Mansfield Park (a little something to offset the dark nature of posts this week)

Inspired by Jane Austen

As a young girl Fanny Price (Frances O’Connor), who comes from a fairly poor family, is taken in by her Aunt, Lady Bertram, and her husband Sir Thomas to live with her four cousins at Mansfield Park for a better life. Fanny, shy and feeling a bit of unworthiness, struggles to fit in until she and her cousin Edmund (Jonny Lee Miller) develop a friendship. Fanny is treated like a “Cinderella” character that lives in the attic and is basically ignored by the others. She has strong convictions on the topic of right and wrong, and finds herself disapproving of the way her Uncle makes his money; which leads to an uncomfortable scene where she discovers secrets about his slavery business. When the Crawford siblings move in next door they bring with them the ability to complicate matters for the Bertram Family.

As usual in Jane Austen novels there seems to be mismatched love that you are just waiting to be made right throughout the story. With the addition of manipulative neighbors like the Crawford’s trying to infiltrate themselves into the Bertram Family there are plenty of scandals of the heart. I was definitely rooting for the honest and loyal character of Fanny to find the happiness she has been waiting so patiently for. The casting and acting in this adaptation were right on the money.

I am a huge Jane Austen fan and while I don’t believe this to be the greatest of her stories I do still enjoy it and the character of Fanny. I love the way Austen subtly interweaves witty humor into her stories. It is an enjoyable period piece. It does vary from the book if you are a purist but still entertaining.

Motherly Advice: My filters were all set to Medium which allowed ClearPlay to cut out a short sex scene and a book of racy art. Things that the filter did not cut were a man with no shirt on, talk of slavery, smoking, low cut dresses and flirtiness that lead to infidelity. The two unnecessary and objectionable scenes relating to sex and racy art that were cut by ClearPlay made this movie even better.

Hannah – In my opinion you can never have too many Jane Austen films!