It's hard to believe that it's been two decades since we first swooned over Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen as they smoldered at each other across windswept fields and crowded ballrooms in Pride and Prejudice, but it's true.
Nevertheless, it has been 20 years and the folks behind this amazing film are throwing quite the shindig to celebrate, and we are all invited! On May 22nd, there is a ball at the Langham Huntington in Pasadena, California, from 8 to 11 pm PST time.
Now, not all of us have ball gowns sitting in the closet, and that's okay. Instead, pop some popcorn and slap on some of the 20th anniversary merch they're selling over at the NBC store and settle in for the smoldering drama. Whichever manner you choose to celebrate this moment is absolutely up to you, as for me, I'm going with the popcorn and the cozy sweatshirt; my ball gown is at the cleaners. Oh, and we must not forget the piping hot coffee in the "I have sworn to loathe him for all eternity" mug.
So, what have Ms. Bennet and Mr. Darcy been up to for the past 20 years? Well, Elizabeth (Knightly) went on to play soccer, pretend to be a queen, marry a king, be an Elizabeth, but take the last name of Swan and run amok with pirates for a few years, to mention just a few adventures. Keira Knightley basically just became one of the most diversified, sweetest and most down-to-earth actresses in the game. She is a wife and mother to two daughters who are absolutely unimpressed with their mother's accolades.
Macfadyen's journey while no less adventurous did take some dastardly detours along the way. He has been a soldier, a spy, a Musketeer, perhaps one of Hollywood's most iconic Captains, and a Marvel villain. Just as we would expect from Mr. Darcy, eh? He is a husband and father to two children, a boy and a girl, who apparently are only impressed by the Marvel bit.
The film also starred; Carey Mulligan, Rosamunde Pike, Jena Malone, Talulah Riley, Rupert Friend, Tom Hollander, the late Donald Sutherland, Dame Judi Dench and more. If you have to ask what the good Dame Dench has been up to, well the answer is being fabulous and not caring what anyone thinks about her and honestly? Werk.
Pride and Prejudice is proof of longevity in relation to quality of a film and it is set to go on another 20 years and yes, we will be even more old and decrepit but I hope that Focus Features throws another big to-do over it, so we can go all out, dance the night away maybe, with bad knees or not. But! While your knees (and hips for that matter) are still doing good, walk on over to your nearest streaming-capable device and take a dip into the world of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy once more, for old times' sake. The film is available to watch on Netflix and Prime Video or for purchase as a DVD.