MovieChat Forums > Mansfield Park (1999) Discussion > Sexing Up Austen?!

Sexing Up Austen?!

posted 19 years ago by loloandpete
9 replies | jump to latest

First of all, let me say that I like the adaptation of the novel very much. It does take various liberties, particularly with the central character of Fanny in amalgamating her with Jane Austen herself in the references to writing and diaries and generally making her more feisty than the book allows, but this, I think is not to its detriment. What I am surprised at, however, is the sexing up of any of a number of characters. When you think how the female viewers of the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle were excited by Darcy in slighty damp clothes well, the mind boggles when it comes to this version of Mansfield Park! I shall try and illustrate this character by character:

Maria (Victoria Hamilton): Is shown actually in the act with Henry Crawford (Alessandro Nivola).

Mary Crawford (Embeth Davidtz): Helps Fanny get out of her wet clothes in a scene loaded with obvious lesbian undertones. Also the ending of the piece suggests that the partners the Crawford's eventually marry are swingers.

Mr Bertram (Harold Pinter): His son Tom's sketches suggest he is fellated by his black female slaves. What's more, he seems to have lecherous desires for Fanny.

Mr Price (Hilton McRae): Suggestion that Fanny's father is incestuous in his reaction to Fanny and to her sister (Sophia Myles) in her uncomfortable gesture when he says "It'll be nice to have another girl around"

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for making things more relevant and 'entertaining' and that the fashion is currently for making period drama more racy, but in this film the various sexual predilections of nearly all the principal characters is relentless. Can you imagine how shocked Austen would have been? Having said that, perhaps she would write in such a style were she around today. What do you think?

[–] Unwanted_Birdtamer 19 years ago

I very much agree. Austen wasn't a prude and she did deal a bit with sex (Lydia and Wickham eloping, Willoughby seducing Eliza, Henry Crawford and Maria running off together, etc), but to actually have one of her characters walking in on someone in the act?? I don't think so. And it seems that all the older men are total lechers in this film, implying that they're attracted to their daughters/nieces. And the whole slavery issue--it's one thing to make that a pertinent subject to the film, because Sir Thomas did go to Antigua, so he may well have been in the slave trade; but there is absolutely nothing in his character to suggest that he would have been raping slaves. They just changed the characterization so much from the book, that they were all unrecognizable. As for Austen writing today--she dealt with subtlety, so I think she'd have a similar approach; it might be there sure, but I can't see her writing any big steamy bodice-ripper sex scenes.
Even trying to put aside my anger at the changes, just taking it as a film I didn't care much for it. The scenes felt very disjointed and didn't really flow together. There wasn't a whole lot of character development and camera angles were odd and annoying (especially at the end, the whole arcing up into the sky thing to change from one set to another, the camera positioned over Edmund's shoulder when Fanny and he were kissing, all the slow motions shots and slow motion glances).

It's not the tragedies that kill us, it's the messes.

[–] Eleena-Thea 18 years ago

I enjoyed the movie, but it was defintely a shock. I had seen after I seen many of the other Jane Austen adaptations out there, and the film definitely takes a different approach, to be sure.

[–] bsbspaz-1 19 years ago

"Mary Crawford (Embeth Davidtz): Helps Fanny get out of her wet clothes in a scene loaded with obvious lesbian undertones."

Ok, I thought I was imagining things. When I saw that scene, I was wondering if the movie was going to veer waaaay off course from the book!

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] heather-bl 19 years ago

Austen's novels were considered quite bold and risque in her time. There is a lot of sex in her novels, they are just hidden in symbolism. I agree though that this version of Mansfield Park did exaggerate the sex to shock.

[–] mellowmelon 18 years ago

I liked it.
«And that's all I have to say 'bout that»

[–] Eleena-Thea 18 years ago

You bring up an excellent point there. There was always talk of people eloping and whatnot and I'm sure just bringing that up in conversation, even though she didn't just flat out say sex, was a huge culture shock. Likewise, I think that Mansfield Park honored that shock value by taking it to a level more appropriate for the generation of people that would be viewing the movie.

[–] Chilifan 17 years ago

I was wondering about the lesbianism myself, there were a couple scenes it seemed like Mary was about to start making out with her.