Mansfield Park (1999)
#53 in my 2007 movie challenge was Patricia Rozema’s film, Mansfield Park. It’s a very good film, though it’s not a faithful adaptation of Austen’s book. The character of Fanny is a complete departure, and is instead invested with the historical personality traits of Austen. Henry Crawford is described in the book as plain but charismatic. In the movie he is played by Alessandro Nivola, who is far from plain, but readily conveys the character’s allure.
There were a few things I took issue with, since the book was fresh in my mind, such as the non-complex villainy of her uncle, exemplified by the slave subplot. I greatly missed the tension of the subplot of Maria’s marriage to Rushworth, which I found greatly minimized in the film.
I found more to admire, though. The re-imagining of Fanny’s personality makes sense, as so many readers dislike that character as written. Jonny Lee Miller made a fine Edmund, and Embeth Davidtz a frighteningly effective Miss Crawford, especially in the closing scenes. The tension of whether Fanny will finally admit Henry to her affections is even more heightened than in the book, and is conveyed through a wonderful sequence of scenes. I thought it was a clever and effective bit of casting to have the same actress play Fanny’s mother and her aunt.
I enjoyed the book; I enjoyed the movie. While MP doesn’t exactly follow the book, it is a well-done film. Recommended.