That being said, I definitely have to rant for a minute or two about Mansfield Park. Perhaps it was the fact that I was forced to read it, and analyze it in my freshman lit. class. Perhaps it's because I will always compare it to Austen's crowning achievement: Pride and Prejudice. Perhaps it's just because there are so many unlikeable characters residing and coexisting within the pages of the book, but I really don't like the story (or any film version) of Mansfield Park. *gasp!*
Don't get me wrong. It was still the best hour and a half of television I watched all week. I loved the gorgeous locales, bodice-squeezed hotties, and witty dialogue, but I just couldn't get into the characters or their plights. I sat and pondered this for a while last night as I was laying in bed. And then it came to me, like a bolt of lightning! It's not the story I dislike, it's one of the characters within the story: Edmund. Apparently, I'm not alone in this. Last night I hit-up PBS's website and took their poll: The Men of Austen. Edmund Bertram is ranked 4th on their list of favorites. I think the thing that is so aggravating about Edmund, is that he is so decidedly undecided. He is so blindingly stupid, and impotently oblivious when it comes to women. I was so frustrated by the fact that he could not see Fanny for who or what she was until the last 30 seconds of the film! Urgh! Give me a man who knows his own mind! Give me passion! Give me stubborn and unwavering determination! Give me a devastatingly handsome brooder! Give me devotion and longing! Give me my strapping and infallible Mr. Darcy for heaven's sake!
OK, enough ranting. What did you think?
3 comments:
AMEN to everything you said about Mansfield Park. I literally RAN out of a youth fireside to get to my TV by 8 sharp and was NOT disappointed...but I did feel like they could have developed a few of the characters a bit better...I remember HATING Mrs. Norris in the book, and she was barely a figure in the show. I also remember the sisters having a much more antagonist role...but it was a LONG time ago so maybe I'm making it up...the only thing I don't want that you want is the "determinedly stubborn" man...
Natalie
Two thumbs down for Edmund. Blech. What a weeny.
Mansfield Park paled in comparison to the other movies. It seemed like there was nothing really going on, or at least it was difficult to care since there wasn't a lot of character development. I think I was comparing this Fanny to the girl in the other version- Frances O'Conner- who had quite a bit more dialogue, and thus, character development! I can't wait to see the new Sense and Sensibility!
Post a Comment