The film opens with a tracking shot of a green covered field on a sun-lit morning. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bennet, the second-born Bennet daughter, walks along the field finishing a book. Upon coming home, she overhears her mother telling her father excitedly that Netherfield, a nearby estate, has been rented by a Mr. Bingley, a wealthy gentleman from London. Mrs. Bennet begs Mr. Bennet to call on Mr. Bingley, believing him to be a very suitable match for any of her daughters. After Mr. Bennett finally divulges that he has already met Mr. Bingley, and that they can all expect to see him at an upcoming public ball, all of the Bennet daughters squeal each in excitement. Lizzie herself and the eldest sister Jane smile with pleasure, as the younger Lydia and Kitty jump out and down, and immediately begin to beg Jane to borrow her pretties pair of shoes. Mary, the youngest, merely goes back to playing her piano.
Later, at the public ball, the entire party is dancing, talking, and laughing; especially Lydia and Kitty, who seem to be giddy about being out in public in front of gentlemen. As Jane and Lizzie stand to the side observing the dance, Lizzie tells Jane that she has no intention of ever marrying. Jane disagrees and teases; "One day, Lizzie, a man will catch your eye and then you will have to hold your tongue."
Suddenly, the room goes silent, as Mr. Bingley enters the hall with two others in tow. As the entire party stares at them in wonder, Charlotte Lucas, Lizzie's dear friend, goes to her side and whispers that it is Mr. Bingley with his sister Caroline and his best friend Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. After watching Mr. Darcy's stern demeanor, Lizzie observes "He looks miserable for so." Charlotte counters, "Miserable he may be, but poor he certainly is not."
Mrs. Bennet wastes no time in arranging an introduction between Mr. Bingley and his party to her daughters. Though Kitty and Lydia are already dancing, she manages to have Jane, Lizzie, Mary, and Charlotte introduced. While Mr. Darcy and Miss Bingley stare with an air of superiority, Mr. Bingley strikes up a conversation with Jane and Eliza.
Kitty and Lydia run up breathlessly to Mrs. Bennet, and tell her that the militia are due to stay in their town over the winter. Overcome with excitement, Mrs. Bennet can only be happier when she sees that Mr. Bingley has asked Jane to dance. Elizabeth, standing next to Mr. Darcy, asks "Do you dance, Mr.Darcy?"
His brief response, "Not if I can help it," makes Elizabeth smile to herself, and walks away, laughing at the slight. While she and Charlotte are later out of sight talking to themselves, they overhear Mr. Bingley and Darcy walk by, sharing their opinions of the dance. Bingley is quite enraptured by Jane, but owns that Elizabeth is also not without her own charms. Darcy declares Jane to be the prettiest at the ball, and says that he only finds Lizzie "barely tolerable." Later, while talking with Darcy and Bingley, Elizabeth gives Darcy a jab of her own, saying that "she likes dancing, only when one's partner is 'barely tolerable.'" She leaves the group, smiling to herself in satisfaction.
The next morning, a letter arrives for Jane; Caroline Bingley has invited her to dinner at Netherfield, though she states that her brother and Darcy will be out away for dinner. After Mrs. Bennet refuses the use of the carriage for Jane, she makes her ride on horseback. Later, when it starts to pour, we see that Mrs. Bennet's clever scheme was to have Jane stranded at Netherfield, and ensure an overnight stay. However, Mrs. Bennet's plan is not perfect, as a letter from Jane arrives the next day saying that she has a terrible cold and can't return home.
Eliza, worried for her sister, walks the long distance in the muddy roads to Netherfield to visit Jane. When enters the reserved and elegant parlor with her hair down and wild, with muddy shoes and skirt, Caroline and Darcy looked shocked at her arrival and her appearance. Lizzie apologizes and inquires about her sister; Darcy brusquely replies that Jane is upstairs resting. Eliza is suprised a bit by the quick reaction, but then smiles and goes upstairs to Jane. As soon as she has left the room, Miss Bingley is quickly remarks how disheveled she looked, stating she "was almost positively medievil."
