Although I believe that ITV don't make period dramas of the same calibre to the BBC, I was willing to give this adaptation a try. Afterall, it is an Austen novel which is always worthwhile. However I was sorely disappointed in it. From the very opening of the programme to the end, I struggled to stay with it - though I did. The opening has far too many close-ups and shot-reverse-shots to try and establish relationships between people. However it is not at all subtle. Though it is arguable that Mansfield Park is not Austen's best work, it still remained in the realms of greatness, however this adaptation certainly did not. Fanny Price, the main character, was hardly in it, all Billie Piper's lines could have fit onto a single page of A4. There was no conveying to the audience that this was a perceptive and bright girl. She had no charm or wit. All she seemed to do was run! And she runs everywhere!! It is all you see Billie Piper do. I'll just add here that I don't blame Piper for her portrayal of the character, after all the director didn't give her enough to do for me to judge her performance, though I must say she used up a lot of energy in the role.
Review of Mansfield Park
