Top Darcy and Elizabeth Moments
“You have bewitched me body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you”
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pride-and-prejudice-2005
By: Jaclyn
Recently the 2005 adaptation, Pride and Prejudice hit Netflix, I finally watched it and Oh my God! It’s my new favorite movie ever, I’ve already rewatched it multiple times and I’m officially obsessed. I literally can’t get enough of it! There is SO MUCH to fall in love with like the story, the costumes, the setting, the time period, the characters and of course- Mr.Darcy! I finally understand the hype and I wish I had taken the time to watch the full movie sooner but I’m beyond excited now!
As a historical romance lover, I knew eventually I had to go to where it all started and it’s so interesting to see all the little details that built the foundation for the genre we know now. The groveling, the broody and grumpy hero, the bold and strong heroine, enemies to lovers, and all societal issues that come within this time period. There is a reason it’s a well loved classic. I’m so excited to finally be venturing into Jane Austen’s world and begin the process of watching and reading everything, especially since she was one of the first who started it all!
If you’ve never seen it, you definitely need too! Don’t be intimated, just let the story tell itself and you might be surprised how quickly you fall into it. I fell head over heels for Mr.Darcy and his romance with Elizabeth, that I was swooning, pausing the screen to stare at Darcy and kicking my blankets in giddiness. Here are some of my favorite scenes! (All the spoilers!)
The Meeting
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The satisfaction when Elizabeth told Darcy off in the most proper and classy way! I cheered! Initially, these two don’t really hit it off. She mentions dancing in which he says no and then later she overhears him say how she’s “barely tolerable”. Later on, in the most subtle way she repeats what he says, letting him realize she heard him. His stunned face was perfect and hilarious- especially as she smirks to him and walks away with her chin held high! In the very beginning when Darcy walks into the room, the camera shows them glancing at each other and then quickly glancing away. Then for him to show his grumpiness, Elizabeth is taken aback but she bounces right back yet still remains classy and she says her parting words to him. This also shows the audience how headstrong Elizabeth is, she sticks up for herself no matter what!
The Hand Flex
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Ahhhh!! I can’t even tell you how many times and I rewatched this. At the time period, touching skin to skin wasn’t something that was really done in these circumstances, it wasn’t considered proper which is one of the reasons Elizabeth turns to look at him after she feels his hand in hers. A hand hold was considered to be such an intimate and romantic gesture. It also speaks volumes that she had already said her goodbyes to him and he reached out to help her into the carriage even though he wasn’t directly next to her. This is the first time these two touch and the SPARKS that come just from this small moment. There is complete magic in these subtle touches and the directing makes sure that the magic is translated to the audience. This hand gesture helped build anticipation throughout the rest of the film and created such excitement. I never thought I would swoon from a hand hold and hand flex.
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The way Darcy tries to flex it out and shake it off shows how much touching her hand affected him. Looking back after rewatching many times, the symbolism and camera focus on Darcy’s hands represent how eventually in the future, he’ll have Elizabeth’s hands in marriage-but that’s the future. At this point he’s trying to shake her away from him and get the feelings out of him. The clench says it all. He still feels her on his hand even after he already let her go, almost like the feel her hand is burning him. He tries to ignore it and the way she stares after him is just breathtaking. It should have been nothing, but it wasn’t and this is just the beginning!
The Dance
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Before she dances with Darcy, Elizabeth dances with Mr.Collins, giving the audience a deeper look into the huge contrast between the dances. First, she is surprised he asked her dance and even more surprised she said yes. This also shows the difference from the beginning of the movie when he says no and she tells him that dancing encourages affection, so in an effort to gain her affection, he dances with her later on. When the first dance and he touches her hand, there is a moment when he bites his lip because he’s trying so hard to resist her. Their dance is filled with tension and banter, then spirals into something deeper.
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Then there’s the moment the rest of the room disappears and it’s just them. This was such an AMAZING directing choice. It amplifies the intensity and fully shows how drawn these two are to each other no matter how hard they try not to be. It almost makes it become more of a sexual and burning tension. Darcy has so much pride, he doesn’t want to be in love with her but by this point, it’s clear he already is! The tension and love in the way he looks at her just kills me. Elizabeth feels so much attraction to him but she doesn’t like the person he is. She feels he’s cold and judgmental especially after what Wickham told her. When the room disappears it’s a visual representation that at that specific moment in time, nothing anybody says matters. It’s just the two of them and this electricity that follows them.
The First Proposal
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My heart pounds and aches at the scene in the best way. Just everything about it, even the rain (which is such a contrast to the end of the movie, I can cry) This is the moment when the tension fully explodes and everything comes bursting out. Right after Elizabeth finds out some frustrating news, she runs outside in the rain just to be followed by a desperate Darcy.
He gives her this speech about how he’s tried not to feel the way he does but he asks for her hand in marriage anyway. She fires back at him reason after reason and Darcy just sinks himself into a deeper hole. This is considered one of the best and worst proposals because he really does say all the wrong things and such terrible things, but the desperation and longing underneath is tangible. The added rain and thunder after he says these things as they fight helps the audience feel the escalated tension. He’s taken aback by her words and she’s taken aback by his and the hurt is so clear but with the beginning confession hanging in the air, it sets this entire confrontation up perfectly. The confession is so sudden as if he couldn’t contain it anymore and then once the fight has melted, the anguish intensifies as he leans in closer.
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The way they look at each other’s lips as if ready to end the tension, and Darcy’s whispered “please” before he continues after a long pause and apologizes for taking up her time and walks away leaving her gasping and stunned. I can’t stress enough how much I wanted to shake my tv screen. They were so close!! But they weren’t ready, things needed to happen before they came together but wow was this such an amazing and powerful scene and from here on there is a different amount of awareness between them that runs the course of the rest of the movie and it’s magnificent to watch.
