This movie is not for those of you who just finished reading the novel Mansfield Park and plan to enjoy the movie that was based on the book. I should say LOOSELY based on the book. It is perhaps better if you have not read the book at all. Or if you have low expectations and will not be disappointed in a few, er. . . slight changes in the characters, script, and so forth.

Let us not claim it as a horrbile movie though, it is still enjoyable. Fanny is now a character we can admire, that's positive! She is strong, determined, brave, and witty. This is contrasting greatly with what is written, I know, but I still enjoyed it.

The movie has other pluses such as beautiful scenery, beautiful men, and the discussion of serious issues, such as slavery.

There is alot more in the movie than you think. There is passion, unrequitted love, evil plots, and of course evil characters, illness, rakes, love games, betrayal, adultery, inhertances lost, and inhertances won. So exciting! You might enjoy it so, be fair and open-minded and give it a try.

For those of you who have not read the book this may help
The Scenario:
A mother with too amy mouths to feed decides to send her eldest to live with her rich sister. The little girl is 9 and she expects she is just there for a visit, however, she is there for longer. She takes lessons with her rich cousins, two girls and two boys. When she is older it is time for her cousins to marry. New people in town provide an opportunity for some. The little girl(Fanny) grows up to be good and proper, unlike her female cousins who enjoy flirting scandalously with a certain rake! The rake (Henry Crawford) meanwhile has alreay received the hearts of the two cousins and is out for a third. Fanny won't give him the time of day and he can't understand why. Is it because she is in love with someone else? Who has captured her heart? And does he return her love?

Might I also recommend you purchase the soundtrack, it is brilliant! Great to read by.

It irked me that this director took so many liberties with Austen's story. Jane is so good she needs no help. There are plenty of Hollywood movies that make a social statement- I wanted Jane Austen, not filmdom political commentary. Also, after having seen Justine Waddell in Wives and Daughters, I realized she would have made a terrific Fannie Price. Casting Waddell as the younger sister (small role) was like having Peyton Manning on your team but using him as the backup quarterback.

I like the movie very much. The cast is excellent and the story is interesting. However, if you expect it to follow Jane Austen's book, you will be disappointed. The differences between this movie and the book are too numerous to mention here, but many characters and events are changed or rearranged (presumably to shorten the movie and give it more mass appeal). If you can judge the movie based on its own merits, I think you'll enjoy it. But, if you're looking for a faithful portrayal of a Jane Austen novel, try Pride and Prejudice (Special Edition)(1996).

You literary purists--get over it! If you watched the credits, you'll have seen that this film is inspired by and based on the novel, as well as Austen's letters and other writings. The director's emphasis is clearly on a broader sociohistorical context--one admittedly driven by a 20th-century feminist perspective--but this makes the film no less successful. The editing is superlative--note in particular the ball sequence at midpoint and the final shots that close the film--as is the acting, the direction, the cinematography, and the soundtrack. Highly rated! Far better than the usual fluff of period films!

This movie is not unenjoyable and has several scenes that are rather cute or witty. However, it is very far from being a decent film adaptation of the novel. Much of the book is skipped over, which means that character development is often skipped over. Additionally, those characters that are developed are very different in many respects from the characters of the novel. Perhaps, in the case of Fanny, this was done to make the "heroine" more appealing to modern women, but it does change the story quite a bit. Also, the movie seems to be rather choppy at times. It's worth a watch, but the changes made have really detracted from the complexity and drama of the novel.