Rating: 
Summary: Another Jane Austen Success Story
Review: Yes, I did like "Mansfield Park", but not as much as "Persuasion", which remains my favorite of all the Jane Austen releases within the last six years or so. But "Mansfield Park" is not without its own persuasions, and so I found it enjoyable.Now, I must admit it has been far too many years since I read the novel to be able to determine how far it may stray from the original. To be sure, I do remember that there is an episode of adulterous behavior in the book, which is usually NOT what goes on in Austen! Austen typically is concerned with whether young ladies are being "cut" or not; that is, whether they are being snubbed by their social superiors. The slave trade aspect seems a little unlikely, though I'd have to re-read to state so more emphatically. I will tell you that the single biggest surprise, and the part I personally enjoyed most, was the portrayal of Sir Thomas Bertram by the playwright Harold Pinter. What a masterful performance! He sweeps aside the other male characters and has incredible animal magnetism. I was quite disappointed that Pinter was not even nominated for an Oscar for this role; as far as I was concerned, he walked away with the picture. That's not to say, though, that the other actors were not good. i thought that the double role of Aunt Lady Bertram/Mrs. Price was done very well, and that serpentine portrayal of Mary Campbell was ingeniously served--she reminded me very much of Kiri te Kanawa. I could have fallen in love myself with the fellow playing Henry Campbell, and I think I would have chosen him without having to go off to a sea-side pigsty to think it over, like our heroine. Perhaps a bit heavy on the suggestion of lesbianism, however, which is also not very Austen-like either and not needed to create interest. On the whole, an enjoyable film outside the usual Austen treatment.
Rating: 
Summary: Good old-fashioned romantic movie
Review: If you're looking for a good old-fashioned romance (and dare I say comedy?) (along the lines of "Emma" or "Sense & Sensibility"), you've found it. I guiltily admit I rewound the kissing scene several times (it was just so perfect!!!). This may fall into what men fondly call a "chick flick," but hey, us chicks need our flicks. I watched this one sans the husband and was perfectly happy as I could rewind the kissing scene as much as I wanted!
Rating:
Summary: More fun than fact
Review: If you want a good viewing experience, fun, funny, and fast-paced, you'll probably enjoy this film. If you loved the novel "Mansfield Park", however, prepared for a disappointment about the presentation and the story. This "Mansfield Park" is more an exploration of Austen herself, in the guise of one of her characters, than an adaptaions of the story told by Fanny Price, an interesting and observant narrator, but not particularly active. If you can get past these issues, however, "Mansfield Park" is quite enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: The Acid "Park"
Review: An over-boiled bawdlerization of Jane Austen's most carefully nuanced novel. Rozema's Mansfield Park is almost a completely different work than its ostensible literary source. Fanny Price has always been a difficult character for many people to admire; but Patricia Rozema evidently hates Fanny so much that she leaves her out of her own life story. Aside from the issue of morality, which this film-maker seems uncertain how to frame in Austen's actual milieu and therefore transposes into a kind of fancy-dress present, the film also ignores the central dramatic moment of the novel, namely Fanny's redemption of the wavering Edmund. The film "Mansfield Park" is self-evidently not really based on Austen's novel, but rather on essays (including Edward Said's) about the novel from the Norton Critical Edition. The strange imposition of turgid images of West Indian slave rebellion (sketched with Leonardo(DiCaprio)-esque skill by the now tragic and misunderstood Tom Bertram ) Sir Thomas's putative lechery toward his niece and Fanny's flowering as a sexy young authoress are highlights of Rozema's unfortunately all-too literal translation of these secondary sources.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Romance!
Review: Okay, if you overlook the "kissing cousins" part of it........this is a great film! I recently saw it for the first time, and was just bowled over by how sweet (bittersweet) the romance was between Fanny and Edmund. My heart just sighed several times watching the interplay between these two characters. Just wonderful!! I highly recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: franny as fanny
Review: Mansfield Park follows a classic chick-flick formula and is based on a novel by the ultimate chick-book author, Jane Austen. I will not lie; I fell into its chick-flick trap, and believe me it's DAMN entertaining. I mostly credit my enjoyment to the lead performance of the nice-looking and appealing Australian actress, Frances O'Connor, who glowed with both humanity and humanness in this year's superintellectual A.I. (while at the same time pulling off a flawless American accent). As the Austen heroine Fanny Price, O'Connors charismatic performance wins our sympathy, and that's pretty important for a film that doesn't have much else going for it except its stars' charm and attractiveness. Taking place in early 1800's England, the film follows the romantic entanglements of Fanny Price, who was a writer and dreamer when it was not cool for a woman to be a writer and dreamer. Fanny at age twelve, (Hannah Taylor Gordon, whose Holocaust films have earned her notoriety and success: Diary of Anne Frank and Jakob the Liar) is sent away from her impoverished home for unknown reasons to her Auntie Bertram's enoromous and lavish estate, Mansfield Park. Her cousins treat her with forced respect, but don't fully accept her poor background, for Fanny, as Sir Thomas Betram (Fanny's uncle) explains, will always be less than them. Just when the situation seems hopeless for our heroine, her same-aged sensitive male cousin, Edmund befriends her. Imediately sparks fly which is kinda freaky since their moms are sisters, but what the heck! (this film tells us) this is the olden days; it's okay to marry our cousins! Through a cliched camera trick I like to call "through the years" it shows Fanny develop right before our eyes in a matter of minutes, using multiple actresses until finally Fanny (Frances O'Connor) get to be in her twenties, the time frame in which the film will now take place. At this point, Fanny is living a quiet decent life at Mansfield Park, writing short stories for her beloved sister Suzie back at home, and endlessly flirting with the now adult Edmund (Jonny Lee Miller). However, the quietness of her life is shattered with the arrival of the Crawford siblings, Mary (Embeth Davidtz) and Henry (Alessandro Nivalo) a pair of schemers who plan to marry into the Bertram household. To Fanny's devastation, her beloved Edmund and not-so-beloved Mary become engaged, while Henry sets his eye on Fanny, who he seeks out because she is the only female in the household who plays hard-to-get. But despite the Crawford's cold, business-like view of marriage, they are not despicable people. Henry, at one point, seems genuinely in love with Fanny, and Mary offers comfort to Fanny when she is in despair. To take this point a step further, there are a couple of steamy scenes of Mary helping Fanny undress to hint at some sort of homosexual attraction. All of this is very entertaining, but not very deep and here's why: Mansfield Park as a whole never rises to the high quality of Frances O'Connor's performance. Beautiful-yet-ordinary-looking, smart-but-not-brainy, O'Connor just might become the next Annette Benning; she dominates the screen with similar passion and charisma. Sadly, Mansfield Park is more cheap than O'Connor's layered peformance deserves. It does not develop its characters and plot as thoroughly as it should; it relies too much on the considerable charm of its actors. In other words, underneath the likability, there ain't much brewing. Amy Heckerling's Clueless, based on Austen's Emma, is a much better film, creating subtler complexities in its characters and somehow making a predictable story less predictable, not to mention being a heck of a lot funnier. Back to the chick-flick thing, I definitely enjoyed Mansfield Park, but it spurs the same type of enjoyment I feel while viewing a Lifetime movie, and I'm pretty sure that's not a good thing from an artistic standpoint.
Rating:
Summary: Um...
