Blog Entry: Austen films and other weaknesses
So, I watched the 2007 version of "Mansfield Park" (the one with Billie Piper) last night. I didn't have high expectations (the reviews had been pretty bad), which meant that actually, I was nicely surprised. It was fun, and it was surprisingly romantic. I really enjoyed the ending. Of course, I pretty much enjoy ALL Austen adaptations no matter how bad they are (except for the recent BBC "Sense & Sensibility", which I hated SO MUCH I would have thrown things at the screen and turned it off if I hadn't been a guest in the house where it was being watched).
So it was a safe bet that I was going to enjoy it...but the one thing that really puzzled me about this version was: why on earth would someone adapt an Austen novel and leave out all the humor? Mansfield Park is a really funny book. It has my least favorite Austen heroine of all time (and I'm not the only one who feels that way - pretty much every movie adaptation RADICALLY changes Fanny Price's character to give her a spine, because it's hard for modern audiences to sympathize with her otherwise)...but I've still re-read it many times because it's so nastily funny in all the character interactions. Jane Austen was hilarious when she was writing about really horrible, self-centered and shallow people, and Mansfield Park is absolutely filled with them, in the movie as well as the book...but in this adaptation, all the humor was left out. Yes, we hated the horrible people who were oppressing the heroine, but we couldn't laugh at them...and that felt very un-Austen to me.
Having said all that? It's on my Amazon wishlist now, because I have this uncontrollable weakness for Austen films. And if I end up getting it, I bet I'll watch it many more times, even if I'm sighing over the missed comic opportunities every time. I really love humor...but I'll take Austen even without it.
And these have been a very decadent few days, because this morning, as I thought about "Mansfield Park" (and, yes, as I seriously considered re-watching the 1999 version for comparison - see, this is serious study, not fun, people! - er, yeah, right...), I sent Patrick and MrD out to pillage the local village for me. It was a pirate raid full of swordplay, drama, witty banter, and high adventure, and when they came back? They came bearing hazelnut-praline vegan brownies, handed over by a terrorized café-worker.
It's a good brownie, too. Mmm. Maybe I'll see how Austen films work for me with added chocolate goodness on the side!
This could be a good Saturday...