I'm of the opinion that Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice is easily one of the most romantic movies of all time, the film filled with plenty of swoon-worthy moments – from Mr. Darcy’s confession in the rain, to the small way Darcy flexes his hand around Elizabeth. The most romantic scene, though, has to be when these iconic enemies-cum-lovers meet in the field at daybreak and finally give in to their feelings for one another. Even better, the whole cast and crew woke up to watch the epic make-out session between Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFayden, and after hearing the story, I wish I was there.
Rosamund Pike recently appeared as a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, where she was asked about the best moment she had while filming Pride and Prejudice. Pike plays Elizabeth’s older sister Jane Bennett in the 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic. Surprisingly, the Now You See Me 3 actress said her most treasured memory from the set wasn’t even from a day when she was filming, but a scene she witnessed that still makes her tear up to this day:
It was when all us sisters got up to watch Keira and Matthew shoot their dawn moment... [W]hen you’re aiming for something like that in the film and it has to be magical and you want the film to have this sort of, you know, the kiss should be just when the dawn is dawning and the sky is that beautiful color. And we were all, the whole crew was praying that it would be magic. And we all got up at 3 in the morning, and we all went with them, and we were all on the edge of the field watching him come up–it makes me cry.
The Gone Girl actress went on to say that the five Bennett sisters on that film – Pike, Knightley, Carey Mulligan, Talulah Riley, and Jena Malone – were like real life sisters on set, something that translated well onscreen.
It sounds like seeing MacFayden walk all the way through the field towards Knightley in that penultimate moment as the sun came up was just as emotional as if it were really Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. I will say, Darcy certainly set a high standard for men to live up to in that moment, the way he stutters “I love you” three times like he can’t say it enough.
The fact that the scene was actually shot as dawn was breaking is so impressive. You've only got one chance to do it right, and it adds another layer to the magic of the moment, as Pike said. So does MacFayden’s walk to Elizabeth. Since the actor started so far away, not only did it require an extremely early cast and crew call to get the lighting right, but he told People that he couldn’t even see the director at first because of the distance.
In the end, the early call time was all worth it though, as you can physically see the natural light get brighter and brighter until it is shining through their faces as they lean in for a kiss. Check out the iconic scene below:
No wonder this scene is still being talked about all these years later, and by the cast themselves! All I’m thinking now is the Netflix version of Pride and Prejudice, which is set to come out sometime on the 2026 Netflix release schedule, has a lot to live up to. The teaser looks promising, showing Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennett and Jack Lowden as Mr. Darcy, but if the entire cast isn’t getting up at 3am to watch the leads have a romantic, steamy kiss, then I'm not sure I want it.
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