Too much of everything

Beautiful, moving film.

An Exercise In Nonsense

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

I'm not a Jane Austin fan, that should be mentioned first. Not that I find her works boring but they simply aren't my cup of tea. I read Pride and Prejudice in a first year literary class, but it was a fairly dull experience for me, and I have never picked up Mansfield Park once.As a film, it is not even an eventful one. A kind of coming to age, rags to riches and back again kind of plot line. Although there were some beautiful settings and some extremely nice costuming, I never really felt that I was witnessing this period drama in the 1800's. I was trying not to laugh at most of the actors, taking themselves exceptionally seriously in roles that they obviously did not fit in. The main character was rather blasé at best. The morality of some of the characters were simply selfish, even when they were not trying to be, by simply trying to improve their social settings. By the end of the film, nobody had really changed, but just become more aged and experienced as one would expect. In the end, the women of the story overcome their respective obstacles and then it stops like an overly long bus trip. You need a meal and a nap at the end of this film.I would assume you have to enjoy Jane Austin novels to enjoy this film. If you are not into period pieces, give this one a miss.4/10

Well, if you like to see half-naked bosoms (now called by more common names) with great frequency, here's your chance. The actors are quite attractive and right for their roles, but they're not given any substantial roles by the vapid and totally distorted script. It was made for people with very short attention spans, which is understandable. The world and the web are so full of distractions that very few probably have the patience to read Austen's novel, her most complex and longest and, in many literary critics' views, her greatest. Far inferior to Colin Firth's and Barbara Ehle's Pride and Prejudice or Emma Thompson's (scriptwriter) version of Sense and Sensibility. Kate Beckinsale and Mark Strong also produce fine characterizations in their performances in Emma.

Anyone who has ever read Mansfield Park by Jane Austen should not bother to watch this movie. Other than the characters having the same name and the house having the same name, there is no part of the book here. It is not a bad movie, it just is not Mansfield Park. Trying to squash the book into 2 hours and 21st century it makes it vulgar and crude. So many things are left out for want of time and you never really understand why Fanny dislikes Henry so. She never accepts Henry, her father doesn't leer at her like meat, Sir Thomas is not cruel and heartless. It is a shame that such a wonderful novel had to be turned into this drivel instead of trying to keep true to the story. Fanny isn't the type of woman who talks back, even as a child. It makes me sad that I gave up two hours to watch this.

This was one of my favourite Austen books, and least favourite period adaptations. The references to the period are all contradicted, and Fanny's character is quite changed and not for the better. I thought there was too much focus on the slavery angle which isn't a central theme in the book. Fanny is supposed to be a very timid, quiet girl, and her uncle kindly. Neither of these comes across in the film. Edward's straightforward romance with Fanny from the outset in this film is a mockery of the book which weaves a far more interesting and complicated story. The setting and scenery also seemed poorly thought out - Mansfield Park is described as an elegant, rich dwelling - and yet the walls are crumbling and the set looks cheap. I don't mind an adaptation that changes the story if it does it well, but all in all, I couldn't finish this movie as it was a offense to the book and a once-fantastic story.