Mansfield Park (1998)

Review by All Movie Guide
Director Patricia Rozema's adaptation of Mansfield Park boldly goes where no Jane Austen film has gone before: the present day. Though set in the early 19th century, the film infuses its central character, Fanny Price (Frances O'Connor), with modern values and social attitudes. Apparently, Rozema thought the Miss Price of Austen's 1814 novel was a bit tame for today's audiences -- too retiring, too demure, too prim and proper -- so she shades Fanny with touches of derring-do and feminine vitality. But Rozema goes too far when she has Fanny and Mary Crawford (Embeth Davidtz), a beautiful visitor to Mansfield Park, exchange subtle glances suggestive of wayward desire. Nothing happens, and these silly encounters (which were never included or even hinted at in Austen's novel) have little to do with the overall plot. Nevertheless, this version of Mansfield Park is highly engaging, mostly due to O'Connor's acting. She is wonderful and electric, radiating charisma and charm as she parries her way through upper-class snobbery to prove that character comes from the soul, not social standing. In spite of Rozema's revisionism, there is enough of Austen in the film to please fans of drawing-room drama. For example, her cousins Julia (Justine Waddell) and Maria (Victoria Hamilton) are typical Austen featherbrains who want only one thing: a husband. In addition, her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram (Harold Pinter), and aunt, Mrs. Norris (Sheila Gish), sternly adhere to the conventions of the day about marriage and a woman's place in society -- in particular, Fanny's lowly place in their high society. Then there's Mary Crawford (Davidtz), a typical Austin gold digger who means to marry Sir Thomas' son Edmund (Jonny Lee Miller), an earnest ministerial candidate who is in love with Fanny but doesn't know it. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide