Mansfield Park

Mansfield Park is an adaptation of Jane Austen's most autobiographical film that is faithful except for the parts that aren't. Or may it isn't except for the parts that are. I have no idea, I've never read the book. (I quite enjoy Austen, but somehow this is one book in her oevre that I've never gotten around to). So I 'll have to judge the film on its own merits ... a tough job indeed, but I suppose I'll manage.

A quick summary of the story: Fanny is sent as a young girl from her poor household to live with her aunt and uncle. She's well-treated there, although is somewhat second class to her cousins. Eventually, after some years, they are all of marriageable age, and she (and her female cousins) begin to think of marriage. Fanny is torn between two men: one a clergy man (not interested in her), one a rake (interested in her). Eventually the rake's immorality shines through, and (his proposal having been spurned by Fanny) he seduces one of Fanny's cousins, recently married. He is exposed as a rake, the cousin cast into infamy, Fanny taken to prominence,and she marries her clergyman after all.

So, that's the summary. I think it's fairly clear why I'm dissatisfied with the movie: it's a shallow romance story. The wicked are punished, the main character emerges in triumph, and it all ends up as you'd expect. Some parts are mysteriously explained: why was Fanny taken and not her sisters? What caused the family schism? (Looking at wikipedia, the details of her parents' situation is explained, but I missed any of it in the movie itself). To go along with this , it's not particularly comedic ... Austen's forte is lighthearted romantic wit, and this movie is serious. You're confronted with the bad situation for women, the unlikeability of most of the family, the blindness of the romantic interest... I'd only really recommend it to completists or fans of period romances (although, I'll hasten to add, it's not a bad movie if you're in the mood for a romance movie).