At 10, Fanny Price, a poor relation, goes to live at Mansfield Park, the estate of her aunt’s husband, Sir Thomas. Clever, studious, and a writer with an ironic imagination and fine moral compass, she becomes especially close to Edmund, Thomas’s younger son. Fanny is soon possessed of beauty as well as a keen mind and comes to the attention of a neighbor, Henry Crawford. Thomas promotes this match, but to his displeasure, Fanny has a mind of her own, asking Henry to prove himself worthy. As Edmund courts Henry’s sister and as light shines on the link between Thomas’s fortunes and New World slavery, Fanny must assess Henry’s character and assert her heart as well as her wit.
Starring Frances O’Connor, Jonny Lee Miller and Alessandro Nivola.
May be suitable for older children.
Parents need to know that there are mature conversations having to do courtship (including same-sex) and marriage in this period romance. Overall a wonderful book adaptation with strong female protagonist. Some messages regarding slave life and its myths could be offensive to viewers (for example, “Mulattoes are like mules; they cannot breed with each other”). However, the heroes in this movie assert that slavery of any kind is wrong and should be abolished. Some drinking, and one character is addicted to opium. A couple is caught having sex, showing skin on skin, with bare breasts partially visible. African slaves on a ship bound for Antigua are referred to as “darkies.” Mild profanity on occasion such as “bastard.” Fanny finds a sketchbook in which slaves are depicted being whipped, flogged, lynched, and raped. The slave women in the notebook are topless. – Common Sense Media