pma97dr-2

This film is an object lesson in how to take an excellent children's book and ruin it. The child acting is dreadful, especially Titty and Roger, and the whole film is an embarrassment to watch. If you liked the book please don't watch this.

I went to see this with reservations. I had heard that it bore little resemblance to the book, but I was on the whole pleasantly suprised. The acting is uniformally excellent (apart from the Young Fanny who had the worst fake English accent I've ever heard) especially from Frances O'Connor and Harold Pinter.

Although O'Connor was excellent, and the characterisation of Fanny worked in the context of the film, it would have been nice to see the character of Fanny from the book, which contrary to most opinions, I found to be very complex and interesting. This would be hard to bring across in a film, and when you remember the diabolical TV version, it is easy to understand why they did it as they did.

I thought the addition of the slavery issue was a bit crass, and there were too many needless jokes, Mansfield Park isn't Emma however you rejig it) but on the whole this wasn't too bad.

This is one of the best of the recent Jane Austen films, from one of her weaker books. Emma Thompson has done a fine job of the script, not slavishly remaining faithful to the book but not abandoning it either.

The cast are uniformally excellent. I especially liked Kate Winslet's Marianne and Alan Rickman's Brandon. Emma Thompson's performance is almost good enough to make you forget that she is far to old for the part. The supporting cast are all excellent.

Ang Lee's direction shows the same skill that it did in the excellent Eat Drink Man Woman and the scenery and costumes are beautiful (perhaps too beautiful).

This is more romantic and less comic than say Emma, and Thompson's script wisely stays away from the kind of set-piece gags seen in the recent film of Emma. All in all, this is excellent.