This year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Pride and Prejudice, directed by Joe Wright, and starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen as will-they-won’t-they lovers Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. In the two decades since its 2005 debut, this glorious film adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel has forged a rich internet legacy, birthing memes, thirst posts, and more.
To toast Pride and Prejudice‘s re-release in theaters, Mashable Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko interviewed Wright over Zoom, looking to discover not only what he makes of the movie’s online popularity but also to uncover the origins of these much-memed moments.
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In the video above, Wright reveals how Darcy’s truly iconic hand flex came to be a part of cinema history and how Emma Thompson wrote some of the movie’s most frequently quoted lines.
You know, you love it. It’s the Charlotte Lucas speech, performed here by Claudie Blakley.
“I’m 27 years old. I’ve no money and no prospects. I’m already a burden to my parents, and I’m frightened.”
The audio clip is all over TikTok. Charlotte’s words have been iced onto birthday cakes. And while some have erroneously credited Austen with these unforgettable lines, what Charlotte actually said in the book was more elaborate: “I am not romantic, you know. I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and, considering Mr. Collins’s character, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state.”
In Mashable’s interview, Wright revealed that while screenwriter Deborah Moggach wrote much of Pride and Prejudice’s screenplay, it was Emma Thompson who wrote Charlotte’s beloved lines. Ten years before this Austen adaptation, Thompson adapted and starred in the Ang Lee-directed Sense and Sensibility, earning Oscar nominations for both her performance and script. (She took home the Oscar for the latter.) So, Wright welcoming Thompson into the cinematic collaboration was a no-brainer.
Wright also recalled how Thompson led him to Hampstead Heath, where she improvised dialogue for Pride and Prejudice scenes, directing him to take notes. “That was one of the things she improvised on that hill on Hampstead Heath,” Wright said of Charlotte’s declaration. Thompson’s inspired interpretation ends with, “Don’t you judge me, Lizzy. Don’t you dare judge me.”
Wright remembered he found Thompson’s ability to come up with such dialogue “miraculous.”
As to why it’s still so relevant to audiences today, the director mused, “I think it’s because it’s true. There’s a truth to it all.”
Pride and Prejudice returns to theaters for a special event on April 20 and April 23.