'Mansfield Park' is an engaging and enjoyable film, beautifully photographed and well-acted, but Jane Austen would probably have been horrified by the changes made to her deep and profound story.
The novel, a Cinderella tale, concerns Fanny, a poor girl adopted by her wealthy relations, the Bertram's. The family, especially Fanny's spiteful and malicious Aunt Norris, is very mean to her and treat her like a servant. The only kindness she is shown is by her cousin, Edmund, a fairly staid character destined to be a clergyman. Wealth has caused this family to become corrupt and perverted their morals so that when the worldly Crawford's arrive, Fanny and Edmund are in grave danger of losing their souls. Edmund falls for the bewitching and beautiful Mary Crawford whose main interest is money and the family try to force Fanny to marry the rake Henry Crawford because he is a wealthy catch. She, however, loves Edmund.
The best part of this strange film is its interpretation of Fanny's character. Too good and almost dull in the novel, here Fanny becomes more like the young Jane Austen. Although serious, she can also be amusing and lively. Her romance with Henry is very charmingly done in the film. Although she tells Susan, her young sister, that he is a rake, it is understandable that she falls for him at one stage.
Fanny is acted beautifully by Australian Frances O'Connor.
There are many strange aspects to this film, however, which go far beyond the novel. Slavery, for example, barely mentioned in the book, plays a big part here.
Sir Thomas Bertram, owner of a slave plantation in the West Indies, is portrayed as a very sleazy character that fancies Fanny and sexually abuses his slaves. Fanny is horrified when she finds drawings by her cousin Tom picturing this.
Fanny's aunt. Lady Bertram, is just indolent and uncaring in the novel, but kindly. Here she becomes a drug addict on opium. Tom is much worse than in the book. In the film he becomes a lecherous drunkard; in the novel he was subject to bad influences but likeable.
Mary and Henry are interpreted well, and it is easy to see why Edmund is so attracted to the lovely, but amoral Mary.
To some extent, the spirit of the novel has been kept but unfortunately it is just too different from the novel to be a true adaptation.
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