With a serious cold, Jane is unable to leave, and Elizabeth is forced to stay at Netherfield. While Jane rests, Eliza visits with Darcy and the Bingleys in the sitting room. As Miss Bingley makes increasingly brazen remarks about the unpolished behavior of the Bennet family and even Elizabeth, Darcy quietly hears hers out her venom but doesn't respond. After a few days, Jane recovers enough to return home, and she and Elizabeth say their goodbyes. Judging by Mr Bingley's concern for her sister, and his fumbling words around her, Elizabeth is sure that Mr Bingley is in love with Jane. While getting into the carriage, Elizabeth is shocked when Darcy takes her hand to help her into the carriage. As she watches in disbelief as he walks away, he stretches the hand that touched hers.
The Bennet sisters go into town next to see the soliders from the militia arrive, marching down the street. Lydia, being a naive flirt, takes her handkerchief and throws into the middle of the street, in hopes that a solider will notice it - but to her dismay, they only ignore and trample it.
Upon arriving home, they learn that "the dreaded cousin" Mr Collins has written Mr Bennet, to tell him that he will soon visit. Eliza, explaining the unhappiness that his visit is bringing to the Bennet family to her friend Charlotte, says Mr Collins is due to inherit the Bennet estate after Mr Bennet dies, leaving the sisters and Mrs Bennet without a penny. When Mr Collins, a short and serious clergyman, arrives, the girls find him strange and overly complimentary on every point. That night, while the family sits in their living room reading and needle-pointing, he tells Mrs Bennet that he intends to marry one of the daughters, so that the estate will stay with the family. He says that Jane is the current object of his desire, but Mrs Bennet steers him towards Eliza, as she hopes Jane will marry Mr Bingley.
While the Bennet girls are in town shopping for ribbons, they run into Mr Wickham, a handsome soldier in the militia. While Kitty and Lydia shop enthusiastically, Eliza and Mr Wickham talk and flirt. On their walk home, they see Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy on horseback across a creek. Bingley reminds the girls of the ball that he is due to have, but when Darcy and Wickham stare at each other in discomfort, they are quick to ride off. Elizabeth, confused by the men's reactions to each other, asks Wickham how he knows Darcy. Wickham quickly tells Eliza that his father had been Darcy's family gardener, and he and Darcy had known each other since childhood. He claimed that he was a favorite of Darcy's father, and that a large living which was left to him in the will was kept from him by Darcy, out of spite. Elizabeth is amazed at the story, but is not entirely shocked, given Darcy's personality.
The girls, dressed in their finest white dresses and ribbons, arrive at the Netherfield ball. Elizabeth searches for Wickham but is saddened to learn that he will not be attending, but is quickly asked to dance by Mr Collins. She reluctantly accepts, and suffers an awkward dance while Mr Collins proclaims annoyingly that "it is his intention to remain quite close to her for the remainder of the evening." Dismayed, Elizabeth runs off with Charlotte, laughing at Mr Collins' ridiculous behaviour, when they suddenly run into Darcy. Quietly, they stand looking at each other, until Darcy abruptly asks Eliza for the next dance. She accepts, and then hurries off with Charlotte for a quiet space. They laugh in disbelief, and Eliza, smiling, admits that "this is most inconvenient" as she had resigned herself to loathe him for all eternity.
While they dance in partial silence, Eliza first begins an awkward attempt at conversation while talking about the ball. Provoked by his silence, Elizabeth takes the opporunity to ask Darcy about Wickham, at which Darcy gets extremely uncomfortable. While their conversation grows intense, it is clear that there is a tension in their manners - possibly attraction. After they drop the argument, they momentarily appear to be the only two people dancing in the room. The dance ends, and they part.
