Mansfield Park (1999)

This fun and sexy comedy tells a timelessly entertaining story where wealth, secret passions, and mischievous women put love to the test ... with delightfully surprising results! When a spirited young woman, Fanny Price, is sent away to live on the great country estate of her rich cousins, she's meant to learn the ways of proper society. But while Fanny learns "their" ways, she also enlightens them with a wit and sparkle all her own! Featuring an exciting ensemble cast of young stars -- you'll join critics everywhere in their overwhelming praise of this smart, playful, and funny hit!

A Disappointing Success?

If one knows the novel, one supposes this to be a major disappointment. I will leave it to those in the know to make the final judgment of this movie as an accurate interpretation of the original. As a post-modern deconstruction, that is, as a director's version, if you will, of the original, it seems to me this can be evaluated on its own terms. Does it work? Is it entertaining? Is it enlightening? To these question, my answer is yes. I found the explicit references to the slave trade valid if not faithful to Austen. This is a 20th century artist's take on an injustice wrongly neglected. Tying the English country life to the source of its wealth strikes me as valid. Dramatically, it works as an explanation for the son's torment and for the father's guilt. Harold Pinter, by the way, is fantastic. The Nobel-winning playwright makes a rare appearance, offering a wonderful glimpse into this fine actor's talents. I found all of the performances convincing. I especially loved seeing Lindsey Duncan playing two roles, that of the wayward sister, strapped with a loser husband and a house full of crying babies and that of the aristocratic drug addict lying about the country house being waited on hand and foot. No doubt there will be a better version one day, but this one does a fine job of drawing modern audiences to what must be the director's chief claim, which is that Austen is an exciting author worthy of multiple interpretations. September 30, 2008

ok movie

I purchased this because I like Jane Austin movies. It is a good movie. I was disappointed with the sexual content. It could have been much less - because of it there are several of my friends that I would not recommend this movie to. August 29, 2008

terrible

I would have given this zero stars if I could. This is a travesty of Jane Austen - it has little to do with her and more to do with the inanities of the box office. August 23, 2008

Jane

Jane Austen has always been one of my favorite authors. I feel that she provides a good picture of the society and manners of the period. I have read and reread her books and have viewed as many versions of the movies made about her books as I can. This is the best version of Mansfield Park I have seen. It is a fairly close to the book. August 17, 2008

Jane Austen Movie Fan - Not a moment too soon! :)

I am a huge fan of Jane Austen films. If you are one who wants the book on film, this may not be for you. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and compare it to other Jane Austen contemporary films such as "Emma" with Gwenthyn Paltrow, "Pride and Prejudice" with Keira Knightley, and "Sense and Sensibility" with Emma Thompson. I proudly will add this to my DVD collection and recommended this movie to those who like the others I have mentioned. (If you have not seen the others - I recommend them too!). Enjoy for you will not see it a moment too soon! :) August 11, 2008

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