A
film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net, edited by the blogger.
Mansfield Park has always been
viewed as Jane Austen's most
confounding novel. Scholars are divided over its literary merit, and many
Austen lovers prefer to ignore its existence altogether, seeing it as a kind of
black sheep in the author's catalog
of six completed, published books. Mansfield
Park has also intimidated filmmakers. With the exception of a BBC
miniseries, this novel has never been adapted for a visual medium until now.
Canadian director Patricia Rozema's
radical approach to the material will leave some Austen fans staring blankly at
the screen in stunned disbelief. Others, including those who have not read the
book, will be delighted by the changes and will see Mansfield Park as a welcome addition to the recent wave of
impeccably produced Austen movies.
There
are three primary problems associated with filming Mansfield Park. In the first place, the text is long; this is
Austen's second most verbose novel. Secondly, it's a deeply introspective
work, with much of the action taking
place inside the heroine's head. Finally, that heroine, Fanny Price, is passive
and difficult to like. To put her on screen the way she is on the written page
would risk driving viewers away. Rozema's innovative and possibly
controversial solution has been to change the text. In streamlining the plot,
scenes and characters have been eliminated. Rozema also allows Fanny Price to
address the camera, reducing the use of the voiceover narrative. And, most
importantly, the director has altered Fanny's personality by injecting a great
deal of Austen into her. The result is a hybrid of author and creation. Fanny
has often been regarded as the most autobiographical of Austen's characters;
Rozema has simply taken this one logical step further. As a result, this Fanny
is bright, funny, and affable, despite being a wild beast and having a tongue that is sharper than a guillotine. We don't have any problem rooting for
her happiness.
As
freely as she subtracts from Austen's text, so Rozema also adds. Four subtle
themes from the written version of Mansfield
Park are brought into the open. As one might expect from a director with
Rozema's resume (I've Heard the Mermaids
Singing, When Night Is Falling),
there is a strong feminist streak in the movie. Austen has always been viewed
as a proto-feminist, but Fanny's
strength of character and independence here go beyond what's in the book. Condemnation
of the slave trade, a hidden theme in
the novel, is considerably fleshed out. There are also strong hints of
lesbianism and incest. And Mansfield Park
becomes the first Austen-based movie to contain a sex scene. [Note: a
different, less graphic version of this scene has been used in the theatrical
release than the one shown to film festival audiences. Rozema made the change
of her own volition.]
Some
Austen purists will undoubtedly howl with the same kind of outrage voiced by
Shakespeare enthusiasts when they viewed Baz Luhrmann's sacrilegious version of Romeo
+ Juliet. It's as if a strict, slavish adherence to the text is the only
way to film a novel. That sort of standard approach was used to excellent
effect for the astonishingly beautiful 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice – but the finished product ran so long [more
than 4½ hours], that it couldn't have been presented in theaters. Adapted in
full, Mansfield Park would have been
as long, and far less engaging. Rozema has distilled the novel into a form that
is more accessible, yet still faithful to Austen's themes, ideas, and basic
storyline. For the record, the director made an intensive study of Austen
before writing the screenplay, and, as is stated in the opening credits, she
uses excerpts from Austen's journals and early writings in the script; they are
the text of Fanny's letters and stories. Those familiar with Austen only
through the other movies will find Mansfield
Park to be much in the same vein as what has preceded it to the screen.
The
film begins just after the turn of the 18th century. Young Fanny Price (played
by Hannah Taylor Gordon as a child, Amelia Warner as a teenager and Frances O'Connor as an adult) is
shipped off from her squalid home in Portsmouth to live with her wealthy aunt
and uncle Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram in the country estate of Mansfield Park.
Once there, she feels isolated and lonely, with life being like a quick succession of busy nothings.
Because of her inferior social class, she is treated as an outcast by most of
the family: Sir Thomas Bertram (Harold
Pinter), Lady Bertram (Lindsay
Duncan, who also plays Fanny’s mother Mrs. Price), and cousins Tom, Edmund,
Maria, and Julia. She is not your equal,
Sir Thomas instructs his children. But
that must never be apparent to her. Only Edmund (Philip Sarson as a child, Jonny
Lee Miller as an adult), the Bertrams' second son, is kind and open. He
takes an interest in Fanny's writings, and, over the years, they become friends
– and perhaps a little more. Although Edmund is seemingly oblivious to it,
Fanny has fallen in love with him, and her affection is more than that of one
cousin for another.
The
scene shifts ahead at least a decade, and life at Mansfield Park is
considerably shaken by the appearance of Henry and Mary Crawford (Alessandro Nivola and Embeth Davidtz), a cosmopolitan brother
and sister who arrive from London in search of wealthy, marriageable prey. Much
to Fanny's dismay, Mary sets her sights on Edmund, and he appears receptive to
her overtures. Meanwhile, although Henry initially flirts with all the eligible
young women at Mansfield Park, his attention eventually focuses on Fanny. He
likes a challenge, and she provides it. Her reluctance only fuels his desire,
but she does not trust him (his sole
interest is in being loved, not in loving [another]) and she is distracted
and dismayed by the growing bond between Edmund and Mary.
One
prevalent theme in all of Austen's writings is evident in Mansfield Park: the woman who follows her heart rather than
succumbing to society's conventions finds happiness. Those who marry for wealth
or position inevitably end up despondent. Fanny resists Henry's overtures
because she loves Edmund. One of Rozema's most successful changes is to soften
Henry's character so he appears to be a sincere and viable match for Fanny.
This makes the romantic twists and turns of the narrative less sure than those
of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, or Sense and Sensibility. Even someone familiar with the book may be
surprised by Fanny's reaction to one of Henry's proposals.
The
quality of acting in Mansfield Park
is variable. This could be attributed to Rozema's determination to avoid the usual suspects. A few of the cast
members don't seem comfortable in their period costumes. The most credible
performances are given by Hannah Taylor Gordon and Frances O'Connor. O’Connor
effectively uses facial expressions to convey emotion, and part of the reason
we like Fanny is because of the energy and spirit O'Connor imbues her with.
Unfortunately, her co-stars aren't on the same level. Alessandro Nivola and Embeth
Davidtz are adequate, but the depth of their acting doesn't match O'Connor's.
More uneven is Jonny Lee Miller, whose portrayal of Edmund is occasionally
uninvolving and even a little flat. Offbeat play director Harold Pinter has a
strong turn as Sir Thomas.
With
an agenda as ambitious as Rozema's, there are bound to be areas of potential
dissatisfaction. One of the most discussed and visible elements of the movie is
the way in which it deals with slavery and the abolitionist movement – two hot button subjects when the novel was
written. In one scene, we see Fanny's horror as she looks at the sketch pad of Tom
Bertram (James Purefoy) in which he
depicts the mistreatment of African slaves on the family’s sugar cane plantation
on the island of Antigua. [Sugar was the main crop produced on plantations
throughout the Caribbean in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Most islands
were covered with sugar cane fields, and mills for refining it. The main source
of labor, until the abolition of chattel slavery, was enslaved Africans.] At
that instant, Fanny realizes the source of the Bertrams' wealth and comfort.
Conceived and executed by Rozema, it is a darker moment than anything Austen
ever committed to paper (although it is in keeping with clues found in the
book). However, while there is undeniable heft to these sub-themes, and they
broaden Mansfield Park's dramatic
base considerably, Rozema fails to integrate them smoothly into the overall
narrative, making them seem grafted on to the larger whole.
While
Mansfield Park is substantially
different from the other recent Austen films, it retains a few links, not only
in terms of content, but with regard to some of those who were involved in the
production. Jane Gibson worked as a
choreographer on Ang Lee's Sense and
Sensibility (1995) as well as Mansfield
Park. The same dual credit can be assigned to cinematographer Michael Coulter. And actress Victoria Hamilton, who plays Maria
Bertram, is in her third Austen movie; she portrayed Mrs. Forster in Simon
Langton's Pride and Prejudice and
Henrietta Musgrove in Roger Mitchell's Persuasion.
Of
all the Austen novels to reach the big or small screen during the '90s, this
one makes the most departures from its source material. From a technical
standpoint, Mansfield Park is
gorgeously composed, with standout production design and stunning
cinematography. The screenplay achieves the difficult goal of making Mansfield Park both accessible to and
engaging for a modern audience. Overall, this is a fine addition to the filmed
Austen canon, even though it may not suffice as a primer for students who have
been assigned to read the book. And until the release of Northanger Abbey [in 2007], Rozema's Mansfield Park should slake nearly every movie-goer's thirst for
the most beloved female author of the pre-Victorian 1800s. [Berardinelli’s
rating: 3 stars out of 4 = 75%]
Labels:
comedy, drama, lesbian, period, romance