Mr. Collins approaches Elizabeth as she walks away from the dance floor, and excitedly asks her who she was just dancing with. When Lizzie confirms that he is Mr. Darcy of Permberly, Mr. Collins immediately tells her that he plans on approaching him to personally give his regards, as it is Mr. Darcy's aunt is the patroness of his parsonage. Without a prior introduction, this would be extremely out of taste, but Mr. Collins could not be dissuaded by any of Elizabeth's protests. Mr. Collins sidles up behind Mr. Darcy, and unable to get his attention after coughing conspicuously, repeats his name increasingly louder until it becomes impossible to ignore. His unseemly actions catch the eye of Caroline Bingley, who quickly approached Elizabeth to say with a smirk "How interesting your relatives are, Miss Elizabeth". Biting her tongue, with a curt bow, Elizabeth walks away. As she walks through the party, she first finds her youngest sister Mary singing and playing at the piano in an untalented way while other girls snicker at her, Kitty and Lydia are collapsing on each other fairly drunk, while Mrs. Bennet, also obviously tipsy, meanders by, humming to herself, eating a dessert with a spoon. Elizabeth runs into her friend Charlotte, and mourns that every member of her family is determined to make a spectacle of themselves. Charlotte reminds her that Jane is not to be included in that group. They agree and discuss Mr Bingley's obvious attraction for Jane. Charlotte warns Lizzie that Jane should show more affection and attention to Mr Bingley, to encourage him. Elizabeth defends Jane, countering that Jane is reserved and shy, but feels that the attention is enough. Charlotte maintains that we are all fools in love.
As Darcy dances with Caroline, she insults the Bennets. Darcy ignores her and they continue to dance. Mrs. Bennet accidentally spills something on a gentleman and attempts to wipe it off; we see Mr.Collins looking sad and dismayed about being rejected by Lizzie. Mr.Bennet finally finds and consoles Mary, who hugs him and cries; telling him that she had been practicing all week and that she hates balls. We then see Lizzie in a dark room, reflecting on her dance with Darcy. In the early morning, the Bennets leave for home with Lydia and Kitty asleep. Bingley smiles at Jane just before they leave, Caroline knows the look on her brother's face means only one thing...love, and if she is going to have anything about it; she has to act quickly.
The next morning, Mr.Collins enters the dining area as the Bennets are having breakfast; he asks if he can speak to Lizzie alone, Mrs.Bennet shoos her family into the parlor as Lizzie pleads with Jane and her father to stay, but Mrs.Bennet manages to get them to leave with her. Mr.Collins, after making a long speech, proposes marriage to Lizzie; who immediately and straightforwardly rejects him and rushes from the house, Mrs.Bennet goes after her and tells her that she WILL marry Mr.Collins, Lizzie says that she doesn't love him and that she cannot make her marry him. Mrs.Bennet tells Mr.Bennet to tell Lizzie that he wants her to marry Mr.Collins, Mr.Bennet tells Lizzie that if she marries Mr.Collins then he will never speak to her again; Lizzie thanks him and races off.
Lizzie returns inside to find Jane looking sick and pale, with a letter in her hand. In the bedchamber that night, Lizzie is packing a case for Jane so she can travel to London and retrieve Mr.Bingley she also complains that Mr.Bingley better have a good reason for leaving Netherfield; Jane tells her to read the letter, she doesn't mind. Lizzie reads the letter and it is revealed that they left because Mr.Darcy is far too impatient to wait out his stay and see his younger sister Georgiana, of whom Caroline would like to call her sister. Lizzie realizes that Caroline dragged Bingley away so she could set him up with Darcy's younger sister, Jane tells Lizzie that she hardly finds Caroline that deceitful and perhaps Bingley just never loved her at all. Lizzie protests and says that she is certain Bingley DOES love her and to not give up, she tells Jane to go to London and stay with their aunt and uncle and she is sure that Bingley will send for her before the week is out. The family bids Jane farewell the next morning as she rides off to London to seek out her love.
Later in the afternoon, Elizabeth is sitting in the barn and spinning around on a swing; she stops when Charlotte appears. Charlotte tells Lizzie that Mr.Collins has proposed to her and she has accepted, Lizzie argues that Mr.Collins is anything but right for her; Charlotte agrees but she tells Lizzie to look at her, she is 27 years old and can no longer bare to live off her parents; she tells her that she cannot do any better than Mr.Collins and warns her good friend NOT to judge her actions. A few weeks later, Charlotte and Mr.Collins are wed and they invite Lizzie to see their home; Lizzie is less than amused by her surroundings but can tell that Charlotte is genuinely happy.
Mr. Collins takes Lizzie and Charlotte to visit his neighbor and patron, the fabulously wealthy and aristocratic Lady Catherine DeBourg, who is also Darcy's aunt. Mr. Collins is extremely fawning and obsequious toward her. Mr. Darcy, and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, are also there.
Lady DeBourg is an incredibly haughty, arrogant, insolent, and overbearing person. At dinner, she quizzes Lizzie about her family. She is openly disdainful of the Bennets' lower class upbringing (specifically, not having had a governess), Lizzie's unseemly (to Lady Debourg) outspokenness, and the fact that the five girls were not following proper social protocol by all being "out in society" at the same time.
After dinner, Lady DeBourg commands that Lizzie play the piano. Lizzie protests that she is a poor musician, but Lady DeBourg is not to be denied. While Lizzie is muddling her way through a piano piece, Darcy comes over, and the two of them engage in some verbal sparring. Fitzwilliam comes over and asks about Lizzie's impression of her earlier encounter with Darcy. Lizzie relates his seemingly antisocial behavior, not conversing or dancing with anyone. Darcy protests that he is not skilled in conversing with people to whom he has not been introduced. The sparring continues. Darcy seems hurt by Lizzie's reproach.
The next day, Mr. Darcy comes to the house, seeming to want to speak to Lizzie, but is then totally tongue-tied and unable to express himself. He leaves in an apparent state of confusion and agitation.
During a boring church sermon by Mr. Collins, Lizzie and Colonel Fitzwilliam have a whispered conversation. Fitzwilliam reveals that Darcy was the one who had separated Mr. Bingley from Jane.
Later, in a shelter from a driving rainstorm, Darcy meets Lizzie and proclaims his love for her, saying that this is against his better judgement and despite her inferior social rank. An extremely bitter confrontation ensues. Lizzie denounces Darcy for his haughty demeanor and, more importantly, for interfering with Jane and Bingley. Darcy explains that he did this because he believed that Jane was not really interested in the relationship. Liz counters that Jane is simply very shy. "My sister hardly shows her true feelings to me!" Darcy also makes extremely disparaging comments about the remaining members of the Bennet family. Lizzie also brings up Mr. Wickham's claim that Darcy had cheated him out of his inheritance.
Lizzie is so upset by this confrontation that she spends the rest of the day brooding about it back at the house. At nightfall, Darcy comes by and drops off a letter that he has written. Lizzie says nothing.
In the letter, Darcy explains the relationship with Wickham. Darcy's father did indeed leave Wickham with a generous allowance. Wickham demanded, and received, the full principal, then gambled it away and came back for more. Darcy refused. Later, Wickham returned, and tried to elope with Darcy's sister Georgiana, to get her 30,000 pound inheritance. When he was told he would not get it, he disappeared. Darcy's letter also explains that Georgiana was only 15 at the time, and was thrown into a state of deep despair by this. Darcy explained that he had separated Jane from Bingley because he truly believed that he was helping his friend.
Lizzie returns home. Jane is also home from London, having failed to find Mr. Bingley. She tells Lizzie, not very convincingly, that she is quite over her attraction to Bingley. She asks Lizzie whether there is any news from Kent. Lizzie say no; she lies. She specifically denies that Darcy had said anything about Bingley.
Also, Lydia has been invited by Colonel Forster to go on a trip to the South coastal resort at Brighton. Lizzie thinks it is a bad idea; Lydia is immature and impulsive, and could get into trouble. She pleads with her father to forbid it, and is furious when he doesn't.
The Bennet sisters' aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, are visiting, and will be going on a vacation in the Peak district to the North. They invite Lizzie to come with them, and she accepts.
While on their travels, Lizzie's aunt and uncle suggest a visit to Pemberley, Darcy's grand estate, which is nearby and is open for visitors. Lizzie is reluctant to be anywhere near the man she hates, but consents to the trip when she is told that Darcy is away.
Lizzie is utterly awed by the opulence and splendor of the house and grounds, particularly a sculpture gallery. The housekeeper tells the three visitors what a kind, caring, and generous person Mr. Darcy is. Lizzie begins to think that her earlier impression of him may have been wrong.
Lizzie peeks into a room where a very young woman (who will turn out to be Darcy's younger sister Georgiana) is playing the piano. She then sees Darcy enter, and he and the young woman welcome each other and embrace affectionately. Lizzie quickly leaves and goes outside. Darcy follows her and makes an awkward attempt to be conciliatory. He explains that he had returned from his trip early. He offers Lizzie a ride back to the inn where she is staying, but she declines, saying that she will walk.
At dinner at the inn, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner tell Lizzie that Darcy had come to talk to them, seemed to be a very gracious person, and had invited them all to come back to Pemberley the next day, so that Mr. Gardiner could go fishing and Lizzie could meet Georgiana. They do so. When Lizzie and Georgiana meet, the latter says "My brother has told me so much about you. I feel that we are friends already." Darcy then flatters Lizzie into playing piano duets with the much more talented Georgiana. The interaction between Lizzie and Darcy is completely pleasant and amiable this time, the first time that this has happened.
The Gardiners, Lizzie, and Darcy all go to the inn that evening for dinner. Lizzie receives a letter with the shocking news that Lydia has run away with Mr. Wickham. Darcy blames himself for this, for not having exposed Wickham's perfidy sooner. He then leaves, and the others hurry back to Longbourn. Mr. Bennet has gone to London to try to find Lydia and Wickham, and force them to marry. The family is totally devastated--in that society, an incident like this brings ruin upon the entire family. None of them will be able to marry well, and they will lose the estate upon Mr. Bennet's death.
Mr. Bennet returns, but Mr. Gardiner is still searching. Then a letter arrives: Mr. Gardiner has found them, and they will get married if Wickham is promised a settlement of 100 pounds per year. Mr. Bennet will pay it, but they are convinced that the actual demand must have been in the thousands, and that Mr. Gardiner is paying it.
The newlyweds then arrive for a visit before going to the North of England, where Wickham will be stationed. At lunch, Lydia lets slip what was supposed to be a secret--that Darcy was at the wedding, and was in fact the one who had found her and Wickham. Lizzie realizes that Darcy had been noble and generous toward the Bennet family, and that he must have been the one that paid off Wickham.
The Bennets later learn that Mr. Bingley is returning to town. Jane assures Lizzie, not very convincingly, that she has completely gotten over caring about him. Mrs. Bennet also feigns indifference. A short time later, Mr. Bingley arrives at the house, with Darcy. (There is a humorous scene where the family frantically cleans up the messy living room, finishing in the nick of time.) Mrs. Bennet, while pretending to be indifferent, is clearly excited at the thought that Bingley will propose to Jane. The visit is somewhat awkward to all concerned.
Bingley and Darcy then walk a short distance from the house, and Darcy helps Bingley rehearse his proposal to Jane. Back at the house, Lizzie begins to realize that Darcy brought Bingley back to town, attempting to repair the damage that he had caused by separating them. She realizes that her negative impression of Darcy had been wrong.
Bingley returns and proposes to Jane, and she accepts (with the whole family listening intently at the door.)
The Bennet family is ecstatic that evening, until there is a knock on the door. It is Lady DeBourg. After issuing a few insults, she imperiously demands to speak to Lizzie alone. She tells Lizzie that she has heard a rumor that her nephew Darcy and Lizzie are to be married. She is scandalized that he would ruin the family name by marrying into such a low-class family. She demands that Lizzie promise that the rumor is false, and that she will never marry Darcy. Lizzie refuses to do so, and tells Lady DeBourg to leave, an almost unheard-of breach of decorum toward the aristocracy.
Lizzie had been unaware of the rumor, and realizes that it must have come from Darcy, and that it means that Darcy is genuinely interested in her. She is so upset at the encounter with Lady DeBourg that she can't sleep. Finally, just before dawn, she gets up and goes for a walk outside. She meets Darcy, also going for a walk. He hadn't been able to sleep either. When Lady DeBourg had reported to him Lizzie's refusal to deny the rumor, he realized that there was hope that Lizzie might marry him. He says that he hopes that her view of him has changed from their earlier encounters. He apologizes for his past behavior, saying "You are too generous to trifle with me", and proposes to her. Just at the instant the Sun is rising between them, she accepts.
Later that morning, Darcy, in Mr. Bennet's study, asks for Lizzie's hand in marriage. Then he leaves and Lizzie goes in to talk to her father. "I thought you hated the man." "No, papa ... I was wrong. I was entirely wrong about him." He gives his consent, saying "I could not have parted with you, my dear Lizzie, to anyone less worthy." After she leaves, Mr. Bennet, who has now had three of his five daughters betrothed or married within a few days, calls out "If any young men come for Mary or Kitty, for heaven's sake, send them in, I'm quite at my leisure."
