Mansfield Park
1999, PG-13, 110 min. Directed by Patricia Rozema. Starring Frances O'Connor, Embeth Davidtz, Alessandro Nivola, Jonny Lee Miller, Harold Pinter.
REVIEWED By Marjorie Baumgarten, Fri., Dec. 31, 1999
Jane Austen's third novel is given an odd treatment as writer-director Patricia Rozema infuses the story with liberal doses of modern attitudes and autobiographical tidbits from the author's life. In this story we have another of Austen's levelheaded heroines, Fanny Price (O'Connor), who navigates her way through a web of social and marital dilemmas. Instead of sticking faithfully to the 1814 novel, Canadian director Rozema (who was commissioned for this project by Miramax Films) incorporates fragments from Austen's correspondence and life into the dialogue, creating a sense and sensibility that often seems too modern for the times in which the story is set. Notions of marrying for love or money, the graphic evils of the slave trade, and the idea of women as professional writers run rampant through the story and seem at odds with Austen's original intents. I am not familiar with the novel, so cannot speak to the specific ways Rozema has altered the text, although the seams are quite frequently visible. As Fanny, O'Connor (Love and Other Catastrophes) projects beauty and intelligence, and her supporting cast (including playwright Harold Pinter) are equally engaging. Mansfield Park, however, is a confusing jumble of historical drama and modern social essay that only serves to cloud the whole field of Jane Austen studies. Ultimately, it may lead to a whole new flood of Austen film remakes.
A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.
Kimberley Jones, July 4, 2008
Mansfield Park, Patricia Rozema, Frances O'Connor, Embeth Davidtz, Alessandro Nivola, Jonny Lee Miller, Harold Pinter