Guest Post by Miss Jane Bennet: Why I Love Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Miss Jane Bennet of Classic Ramblings to the podium!  She is here today to talk about Mr Darcy-- or Colin Firth.  Well, both.  So sit up and pay attention because we're going to quiz you afterwards. (Well... not really.)

Colin Firth as Mr Darcy is really cute.  I have a thing for Dark Curly Hair (case in point: Sherlock), and he’s quite good-looking and reminds me of a teddy bear.

But he is NOT a Bear without a Brain, and it is because of the common misconception that he is that I’m here today with a Rant.

I like Colin Firth’s performance as Mr Darcy; in fact, I’m a huge fan of it and him, and I always picture him in my head when I read the book.  

…That previous statement probably got one out of two reactions: “AHHHH THE WET SHIRT!!” or “Ehhhh..he’s okay.”

Obviously, there are exceptions, but those seem to be the two main opinions, and sometimes that really frustrates me, because he’s a lot more than either “okay” or simply eye candy.  

I think a lot of Janeites are apathetic to his performance because he seems to have cheapened Mr Darcy.  And to an extent, that’s true; there are a lot of people who like Mr Darcy simply because of him and don’t really understand the character at all, and one doesn’t want to be lumped in with all the other Mr Darcy fans. :P

However, that is not the beginning and end of him.  He really does give an amazing performance, especially when you consider that he’s playing a character that’s been known and loved for centuries. That has to be pretty daunting.

One of my favorite things about his Mr Darcy are the smiles.  I think the little smiles at the beginning are characteristic of his pride and reserve, and then later as he unbends a little with Elizabeth, he smiles more openly, and then at the end, when he does The Grin, it makes a big impression because he’s so happy.  (The wedding always makes me choke up just a tiny bit.)

Another thing I really, really enjoy about Colin Firth’s acting is his interaction with Elizabeth.  He and Jennifer Ehle were in a relationship during filming, and that probably influenced it a bit, but I love all the scenes with Darcy and Elizabeth.  The awkward silences (with suppressed laughter on Lizzy’s part and pure misery on Darcy’s :D), the little hesitations Darcy has before speaking with her, his look during the scenes at Pemberley…and of course, The Proposals.

 

The aforementioned proposals are quite possibly my favorite things about his Darcy.  </ span>The first one is just such a huge mixture of emotions, and I think he got it down perfectly, from confident to embarrassed to angry to heartbroken.  And then during the second one, sadly brief though it is, he’s so nervous and tender and overjoyed, all at once.  I usually Squeal and Bounce during this scene. ;)

Those are some of the main things I love about his performance.  Of course, this is all partly a matter of taste, but I believe that he’s the best Darcy we’ll get for a long time, possibly ever, and for me he really IS Mr Darcy.  

With all these examples, my main point has been—Colin Firth is so much more than just a guy with a nice face or a weird penchant for jumping into lakes.  I’ll admit, sometimes I downplay his performance because it’s automatically assumed that if I like it, I like it because he’s handsome.  But he really did do an amazing job and I wish more people would respect that.

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Thank you very much, Miss Bennet!  Miss Dashwood and I were quite pleased and amused by your Rant.  I appreciate you taking the time to write a post for us. :)

Everyone, do pop in and visit Miss Bennet over at her blog!