Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I did not walk into my screening of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in the liveliest of moods.  Maybe it was the fact that the trailers and ad campaign had done little to impress me.  Or perhaps it was the film's title that did not exactly fill me with confidence.  Still, having not read Seth Grahame-Smith’s 2009 novel of the same name, I did not know what to expect.  I was mostly anticipating a one-joke movie.  What I got was something surprisingly more entertaining - a weird but effective mix of Jane Austin's original story and The Walking Dead.

What equally surprised me is that writer-director Burr Steers has actually made an effective parody of the original story.  Not a spoof, mind you.  Unlike recent spoofs, the movie doesn't try to fill the screen time with as many movie references and graphic jokes concerning men and women's sexual organs as possible.  No, this movie takes much of the plot and dialogue of Pride and Prejudice, and turns the situations on their heads.  It takes the original material and makes it absurd by setting it in the middle of a growing zombie apocalypse that is gripping Merry Old England during the 1800s because of a spreading plague.  Even better, the actors (many of whom are taken from the British stage) play this material complete straight, which makes it even funnier.  We laugh at the absurdity, instead of the movie constantly pointing out how outrageous and absurd it is.  This is a low key comedy that works, and will undoubtedly work even better for fans of the source material.

As expected, the film follows the lives and romantic exploits of Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) and her sisters.  What's been added is that their father has insisted that his daughters be trained in the deadly art of hand-to-hand combat because of the zombie plague.  They spent part of their youth training in martial arts in China, and are now back home in England, seeking love from various suitors.  Elizabeth, meanwhile, is more independent, and seems quite content with taking down zombies than settling down.  That's when the brooding zombie hunter, Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley), enters her life, and the movie more or less follows the path we expect for the characters, only with more martial arts fights.  In fact, in one of the film's funniest scenes, a verbal spar between the two characters turns into an all-out brawl involving swords, cartwheel kicks and strangle holds, all the while speaking in Austin's classic dialogue.

Fortunately, the movie is smart enough to know that just adding zombies and fighting to the story would get old quickly, so there are a few original comedic elements added.  One brilliant addition is the film's portrayal of Parson Collins, played hilariously by Matt Smith from Dr. Who.  I won't spoil the reason why, but Smith manages to walk away with just about every scene he's in with his performance.  The movie uses a surprisingly deadpan yet off-kilter method of comedy to great effect.  Sometimes we laugh because of the strangeness of what we're watching, and other times we laugh because the movie earns them with its approach.  Even better, the film has been shot as if it were a serious interpretation of the story.  The sets, costumes and cinematography are just as gorgeous as something you would expect in a serious adaptation.  This is not a cheap parody, where the budget was not a concern.  Everything looks great here, and that also adds to the enjoyment.

That's not to say that the movie is perfect.  The film does eventually start to drag a little, but it's a lot later into it than I was expecting.  And yes, you really have to be familiar with the story in order to get some of the jokes.  But is it really the fault of the film for playing smart, and not dumbing itself down?  Besides, not only is this a highly energetic action horror comedy, but it's also the first example of a true parody that I've seen hit the screen in a long time.  Unlike the recent Fifty Shades of Black (which I admit up front I have not seen, and likely will not see ever), it's not just simply a cheap cash in on a recent fad.  It's been made with an understanding of the source material.  Besides, compared the last zombie comedy we got (the horrendous Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse), the difference is like night and day.  This movie seeks to entertain, rather than insult the intelligence of its audience. 

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is not exactly a great film, but it's probably much better than it has any right to be.  Here is a movie that could have gone wrong in so many ways.  The fact that it stays afloat for most of its running time is an amazing thing indeed.

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