Mansfield Park

Was this really supposed to be Jane Austen?

This is really for all you Austen junkies out there. If you're a watcher and not a reader, it'd be a pretty good movie. But for all of us people who read the books and then watch the movies, I'm basing my opinions on that. Firstly, to give them some credit, they pretty much followed the plot line. Of course they had to make it more "audience friendly". But some of my disappointments: they took out William (Fanny's brother), they never so deeply described Miss Crawford's character as the book, Fanny seemed very indecisive and scatter-brained when it came to Mr. Crawford's numerous offers, they added a bunch of stuff on slavery and made Sir Thomas (who was personally my favorite character after Fanny and Edmund) a mean, mean, very mean man. But number one on my list: they upped the scandal between Mr. Crawford and Maria. It was never certain of their relationship in the book, but in the movie it is VERY much known (just look at the rating and you'll understand-could a movie true to the book be PG-13?). Maybe I'm too hard on movies when they were books. But to me, it just seemed like Jane Austen would blush should she see her work put out this way! Austen's works should be sanctuaries, to never have to worry about filth in it! Yes, Austen put in scandals but never showed them like this movie did!

8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

To all the critics out there...

I really loved this movie, and I watched it the first time with the expectation that it would be different from the book, which we should all do when watching a movie adaptation of a book. Here is my take on some of the criticisms of the movie: 1: No William. I find that adaptations of novels need to trim down the number of characters so as not to confuse the audience. When reading a book, you can go back and review at your leisure who's who, while a film moves faster and you could be lost before you know you're lost. I actually liked how this movie fused William and Susan together as a symbol of the life Fanny left behind in Portsmouth and then later a marriage of her two lives when Susan comes to live at Mansfield Park. 2: Miss Crawford's character. True, she was not so obviously evil in the book, but Jane Austen made references as an omniscient narrator about some of her darker thoughts, e.g., Tom's possible death and Edmund's ascendancy to heir, which would have been lost if the screenplay did not have Miss Crawford actually speak those thoughts at some point. Again, the subtleties and complexities of the writing in a novel can get lost in a film that needs to keep moving to entertain an audience, so a film generally needs to be more to-the-point than its novel counterpart. The audience is invited to hate Miss Crawford and cheer on Fanny and Edmund, and my guess is that the director doesn't want anyone feeling sorry for Miss Crawford in the end. 3: Fanny's ambiguity over Mr. Crawford's proposal. This irritated me at first, but when I thought about it, I think it was necessary to the rest of the movie. I think the audience needs to see Mr. Crawford really angry, and a good reason for that, to understand why he shacks up with Maria later on. Once again, movies need to be more obvious than novels. To keep the story tight, Fanny needed to really piss off Mr. Crawford with her yes-I-mean-no attitude rather than just continuing to reject him and leaving the door open for hope in the future. 4: The slavery agenda. My thought here is, what else do you expect. Is anyone surprised at this point about a movie that takes a firmer stance against slavery than complacency and/or indifference? I think it also adds a bit of depth to Tom's character and makes him more likable than he was in the book, as the movie emphasizes that Tom, in spite of all of his follies, has noble motivations. 5 The nudity scene. Aside from the obvious sex-sells pitch, I think that this too, not surprisingly, to those of you who have read this far, is a symptom of a director choosing not to leave anything up in the air. By having Fanny walk in on Mr. Crawford and Maria, the movie makes a direct link between Fanny angering Mr. Crawford and Mr. Crawford returning to his scummy ways. Stylistically, there is a parallel in the way the two of them see each other the last three times: when she rejects him in her family's kitchen, when she sees him in the hall at Mansfield Park, and when she sees him last with Maria. I thought it was interesting how the look on his face stays the same, but hers is different each time, mirroring the change she sees in him with his growing resentment of her. At any rate, I've strayed far from my point, but the bottom line is that I think the emotional impact of the last scene with Fanny and Crawford was designed to finally answer the question of what kind of person is Mr. Crawford and what place does he have in this story. 6: Anything I've missed. It's a movie. It's not the novel. I highly doubt it was designed to be exactly like the novel. I will never tell anyone to watch this movie instead of the novel, as Mansfield Park is one of my favorites, but I will tell people to watch this movie for its own merits. I know I shouldn't try to push my philosophy on others, especially hardcore Austenites, but I really believe that you should watch a movie because you like the story and not because you want to see

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Jane Austen enthusiast

The costumes and cinematography were wonderful. Also, I loved the actors' ability to "speak" volumes through their facial expressions. I believe Jane Austen would be proud of this film and would feel that it captured the essence of her characters.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Mansfield Park

Combines Fanny Price's life with Jane Austen's. Not true to the book, but a good movie all the same.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Nearly Unwatchable Even for an Austen Fan

I am a huge fan of Jane Austen and the nineties brought a bumper crop of fine adaptations of her novels. This particular novel was a favorite of Austen's and of many an academic--I admit Mansfield Park is my least favorite of Austen's completed, mature novels. Nevertheless, even given I'm not as fond of the material as the novels that produced such wonderful adaptations as the Thompson Sense and Sensibility, I still think this is particularly gracelessly done. You get the feeling those involved in the film liked the material even less than I did--this feels forced, straining too hard to make the material modern and Fanny a modern heroine, and is a bore to watch.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

It's CALLED Mansfield Park.

