I never get over how some reviewers simply expect too much from an 84 minute film . Any adaptation of Mansfield Park would certainly benefit from a four part , four hour miniseries ; this rendition cuts out Fanny's return to Portsmouth completely and leaves out a significant minor character , Yates , thereby cutting corners badly on the playful attempt to perform a play at Mansfield Park . So why do I give it a 10 ? The gist of any Austin novel is in the subtleties of the relationships , pure and simple , and this adaptation does a superb job in doing just that ....with the most significant relationships ( again , three or four hours would be needed to do the job adequately ) . Piper plays the mild and reserved Fanny perfectly in the limited time given , in every stage of her relationship with Edmund . BBC did a superb job back in 1998 wit Far From the Madding Crowd , layering in fine detail ( at the expense of cinematography ) the movie versions just couldn't fit in . Mansfield Park deserves the same . However , this low budget gem will be appreciated by anyone with the sense to realize that this is not a miniseries !

If you are a Janeite, as people who love all things Jane Austen, you are not gleeful about the latest adaptation of Mansfield Park. This latest BBC version of the classic seems to leave a sick feeling in ones stomach from the very beginning. Where does one begin? Characters: no character development whatsoever, wrong character traits in all of the characters and whole characters essential to the story left out. It seems that the writer just jumbled a few plot lines from the book and added a few of his or her own and moved the story along so quickly that no one had a chance to identify with the main character Fanny Price or any of the Bertram family for that matter. What or who brought the Crawfords into the neighborhood? Even these characters were shortchanged. Any hour and a half film would not do justice to any story but why with Masterpiece theater the main distributing network seek to put together a piece of shoddy work like this? They have done such mini series such as Downton Abby and other book adaptations so well that they have taken awards. Why slight poor Jane? or Fanny Price for that matter? It seems like they just decided one day to update the timeless stories written by the mistress of the 19th century novel and had a third grader write the screenplay. I have to say that the definitive Mansfield Park adaptation was done as a miniseries in the 80s. Fanny may have been a little stiff but she is by no means a hoyden or a perky girl with stringy hair worn down. Fanny never ran through a house in her life and would not be caught dead doing so, in fact, she was not a hardy strong girl at all although she did a lot of walking and was known to be a avid rider. There was nothing wrong with the casting. They only acted to the lines they were given so I do not fault them. I would like to give BBC a tip. When next considering adapting Jane Austen to the small screen, please use do use real authentic dialogue and real plot lines. Do not veer off and do your own thing. Those who watch are more knowledgeable that you and will catch you in your shoddy work and eviscerate you in it as seen in these previous reviews.

It can barely call itself an adaptation of Jane Austen's Novel, Mansfield Park. Fanny Price of the book is demure, sees herself as a servant to her Aunts, and loves them in her own way, she is sensible and kind, quiet and accepting of her, as she sees it fortunate situation in life. Fanny Price of the film is wild, outspoken, running about all over the place, makes fun of her aunts... The writing was dire, the direction miserable, the acting and casting very poor. Even with the low budget remaining in Mansfield Park the entire film, they did not make up for the missed scenes, which meant Fanny's decision to decline Mr Crawford completely bizarre, and Miss Crawford refers to Fanny's traits, but we see none of these. In addition, the set, manners, and the wardrobe particularly when looking at hair were not of the 18th Century. I wish I had read the previous reviews of the film, I agree completely with Psyche-8 when they say "nothing happens", key points in the plot are skipped, or most of the plot washed over, there is nothing linking on thing to another. I would not recommend this film to anyone. Badly done.

Please...if anybody gets the chance to read this BEFORE watching the movie, if it can be called so, refrain from it... do not waste your time!!!! I too watched this film right after finishing the book, and was seriously disappointed... the main character is basically a new made up Fanny, for she shows NO resemblance whatso ever to the book...she's so lively and laughing all the time... if there was one thing the author wanted to set on this was that she was a very shy, introverted character.... please!!!!! All the most important parts of the story, which are supposed to convey to the heppy ending, are simply not taken into account...and the rest made up!!! I think one is better off using the time to either read a little bit of the actual novel or simply do nothing.