Rozema is good with actors, and in her hands O'Connor gives us a Fanny who is self-assured without being a feminist caricature.
Mansfield Park (1999)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:66
Fresh:50
Rotten:16
Average Rating:6.9/10
Consensus: Solid performances, bold direction.
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Fanny Price, a precociously intelligent young woman, is sent by her impoverished parents to live with her mother's wealthy sisters and family in order to benefit from the intellectual and social... Fanny Price, a precociously intelligent young woman, is sent by her impoverished parents to live with her mother's wealthy sisters and family in order to benefit from the intellectual and social education, as well as material comforts, that their status affords. Fanny, of native wit, budding writing talents and a late-blooming audacity, responds well to the new environment, despite being treated as a second-class citizen by her aunts, uncle, and cousins -- with the notable exception of cousin Edmund, with whom Fanny forms a fast and close bond, and which later blossoms into love. When the smooth con-artist brother and sister act of Henry and Mary Crawford arrive and attempt to infiltrate the Betram social circle with eyes on marital connections and thereby, inheritance, Henry begins to appreciate Fanny's understated charms, and determines that she is the woman for him. Her luster, however, is due in part to her unspoken love for Edmund, and she flatly rejects Henry's advances, which she also regards as insincere. This causes great dismay to her uncle, who subjects her to heavy interrogation and pressure to submit. In the end, Fanny cannot betray her heart, and chooses to return to the veritable slums where her family still resides by the docks of Portsmouth. It's up to Edmund to realize, for himself, his love for Fanny, and hopefully provide a happy ending to the proceedings. [More]
Starring: Frances O'Connor, Embeth Davidtz, Jonny Lee Miller, Alessandro Nivola
Starring: Frances O'Connor, Embeth Davidtz, Jonny Lee Miller, Alessandro Nivola, Harold Pinter, Lindsay Duncan, Sheila Gish, James Purefoy, Hugh Bonneville, Justine Waddell, Victoria Hamilton
Director: Patricia Rozema
Director: Patricia Rozema
Screenwriter: Patricia Rozema
Producer: Sarah Curtis
Composer: Lesley Barber
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Release:
Jul 11, 2000
Reviews for Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park works because it not only comes from the novel...but also from Austen's letters and journals.
Overall, Rozema succeeds in balancing the plot's lighter elements and heavier undercurrents without compromising either.
...busy nothings add up to motion picture somethings in one of the year's most charming films.
Mansfield Park...is a confusing jumble of historical drama and modern social essay that only serves to cloud the whole field of Jane Austen studies.
It was supposed to be 1806, but Mansfield Park the movie has a little too much 1999 in it...
Rozema's dry wit, effervescent dialogue and contemporary reinterpretations are often a refreshing change from the swoony, soft-peddling style of other Austen adaptations.
This is still Austen 100%, but it's Austen with an edge. Readers may protest. Viewers will rejoice.
A powerful portrait of a determined young woman's quest to remain true to the vastness of her spirit and soul.
With its gorgeous cinematography...lovely muted score, and sure-footed performances, especially by Frances O'Connor, Patricia Rozema's Mansfield Park sets a new standard for adaptations of Jane Austen's work.
While Mansfield Park doesn't boast the high calibre Hollywood star wattage and gloss of Sense and Sensibility, it offers a more thought-provoking viewpoint.
Stifled and tedious adaptation of an Austen classic strips the heroine of her usual power of perception and tongue.
This incarnation of Fanny may not have been what Austen had in mind, but she surely would have approved, for the injection of attitude and smarts makes Mansfield Park a much more wicked and irresistible social satire...
Mansfield Park is the cinematic equivalent of a nice walk in the park; nice and relaxing, a breath of fresh air.
Rozema's movie ... in trying so hard to entertain, ends up sabotaging itself.
Too often steps out of its era to adopt a knowing, politically correct, late-20th-century attitude to the society portrayed.
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