About a week ago, on April 20th, 2025, the well-praised film adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice came back into theaters, in light of its 20 year anniversary. In honor of this event, I decided to take upon myself to watch this film for the first time–though I have yet to read the novel (shame on me I know)–and to my surprise, I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.

To give some background information on myself, I am not often fond of romance movies in general. I do enjoy a good romcom every now and then, but a vast majority of the time romance films usually end in an eye roll for me, mainly due to faults in the plot or actors simply not having enough chemistry. However, Pride and Prejudice has been one of the only romance films to receive 5 stars from me on Letterboxd, a popular movie review site.

The film itself does not contain any physically romantic scenes, as most romance movies do, until the very end of the film (if one even considers this), which ends in a kiss shared between the main character Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Despite this, I believe that it is one of the most intimate movies to exist.

The art of not having as many physical scenes between the characters, but rather conveying to the audience their love for each other as people, is far more romantic than any romance film I have ever seen. I now see why it is considered the height of the romance genre.

The chemistry between Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfayden is unmatchable. They communicated their delicate emotional pull to each other through their eyes and expressions. The actors truly gave their all with the portrayal of these characters.

With the pacing of the story as well, the movie did wonderfully. Hardly any point in the film felt rushed, and none of the elements of the story seemed unnecessary–though that point would go to Jane Austen considering she created this part. The visuals and costumes were absolutely divine. I was mesmerized by the scenery and the dresses worn by all the women.

All in all, Pride and Prejudice is a beautifully crafted film, and everyone should take advantage of its re-release in theaters this year to go see it for themselves, if they haven’t already.