Review: I rented this movie along with "Emma" one night in my goal to absorb nearly everything Jane Austen. So far I've read and seen the most recent BBC version of "Pride and Prejudice"--a bit of a slow start I'll admit lol I did get most of her books from the library though and am actually reading "Mansfield Park" right now. It's definitely slow compared to P & P, but good enough to keep reading. The movie is kind of chop-sockey, incorporating things from the book in random order with no real point, especially the whole slavery thing. In defense of the movie though, at least it moves a lot faster than the book and while I'm only half way through, it's amazing what Frances O'Connor has down with the character of Fanny Price. I actually liked the Fanny in the movie, the Fanny in the book on the other hand is such a simpering goody-goody moron I want to slap her. Sorry, but she feels evil about the stupidest things, and while those around her ARE corrupt at least they have fun. Example : When Edmund asks for her opinion on something, Fanny gasps and goes "My opinion" like it's the grandest honor next to being invited for tea with the queen. Must admit that my favorite character in the movie was Henry Crawford; I felt sorry when Fanny rejected him, and I'll probably hate her in the book for it, but in the movie I could see why she did it. She had no way of knowing whether his affections were truly sincere or would stay that way. Worth watching if you're an Austen fan and not nearly as boring as the book, but not great. I have no idea why Fanny Price was one of Jane Austen's favorite heroines though; Emma was a little irritating in her over-perfectness, but not nearly as annoying and Elizabeth Bennet is definitley my favorite thusfar. The whole reason her and Mr. Darcy were perfect for eachother was because they saw the superficialness in their society and what they said wasn't as important as the underlying meaning of their words. Fanny Price on the other hand would NEVER say or think anything bad against anyone without feeling that she should get down on her knees and pray intensely for forgiveness.
Rating:
Summary: Anachronistic Misfire
Review: Laden with too many agendas, this film misrepresents the understated feminism of Austen (which was actually bold for her time). To the film's credit, Nivola is the quintessential Henry Crawford, a man who takes a huge gamble on love, only to gain with his vanity that prize which his true heart despises. O'Connor is a luminous find, yet poorly directed here, and often sprouting dialogue completely foreign ...as depicted by Austen in the novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Spare yourself!
Review: What license was taken in this adaptation of Jane Austin's novel! This movie was [junk]. No doubt the late Miss Austin would have been mortified if she had seen this [distorted] portrayal of her novel. The characters in this film were extremely shallow. Not one of the actors portrayed their character as they ought. I was bitterly disappointed. I wish I would have never seen this film. I despise this movie. Spare yourself!
Rating:
Summary: Completely Captivating
Review: Mansfield Park addresses the serious considerations of the heart, and is not really a comedy, but more of an escape from tragedy. Yes, there is witty dialogue to die for, but overall, the mood was one of romance, dreams and desires that lend a certain underlying passion to the entire plot. The only comedy I could find was in the fact that some characters were sorely dissapointed when they did not play the game of love truthfully. Fanny leaves her mother and poverty and embraces her new home in the country where she lives on an estate with her cousins. When she arrives she discovers the library and also finds volumes of time to compose her own entertaining stories. Her passion for books made this movie magical. Fanny's character contrasts with her cousins as she wants love while they seem content with wealth. She seeks a more fulfilling path and desires the richness of love. When Henry and Mary Crawford appear, you know trouble has arrived. Mary sets her sights on Edmund while her brother Henry, finds Fanny to be desirable as she holds in her heart all the qualities he lacks and has an inner strength he fails to show. Mary is a fun loving creature who does not know the depth of Fanny's sorrow and could never understand how her presence in Edmund's life could be a mistake. Edmund is also a thoughtful character and wishes to do what is right, although he almost makes a terrible choice. He is Fanny's soul mate and while they seem to be going in opposite directions for a considerably long time, when they hold hands in the carriage, their love will steal your heart. For those who have not read the original work by Jane Austen (or like me, read it so long ago), you won't be aware of any changes or variations in the story. You may even find yourself wanting to read the original novel and perhaps that is the point of the movie. If you are new to Jane Austen's work, I can't think of a better story to peak your curiosity. It may not be as she intended it to be, but it is one of my favorite movies. I want to go live in the Mansfield library! When Fanny is sitting in the library and the sun is shining in the window, it just seemed ever so peaceful. ~TheRebeccaReview.com
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