|
|
DARCY MANIA: COLIN FIRTH'S MR. DARCY GIVES US THE FEVERImagine, for a moment, that you are in the grand ballroom of an imposing Georgian mansion. As you whirl around the room, dancing with an enchanting young man, you bask in a sumptuous atmosphere lit by chandeliers and candelabras and augmented by attendants in costumes and wigs. Surveying a group of dark-suited gentlemen in the corner, you spot a sullen-faced man fiddling nervously with his exquisitely embroidered lace cravat. His brooding eyes challenge your curious stare, and you feel as if his piercing gaze has penetrated the very depths of your soul. By a stroke of luck, his best friend introduces you to him. But before a single word can escape from your lips, your new acquaintance leaves the room and gallops away, his horse madly tearing through the streets. The a mazed crowd whispers nervously, but your only thought is of the mysterious gentleman... Does this remind you of how you felt after watching the BBC's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice on A& E? Admit it. You've got "Darcy Fever."The handsomely sulky Mr. Darcy, played by British actor Colin Firth, is the latest in a long line of sexy stars this movie season. Move over, George Clooney. Step aside, Pierce Brosnan. Firth's brooding hero has got women in two continents wild over Jane Austen's wittiest and funniest novel in ways that poor Jane would never have imagined. Unfortunately, Firth doesn't take it all off in Pride and Prejudice--but mind you, there are plenty of erotic scenes to go around. Modern day EszterhasAt first glance, Pride and Prejudice is hardly the kind of novel that lends itself to bodice-ripping sequences. It is a "classic," accepted as an integral part of the canon of Western literature. (This accounts for its ubiquitous presence in high school English curricula.) For years, many people read Pride and Prejudice and other Austen works because they had to, not because they wanted to. But the recent spate of Austen films--Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, even an updated Emma (see Clueless)--has lifted the early nineteenth-century author from the shelves of students and young girls wishing they could be Elizabeth Bennet to the same kind of audience that gets its kicks from James Bond. There's no question that Austen mania has indeed caught fire. It's no small wonder that Emma Thompson won a Golden Globe for her screen adaptation of Sense and Sensibility; or that Austen's novels are sold out at the bookstores, or even that the New Yorker picked up on this curious cultural phenomenon in a cartoon of a woman who remarks to a friend, "Oh, you mean that Jane. I thought you meant Jane Austen." swashbuckling heroThe excellent timing of the latest BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice has allowed Darcy Fever to afflict thousands of unsuspecting women in search of a dashing hero to take them away to his castle. For although Persuasion, which hit theaters in November, starred Ciaran Hinds as the ruggedly handsome Captain Wentworth, his relatively low rank in early nineteenth-century society prevented many from envisioning him as their knight in shining armor. (Soldiers resided on the borderline between gentry and lower-class.) Then came Sense and Sensibility--but Hugh Grant's perennially fluttering eyelids were more than a bit unnerving. Pride and Prejudice, however, possesses the right elements for the stalwart leading man. Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy elegantly steams, stews, and sulks while his passion for Elizabeth Bennet (Jennifer Ehle) smolders within his tormented soul. Add that to Darcy's stunning estate--Pemberley--which literally glows on the screen in its magnificence, and to his "Rolls-Royce income" (as producer Sue Birtwistle calls his 10,000 pounds a year), and you've got an explosive combination of eroticism and opulence, of epic sweep and high adventure. But what, exactly, is the secret ingredient that makes this Darcy mesmerize audiences? In the 1985 film version of Pride and Prejudice, David Rintoul hardly raised eyebrows. Colin Firth, however, brings new elements to the role--not the least his captivating stare which has since become a trademark. The decision to create a sexier Darcy has also catapulted him to stardom. Screenwriter Andrew Davies included hints of eroticism that were never present in the novel, such as a scene where Darcy steps out from his bath, clad only in a brocaded silk robe while he stares at Lizzy from his window. Another sequence features the young gentleman passionately writing a letter to his beloved, then washing his face in an attempt to cool his burning desire. As one member of the Jane Austen news group put it, "Water, water, everywhere--and not a drop of Lizzy to drink." To show that Darcy is truly a swashbuckling hero à la Alexandre Dumas, Firth fences, then swims with his clothes on in the pond at Pemberley--only to meet Lizzy on the way back, his shirt dripping wet and clinging to his muscular body. Apparently these erotic scenes satisfied women, at least in England: Firth's shirt fetched at least 500 pounds at an auction. Perhaps these same swooning women went so far as to visit National Trust Home in Derbyshire (which served as the set for the fictitious Pemberley in the film) in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Firth-as-Darcy portrait shown to Lizzy when she visits his estate. They went home immensely disappointed, for the painting was removed after filming had been completed. Tough luck, Darcy fiends. Firth in the flesh Perhaps what is most amazing about Darcy mania is Colin Firth's overnight rise to stardom. Never a household name before Pride and Prejudice, Firth himself is bewildered by the attention. The New York Times reported, "The success of Darcy makes no sense to Mr. Firth, even frightens him." Not a surprising reaction for a man who played the villainous rake Valmont (in the movie of the same name) to lackluster reviews, while women swooned over John Malkovich's evil aristocrat in Dangerous Liaisons. These days, however, Firth enjoys the barbed privilege of having women gather around him in awe--much to his embarrassment. As a result, his previous films--ranging from the controversial Advocate, where he plays a medieval French lawyer, to the violent Hostages, where, at the nine-minute mark, Firth is shown nude--have gained popularity. Not bad for a man who was told he would be a "tolerable" actor by his instructors at England's National Youth Theatre. Without a doubt, the film version of Pride and Prejudice has transformed Jane Austen from a novelist whose works are read mostly in school into an accessible and entertaining drama. At the same time, however, the Darcy phenomenon reveals an alarming trend in transforming classic characters into objects of, not only a healthy admiration, but also sexual desire. For Jane Austen novels, which have rarely, if ever, been picked up for "campy" enjoyment, are now becoming vehicles for hero-worship. But Austen is hardly the first classic writer to attract mainstream audiences. In the 1970s and `80s, Emily and Charlotte Bronte's works, such as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, induced audiences to swoon over British actor Timothy Dalton's Heathcliff and Mr. Rochester--to an extent equal to, if not greater, than Colin Firth's fandom. While Firth's Darcy may not provoke as strong a following as Dalton's Rochester did--in 1983 a reporter from the then-communist Russia risked his life to interview Dalton in England--Firth will surely command a whopping sticker price on his next project. And if he turns out to be a five-minute wonder, let's hope he enjoys this roller-coaster ride--while it lasts. This page is copyright 1996, the college hill independent |