But don't let the name fool you. It practically spits on all the finer points of Austen's beloved tale. If you've never read the book, you won't be as disappointed. But you also won't understand all the intricacies because it doesn't explain it well enough. As just a regular period piece, it's not too bad. I don't mind the plot differences (I expected them), but the overall theme and Fanny's love and longing for Edmund are practically nonexistant. I also don't appreciate the changes to Fanny's character. She's not Elizabeth Bennet or Jane Austen (seriously, Fanny writing novels?); she's quiet and underappreciated Fanny Price. There were also quite a few inaccuracies for the early 19th century setting in speech and acceptable behavior, among other things. It had many rather awkward moments. I don't recommend it unless you're just curious, like I was. I think the old BBC and the new Masterpiece Theatre version are both much better, though not as good as JA fans would like.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good But I Liked The BBC Version More!

I bought the DVD for this version of Mansfield Park and I watched it and liked it but I prefer the 1986 BBC adaptation that starred Sylvestra Le Touzel as Fanny Price, that version seemed more authentic and as it was a longer movie much more of the story was told but despite that I like this version too and if you don't compare it to the book you may actually enjoy watching it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

On it's own...

I liked the move, and I love the book. But I would have to agree that the two are nothing alike. The movie adds a different spin on how the book could be interpreted, and it is just that, one person's interpretation. If you watch the movie with an open mind and know that it is not the same exact story as the book I believe you will enjoy it. However, if you are looking for a movie truer to Austen's story do not look here.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Boo!!

This was a terrible adaption of the book. There were significant changes both to character and to plot that were not justified by the need to condense a good-sized novel down to a movie. Take it from a woman with a Bachelor's of Literature: don't waste your time.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not like Jane Austen

After fully enjoying the film adaptations of Pride & Prejudice (Collin Firth), Sense & Sensibility (Emma Thompson) and Emma (Gwyneth Paltrow) we were excited to view Mansfield Park. As the movie began we had an uncomfortable feeling with the camera angles and inappropriate looks of some of the actors, but kept on because: how could you misinterpret a Jane Austen book? Her books are to make the reader a better person with high public and private virtue. The movie continued to get worse and then went so far as to have a nudity scene. Off went the movie and up went the anger for the disrespect someone could give to a great author and a viewing public. I hope we can save another family from viewing this.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Disappointment

Sadly, the only similarities between the book and the movie are the names of the characters. Many important elements of the plot were left out, the movie does not give a good sense of elapsed time, and the personality of Fanny, the main character, went from being quiet, calm, and reserved in the book, to loud, wild, and spirited in the movie. While under other circumsances, this might be appreciated, the book focuses on Fanny's selflessness and respect for others. There are many other large discrepancies between the book and the movie, including some things that certainly would have made Jane Austen turn in her grave. The movie overall wasn't as bad as it could have been, but cannot be compared to the book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE.

If you have read the book you are in for GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT!!!It seems to me the movie is focused on sexy instead of following Jane's precise descriptions. They should have read the book more carefully with great imaginations. Perhaps they did not understand what they read. In the book, Fanny was humble and quite but the movie made her look wild and too outspoken. There was no emotion in her letters because she was looking into the camera. The other characters were just out of touch. The father was an insult and the older brother was too rude...nothing like the book!! I WAS DISAPPOINTED!!! Too bad we have to rate it or we would be unable to submit our comments. It would have had none from me.

One is enough

The movie is well done & the performances are good, the story just doesn't have much to it, which is not the movie's fault, just is what it is. After you've seen it once, there's no need to see it again.

Jane Austin's Mansfield Park comes to life . . .

After reading a collection of Seven Jane Austin Novels, I embarked on collecting the enactments of her writings in the film genre. Mansfield Park is my last aquisition. The cast is well chosen, and I especially love the actress that plays the morally upright Fanny Price. The movie over all stays quite true to the book and gives a great sense of being there. It was in the movie that I better understood the diconomy between the run down seaside hovel filled to bursting with Fanny's siblings and the grandness and vastness of her Uncle's estate. This presentation of the Jane Austin story has a modern sensibility and gives a new perspectve on the times and the history that surrounds the story. I understand that the movie timeframe will not allow all the scenes of the book to develop the subtleness and complexity of feelings for each love triangle, but it presented the most prominite scenes with such flirty fun, you can't help but pick up on the plot intricacies. If you love reading Jane Austin, I highly recommend you get to know the characters in living color with this film.

Good adaptation for any Jane Austen fan.

Enjoyable movie, in keeping with the nature of the Austen novel.

Mansfield Park

I have seen two versions of this movie. Between the two I like this one best. The emotions of the main character in some scenes are impressive... and the male character... Why does it take them so long to realize they're in love? Typical chickflick I guess. Still it's a good watch.

liked it for what it was

This movie came out while i was working on my Bachelors in British Lit. One of my professors knew the director Patricia Rozema. She said that because Jane Austen had once said that she most identified with her character Fanny Price (out of all of her other heroines,) that she adapted her version of Fanny to also portray elements of Jane Austen's personality (at least what we can gather to be her personality from her letters and other writings.) I guess because I knew this before watching the film, I had no great expectations. Typically, I'm a purist and I hate it when films stray too far from the text. But I found it interesting on her take of Jane Austen's personality.

Great

I love the book and the movie!! Though they do not always follow the same path, the movie is amazing in it's own sense. I have seen at least one adaption of all of Jane Austen's published works that are out and this is one of the finest.

Mansfeild Park

The older movie was a good story but I fell asleep watching it!! This newer version of Mansfeild Park was great. I watched it twice in a row! I really liked the actors because they fit the parts so well. It was a good story to begin with and this movie made it 10 times better. I highly reccomend this movie if you want a good story and a good plot!!!!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Sad Disappointment

An avid reader of Jane Austen novels, I truly enjoy the film adaptations. With disapointment I watched this movie unfold with characters and events being portrayed in a very different style than Miss Austen ever intended. If you're looking for movies that are perfectly in line with Miss Austen's writings, check out A&E's version of Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion (the newer edition) and Emma starring Gwyneth Paltrow.