I had no trouble enjoying MANSFIELD PARK because I had no comparison to make to the novel, which I never read. I saw nothing about it that made me think it was catering to 1999's sensibilities, despite the use of a scene where someone is caught in flagrante with another. Aside from that indiscretion, the dialog seemed like authentic Austen to me and the whole affair has been expertly photographed in England, of course, on lush locales that are breathtakingly gorgeous to look at. The swirling camera swerves often from the interior of a room to the vast horizons outside with the greatest of ease.
And, of course, the British cast cannot be praised highly enough. All of them perform to the manor born in the appropriate style. FRANCES O'CONNOR (who closely resembles a young Jennifer Jones) is Fanny Price, the poor girl sent to live with rich relatives at Mansfield Park, who becomes an elegant young woman and a writer. (Sounds suspiciously like the author herself inserting her character on this role).
And JONNY LEE MILLER is Edmund Bertram, a young man obviously smitten with her from the start. It takes the entire running time of the film for the young lovers to discover they always did love each other, but along the way we're treated to some interesting episodes of British class distinction amid the manners and mores of a bygone era, including some sharp bits of humor.
Interesting that after essaying this quiet, unassuming role, Jonny Lee Miller would next take on the fight against a vampire in Dracula 2000. So much for British dexterity and range.
Summing up: Some admirers of the novel seem to be put off by this one, but I have to admit I enjoyed it, even if I did find Fanny's inconsistent feelings about her suitor,Henry, and her inability to make up her mind, rather frustrating at times.
And, of course, the British cast cannot be praised highly enough. All of them perform to the manor born in the appropriate style. FRANCES O'CONNOR (who closely resembles a young Jennifer Jones) is Fanny Price, the poor girl sent to live with rich relatives at Mansfield Park, who becomes an elegant young woman and a writer. (Sounds suspiciously like the author herself inserting her character on this role).
And JONNY LEE MILLER is Edmund Bertram, a young man obviously smitten with her from the start. It takes the entire running time of the film for the young lovers to discover they always did love each other, but along the way we're treated to some interesting episodes of British class distinction amid the manners and mores of a bygone era, including some sharp bits of humor.
Interesting that after essaying this quiet, unassuming role, Jonny Lee Miller would next take on the fight against a vampire in Dracula 2000. So much for British dexterity and range.
Summing up: Some admirers of the novel seem to be put off by this one, but I have to admit I enjoyed it, even if I did find Fanny's inconsistent feelings about her suitor,Henry, and her inability to make up her mind, rather frustrating at times.