The Contamination of Mr. Darcy

Photo by flickr user nicogenin

Cognizant of the danger upon which I place myself in asserting the following declaration, I will nonetheless state it: I cannot stand Colin Firth. For those of you who dwell outside the realm of predictable “chick-flicks” and vacuous dialogue, I will enlighten you by disclosing that Colin Firth is a British actor, commonly cast as the cute, considerate, complicated and endearingly clumsy love interest to the female protagonist in films such as “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Love Actually” and “Mamma Mia.” Typically (read: in “Bridget Jones,” for I cannot rid myself of the image of his character in that movie), the heroine initially overlooks Darcy, Firth’s character, as a potential lover because his shy, reserved nature registers as snobbish. Furthermore, a gallant, glowing gentleman (i.e., Hugh Grant) who turns out to be a rake, is usually in the way of Firth’s conquest. The playboy woos the painfully insecure woman, uninspired dialogue ensues, the lover is exposed as a cheater, the woman is in throes, but—alas—Colin resurfaces and heals the wounded heart.

Don’t misapprehend me; I am a sucker for inane romantic comedies, yet my irritation with Colin Firth originates from the broody, slightly pathetic characters he portrays in these movies.

The paramount motive for my aversion to Firth is in the fact that he has forever tainted my perception of Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy.

Admittedly, I actually like Firth’s rendering of Austen’s irresistible—albeit fictional—creation. The actor portrays the original Mr. Darcy (not the gloomy, feeble one in “Bridget Jones”) with much devotion to the original text—therefore leaving very little to criticize—in the 1995 A&E miniseries production of “Pride and Prejudice.” Nevertheless, I will never forgive Firth for playing such an admirable personage as Darcy, only to pollute the character’s image with his subsequent movie choices.

How could he? Is Firth truly so insensible as not to foresee the injurious consequences that would plague his audience by succeeding Mr. Darcy with such unremarkable characters? I will never again be able to read the scene in “Pride and Prejudice” in which Darcy indignantly proposes to Elizabeth and she rejects his offer, without picturing the “Bridget Jones” Mr. Darcy bursting into tears.

I suppose my qualm with the poor Mr. Firth is rooted in a vaster dominion than this particular actor’s movies, and I might just possibly be projecting my anger towards the most salient exemplar of my frustration. The bigger picture is in fact the following: movies based on books are always disappointing, and more importantly, they very often cloud the reader’s imaginative powers and subject them to a particular perspective of the work from which it is very difficult to detach oneself.

It is not the actors’ fault per se, but thespians certainly carry a portion of the blame when they choose to partake in the cinematographic rendition of a literary work that doesn’t do justice to the original text. Arguably, a film will never be able to equal a book in its ability to inspire, stimulate, question and enlighten; as the medium itself lacks the faculty to depict the subtleties that are presented in the written word—that is, unless the screenplay follows the original text verbatim. I cannot, for the life of me, imagine a movie based on a Henry James novel; it is actually painful for me to do so. I refuse to believe that the brilliant Isabel Archer from “The Portrait of a Lady” can be in any way emulated by Nicole Kidman.

It is precisely for this reason that I do estimate the 1953 film version of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” as a fine representation, for the movie stays very true to the author, and when it digresses, it doesn’t offend by attempting to surpass Shakespeare’s rhetorical genius. The most memorable scene in the movie is, ironically, one in which Marlon Brando, who plays Mark Antony, stands before the Roman people and silently gestures—doesn’t modify—the notorious “Friends, Romans, countrymen” speech.

Only films that are based on mediocre books have the capacity to convey new meaning to the text. My first encounter with Nicholas Sparks’ “The Notebook” was through the movie version, which I, like every other teenage girl in the country, quite thoroughly enjoyed. Such was my emotional attachment to the story that I decided to read the novel, which was, in hindsight, quite an absurd idea. Not only did the book disappoint my expectation that the written version would provide a deeper identification with the characters, but it actually ruined the movie for me by exposing the whole narrative for what it really is: a clichéd love story.

It might not be evident from this post, but I am actually quite a filmophile (so much so that I venture to define it in a term that doesn’t exist). However, I am not an advocate of merging literature and film. There are some brilliant screenwriters out there, I am sure (though most of them are currently in hiding, in my opinion), just as there are gifted novelists. Nevertheless, each of them should strive to improve their respective mediums, and if possible, refrain from interfering with the other, because if I happen to see a preview of Colin Firth playing Don Quixote, windmills will be the least of his worries.

About Patricia Ball

Patricia Ball (CAS '11) is a literature writer for the Quad.

View all posts by Patricia Ball →

22 Comments on “The Contamination of Mr. Darcy”

  1. i LOVE bridget jones. it is the best movie of all time. i love mr darcy.

    it’s actually really funny because in the book version of BJD, bridget is in love with colin firth for playing mr. darcy. it doesn’t read in the movie obviously because colin firth can’t play himself and mr. darcy and jane austen’s mr darcy all at once, but it’s reallt funny when you read it.

  2. I agree, Colin is a crap actor. He has done everything he can to sabotage Mr. Darcy, particularly in the Bridget Jone’s films. The portrayal almost seemed intentional to, in some ways take a classic and kill it! And well Helen Fielding has also played a big part of it as well.

    He always repeats the same archtype, only in different situations..

  3. This article only displays the author’s limited familiarity with Mr. Firth’s work. Several dozen films and TV productions, most of which are decidedly not romantic comedies.

  4. To say that you can’t stand Colin Firth is to say you do not like him as a person, despite the fact that he seems kind, generous, thoughtful, honest, etc. etc.

    Perhaps you should have said you’ve seen some of his movies that you didn’t like? I’m not sure how a portrayal of Mr. Darcy that you found admirable is somehow tainted by a his portrayal of a different character played in a different movie? Is there somehow a rewind function in your mind? Seems a bizarre phenomenon to me – glad I don’t suffer from such a condition.

    Do you hate Tom Hanks because he plays a character in a movie based on fabulously successful books (DaVinci Code and sequel) because he played Forrest Gump?

  5. Well, Patricia Ball, you sure spent a big chunk of your time one day writing about someone you cannot stand. I, for one, disagree with you about Colin Firth. There is not a more generous or kind person out there humanitarian-wise and you clearly are judging only the more mainstream of his films career-wise. If you took the time to do some research, as easy as checking IMDB, you would see a very diverse choice of his films to enjoy. And, maybe you have heard his name mentioned recently…nominated for an Oscar…ring any bells, Patricia?

  6. I totally agree with the points made in this post. Colin did a brilliant job
    of playing Darcy in the A&E miniseries yet, in Bridget Jones he makes the character almost totaly un-likeable. Speaking as someone who has seen A Single Man- I can say that Colin Firth is a decent actor who has been typecasted; it was a different version of the same character.

  7. What a brilliantly chosen excuse to write a silly, self-opinionated article guaranteed to attract attention and annoy Mr Firth’s fans. Actually, whether you like or hate him, the more you write about him, the better for his publicity. So please keep writing.

  8. I am a great fan of Colin Firth. I have taken the time to watch most of his films, even those that aren’t available here in the US because I do believe he is one of the most undervalued actors in the business today. I loved him in Pride & Prejudice and consider him the ultimate Mr. Darcy – having watched every adaptation ever done. His film choices may not always be critical masterpieces, but his performances have always been solid. To those who state that he plays the same character in every film I ask: Have you seen “Girl With A Pearl Earring”, “Trauma”, “The Lost Empires”, “Another Country”, “Tumbledown”, “Genova”,”Valmont”, “The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd”, “Where the Truth Lies”, “When Did You Last See Your Father?”, “Conspiracy” or “Then She Found Me”? There’s more, but I think you get my point. Actors can get type-cast, and Colin Firth does play the misunderstood jilted lover quite well, but after seeing his magnificent and academy award nominated portrayl of a gay grieving professor in “A Single Man” I hope he gets more respect than this author and her article gave him.

  9. I think that you have overlooked the fact that Colin Firth has already done a Don Quixote, in the BBC updated version of Donovan Quick. He played it very well and it was a thoroughly enjoyable piece of work, as alot of his works are.
    Just because you didn’t like the BJ ‘Darcy’ doesn’t make him a bad actor per se – he was having a bit of fun with the Darcy role – you get that? Fun? Like Mamma Mia! It was a bit of Fun…

    He has played many roles with a depth of character, feeling and subtlety that you obviously don’t have the wit to appreciate. For instance, A Month In The Country, Tumbledown, Valmont, Conspiracy, The Lost Empires, Easy Virtue, Girl With A Pearl Earring, and of course A Single Man. Maybe you’re someone who needs the character to say how they’re feeling and then act it out for you?

    But as a previous writer said, keep writing stuff about him, because that way you are keeping him in the news – so thanks!

  10. What would provoke someone to post something negative about a fine actor and person? And, an actor just nominated for an Oscar? I personally think Mr. Firth is one of the finest actors today, and if you look at the list of his movies, has turned out fine performances in many dramatic roles. Tumbledown, Conspiracy, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Trama, Another Country, Genova and A Single Man are among them. His work in humanitarian issues speaks volumes.

  11. Out of his 70+ Movies and performances all you have seen him in is P&P, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Love Actually and Mamma Mia. From that limited perspective of 4 characters he has played you choose to judge his talent and entire 30 year career?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *