…six years after its release, which is curious, but apparently related to the re-release of the DVD version of the film in January. Equally curious is the reviewer’s astonishment at such a “dark” film being Jane Austen’s professed favorite of her works. We submit that the reviewer’s astonishment is most likely due to the fact that the film bore little resemblance to the book that Jane Austen loved. The director/adapter, as well as the producer (Harvey “John Thorpe” Weinstein), have publicly admitted that they dislike the book as Jane wrote it and also have expressed contempt for Jane Austen fans whom they consider too stupid to understand what Jane Austen “meant.” Thus, they redesigned it in bold strokes that bludgeon where Jane whispered.

By this I mean that there is a commonality throughout her works that, though the plot may be distinctive, one can be reasonably certain of certain elements dominating the proceedings: Headstrong and intelligent female protagonists

In Mansfield Park?!? Bwa ha ha ha haaaaaaaaa! Fanny Price is anything but headstrong. Firm in moral rectitude, certainly; but headstrong? No.

It should also be noted that there are some modern touches to this story that have upset Austen purists. One is the inclusion of actual letters written by Austen as monologues for Fanny (spoken to the camera) as she writes to her little sister. For such a genre that seems forever encased in it’s Masterpiece Theater trappings, I can imagine how such tactics as breaking the fourth wall are taken by her fans.

Au contraire: we don’t have a problem with clever directorial tricks such as breaking the fourth wall. Heck, in PERSUASION they used Steadicams and forced perspective and shot interior scenes by candlelight, not to mention displaying characters with messy hair and muddy ankles after a country walk on a rainy day. We can handle the fancy schmancy stuff, really.

Like the Shakespeare devotees who cringe at modern adaptations, Austen fans who prefer their films straight up, no chaser will remain unsatisfied with this version. But the rest of us who are enthralled with the story itself will find much to appreciate and enjoy here.

Actually, those of us who are “enthralled by the story itself” were left wondering what the hell happened to it.