The Thrilling Point

“You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love…I love…I love you…”

It was raining really hard that night. I was waiting for something, something that I do not know. I was sitting by the window, occasionally glancing on the street where people pass by with their big umbrellas. How come they decided to walk with that weather? I saw faces, many faces. Faces passing in front of my eyes. Eyes that never dared to look at me, maybe because no one really cared. After several glances, I gradually invite my eyes to a man approaching our house. He was a man with an average body and height. He wears a blue polo shirt and black pants. On his right hand, he carries a bag, more like a ‘briefcase-like’ bag. And on his other hand, he carries a black plastic bag. I stared on that plastic bag for a very long time, maybe I was trying to do an “x-ray” of this possession. Captured by the bag’s mysterious impression, I failed to hear our door bell. Someone’s ringing it. I hastily approached the door, wondering who disturb my peculiar trance. I opened the door and saw this man who was wearing this blue polo shirt smiling at me. Oh, I realized who he is, he is my father. I was stunned with my complete “unawareness” of this man. He seemed to ignore my startling reaction, because he stayed smiling. He slowly gives me the plastic bag. I was wondering, “Is this for me?” I opened it. Mixed emotions flooded in m mind, heart, and soul. This is so nice! I’ve been waiting this time to come! I happily hugged my new prized possession—my CD of Pride and Prejudice.


I made this right after watching the film. :-)

Maybe that was too much for an introduction, but I can’t help it! I just want to write something that I feel in movies—the thrill. I am not sure if you are thrilled by my writing but I think you’ve got the idea, right? Anyway, I am just happy that I own a CD of Pride and Prejudice (2005, American version). I watched it long time ago and honestly, did not understand the concept of the movie (I was 15 back then and I was not a serious person). This movie gave me the “thrill.” Not your usual thrill of being frightened by a big hideous monster or the sound of a violin in E string while the white lady approaches. No, not like that. It is the feeling of an emotion arising from the depth of your soul. The new feeling that creeps all the way to your heart and head, and resides there forever. That is how it felt after watching Pride and Prejudice.

I think that Jane Austen is really ‘forward’ when it comes to the topic of women. Austen wrote a different woman; well, different from her period. She wrote Elizabeth Bennet as an opposite of most women during that time. She gave her a voice to transcend her message what and how women should act and be treated. On the other hand, Jane Austen did not fail to give her audiences their need for romance. She painted Mr. Darcy as a “dream boy” of every girl. Mr. Darcy gave me the ‘thrill’ during the scene where he admitted that he loves Lizzie. Their romance is unpredictable and really exhilarating. You can’t just get enough, like what an ad says.

Aside from the script, the movie will not be a complete success if the casting is not right. Matthew MacFadyen gave justice to the role of Mr. Darcy. He made remarkable lines lovelier with his voice and tone. On the other hand, Keira Knightly did an amazing performance as Elizabeth Bennett. She perfectly showed a ‘renewed’ woman, like what Jane Austen wrote. The other casts like Donald Sutherland, Rosamund Pike, and Brenda Blethyn also made fantastic job in internalizing their roles. In whole, the cast is good and they just made the whole movie a great film.

In life, we always hunt for the ‘thrill’. According to a book about marriages, one of the main reasons of the increasing number of failed (and failing) marriages is the loss of ‘thrill’ in the relationship. The ‘thrill’ is made up of the unpredictability of events, the surprising twists and turning of actions. Like what this movie (and I wish all movies) has, is the ‘thrill’ of being in love again, of renewing your connection to the world, and of being happy to show who you really are.