Mansfield Park (1999)

Director:

Patricia Rozema

Writers:

Jane Austen (novel)
Patricia Rozema (written by)

Release Date:

19 November 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Jane Austen's Wicked Comedy

Plot:

At 10, Fanny Price, a poor relation, goes to live at Mansfield Park, the estate of her aunt's husband...

Plot Keywords:

Class Differences | Estate | Family | Drug Addiction | Writer

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Hannah Taylor-Gordon	...	Young Fanny (as Hannah Taylor Gordon)
Talya Gordon	...	Young Susan
Lindsay Duncan	...	Mrs. Price / Lady Bertram
Bruce Byron	...	Carriage Driver
James Purefoy	...	Tom Bertram
Sheila Gish	...	Mrs. Norris
Harold Pinter	...	Sir Thomas Bertram
Elizabeth Eaton	...	Young Maria
Elizabeth Earl	...	Young Julia
Philip Sarson	...	Young Edmond
Amelia Warner	...	Teenage Fanny
Frances O'Connor	...	Fanny Price
Jonny Lee Miller	...	Edmund Bertram
Victoria Hamilton	...	Maria Bertram
Hugh Bonneville	...	Mr. Rushworth

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief violent images, sexual content and drug use.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:M | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Charlestown, Cornwall, England, UK

Company:

Arts Council of England

Trivia:

The brown gown with a sheer white muslin overdress that Lindsay Duncan as Lady Bertram wears in the scene during which Fanny reads from the newspaper to the Bertram family is the same gown worn by Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet in _"Pride and Prejudice" (1995) (mini)_. Ehle wears the gown during the evening party at Mrs. Philips's house.

Goofs:

The harp that Mary Crawford is playing is a double action harp. The double action harp was not invented until 1810, while the movie took place in 1806.

Quotes:

Edmund Bertram: Oh, don't be an imbecile.
Fanny Price: Oh, but imbecility in women is a great enhancement to their personal charms.
Edmund Bertram: Fanny, you're being irrational.
Fanny Price: Yet another adornment. I must be ravishing.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

Soundtrack:

Djongna (Slavery)

Why mess with Art?

Maybe it was a mistake to watch this adaption of Mansfield Park the day I finished reading the novel. This production is too modern. Now I understand that they probably wanted to make it "more appealing" to today's moviegoers, and I know that it's hard to fit all a book into a film - but why did they change the essence of who Fanny Price is? She is a highly moral, quiet, smart, very put-upon young lady. While Frances O'Connor is a wonderful actress, she played Fanny all wrong. She was smiling (constantly), having pillow fights, speaking her mind. There was no sense of period or restraint in her portrayal. I think the writer/director should have had more faith in the characters in the book.

With so many storylines to choose from in the book, I wonder why new ones were added, such as the slave trade and opium use? It is a shame that Sir Thomas didn't have the character arc seen in the book, that has him appreciate Fanny more and show her greater kindness when he returns from Antigua. In the film he is just always a big, mean bully. Jonny Lee Miller's Edmund is not nearly pious and conflicted enough. He is meant to be joining the clergy.

I am sure I would have thought it was an average film if I didn't know the original source, but it was a big disappointment.