One indie film adaptation is getting a lot of buzz after its premiere on iTunes and Amazon on Tuesday. Before the Fall reimagines Pride & Prejudice as a gay love story set in modern-day Virginia. Filmmaker Byrum Geisner tells HuffPost that, although Before the Fall may draw comparisons to one source of inspiration, Brokeback Mountain, the Jane Austen retelling is more "traditional and romantic" than the Ang Lee film.
Before the Fall recasts Austen's characters, changing not only their genders and sexualities, but their relationships and financial statuses as well. Lizzie becomes Ben Bennett, a wealthy and somewhat snobbish attorney. Jane Gardiner is not Ben's sister, but his bestie, and she's interested in Chuck Bingley, but his work at a non-profit places him below her on the economic ladder. Even poorer are the working-class Lee Darcy and his girlfriend Cathy Burge, who is based on Austen's Lady Catherine, Fitzwilliam Darcy's aunt and the mother of his fiancée, Anne. Then there's Ben's fellow attorney, George Wickham, whom Ben is dating here and there.
When the story begins, Lee has been charged with domestic abuse after an altercation with Cathy. Ben inadvertently insults Lee in the courthouse, and both men almost instantly dislike one another. (Sound familiar?) Meanwhile, Wickham is a callow man who is unable to devote himself to Ben, Lee has a secret he wants to drink away, and Ben can't help but get involved in Jane's budding relationship with Chuck, whom he feels isn't good enough for her.
Check out the trailer for Before the Fall below. The film is available now on your favorite streaming service.