The Letter
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The letter that Darcy writes to Elizabeth is when everything completely comes clean. After the storm passes from that first proposal, Darcy leaves a letter explaining everything and apologizing. He isn’t good with talking as we’ve seen, so he writes it for her to communicate in the best way he can. Words on paper can be rewritten and fully thought through as opposed to speaking which can lead to things a person doesn’t mean to say. One of the really interesting moments from this scene is how it starts with Elizabeth looking at her reflection. She has to face her feelings and all of the terrible things that were said. The time passing from day to night shows how long she’s thought about it all and all the time she’s taken to face it. While she’s reading his letter, it flashes to him leaving and it’s heartbreaking. She’s realizing she loves him as he’s riding away. The camera work, the transition, music, the colors everything is so incredibly well done in this scene and brings so much more weight to the entire piece.
The Smiles
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This moment is so unbelievably adorable and sweet. After the fight, the letter, and everything that happened, Elizabeth and Darcy meet again by chance. It’s important to note the huge difference in Darcy after all of it. There is such a clear air between them. It’s truly as if they’re being around each other for the first time. I feel that during their time away from each other they had time to really think about what happened. Darcy understood how closed off he was even from his expressions which is why Elizabeth was so easy to get the wrong impression from him so he’s trying to be a better man. This is the first time we see them smile at each other and it was well worth the wait! It’s such a breathtaking and swoon worthy scene. We also get to finally see him with his sister, and there is definitely a more comfortable approach from his sister’s presence which lets Elizabeth really see a different side of him. It’s very cute how much he cares about his sister and how easy going that relationship is. We find out about how much Darcy talked about Elizabeth in their time of absence and Darcy is so bashful, it’s so cute! But Elizabeth teases him and the two fall into an effortless sort of banter. It’s very sweet and it’s clear that the feelings they share for each other have grown in their time apart.
Bewitched
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THE SCREAMS WHEN DARCY CAME! The tension, the music, the fog, the way he just stalks toward Elizabeth with so much purpose. I love the music during this scene and I love the visual representation of their emotions shown in the fog. Instead of getting a horse or a carriage, he walks through the mud to get to her. Powerful and wealthy Mr.Darcy doesn’t care about any of that; it means just getting to her is what is important. He remembers how she mentions how fond she is of walking. This is something super small but represents a lot in of itself. his scene itself is when I realized this movie has “bewitched” me.
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During the first proposal that became a giant fight, there was rain washing away some of the tension as Darcy’s feelings became exposed and the thunder symbolizes the harsh and tremendous magnitude of the fight itself. Then in this scene, the air is clear. The fog is going away which represents all the rest of their doubts and all the words people said. It’s just them. It’s the break of a new day, the sun rising as they meet each other ready to start their life together and move on. There’s a brightness too, especially when they come together, Elizabeth grabs his hands and they lean their foreheads together. The sun shining in between symbolizes the power they both feel towards one another and the peaceful feeling they each have.
https://www.silverpetticoatreview.com/2015/11/11/pride-and-prejudice-2005-a-10th-anniversary-review/
I can go on forever about how Darcy’s speech was my favorite speech ever. It’s so heartfelt, raw, and beautifully articulated. Everything that he did was for it at this point. He fixed the relationship with Jane and Bingley, helping Lydia not ruin the Bennett family. He did it all because he loves her and he showed it to her in the way he knew how. It’s so heartwarming to see and that is what makes it an amazing moment. The second half of the movie is essentially Darcy groveling for Elizabeth because he loves her so much and can’t bear to hurt her or be away from her any longer.
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It’s so beautiful and so powerful. This right here is the reason why Darcy is GOALS. He speaks so eloquently and would do anything and everything he could for Elizabeth. His first proposal he expected a yes because that’s that was done, this time he knows her better than that. He knows that she has a mind of her own and he accepts that. By telling her “one word will silence me forever” it gives Elizabeth the power to think for herself and make her own decision. What she says won’t make a difference, he just needs her to know his feelings haven’t changed. This was something rare for the time because women themselves didn’t have the power that they should have. Elizabeth was truly a modernized woman in a different time which is one of the reasons why this story is so timeless. It makes it even deeper when you consider that she was created during this time and not in our modern world. Darcy letting her have that, means a lot to her and you can see it in her face as she listens to him.
I love how he says the word “love” three times. He’s so choked up and emotional, he needs to get it all about but you can see from that subtle shift how much that love has consumed him. The way his eye flutters when he says it, just everything! It’s beautiful to watch!
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When she takes his hands and then tells him your hands are cold, it represents how at the end of the day it was the outside interpretation of him that was cold, not the inside of the man himself. She grabs them and kisses them as if to warm him because she can warm them and take the despair and judgment away. Also her literally taking his hand meaning she accepts his hand in marriage. The prospect of touching hands at this time was also a romantic gesture so that itself speaks volumes.
Some could mention how there isn’t a full on kiss in this scene, but I feel like that’s okay and means more that there wasn’t. It’s not about the physical passion, it’s more about the passion within their mind and the connection they both feel in their hearts. It’s raw, breathtaking and left me completely speechless.
Mrs.Darcy
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I feel like this moment speaks for itself. It was so highly anticipated and though I wish it was longer, it was so beautiful and extremely satisfying to see them finally together and happy! The constant kisses as he calls her Mrs.Darcy, ahh my heart was on the floor! It’s so perfect and intimate. It’s one of my favorites because we get to see them finally be together after everything. We know they ended up living happily ever after and are beyond happy. The perfect way to end the movie!
What’s your favorite part of Pride and Prejudice(2005)?