, except I had to occasionally giggle. And even that, I just copied Jena Malone. Whatever Jena did, I would just do it.”
Malone, of course, played youngest Bennet sister Lydia (a character somehow even more ditzy than Kitty, and one whose romantic hijinks almost pull the entire clan into ruin). Mulligan and Malone appear in most scenes together, and have a fizzy chemistry that really worked for their parts.
Mulligan was also happy to recount her affection for some of her other co-stars, ticking through them with glee. “It was the first time I worked with [Rosamund] Pike, who became such a good friend and we’ve done three things together now, and I just think she’s the most extraordinary actress,” Mulligan said. “All these incredible people! Keira [Knightley] and Jena and Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn and Judi Dench. I mean, to be in a film with Judi Dench for my first ever job out of the gate is nuts.”
And even Mulligan can’t deny the impact of the film’s iconic reunion scene, in which Knightley’s Lizzy Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen’s Mr. Darcy finally profess their love to each other in a miraculously lit British field.
“I think it’s the most beautiful film,” the actress said. “Matthew Macfadyen and Keira in that scene, are just, ugh, the most beautiful, beautiful, beautiful dynamic. I’m so proud that I got to be a tiny part of it. It’s amazing.”
Focus Features will re-release “Pride & Prejudice” starting Sunday, April 20, with special theatrical events taking place both on Sunday, April 20 and Wednesday, April 23 nationwide.
Focus Features will also release “The Ballad of Wallis Island” in limited theaters on Friday, March 28.
