There's something more than a little perverse about taking one of the most timid, self-effacing heroines in English literature and turning her into a paragon of modern free-spirited womanhood.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
O'Connor as Fanny is irresistibly appealing.
The latest and loosest -- in the saucy sense of the word as well -- adaptation of (Austen's) sly comedies of uppercrust manners.
Portland Oregonian by Diana Abu-Jaber
Piquant, playful, and, in many ways, just as appealing as blockbusters such as "Pride and Prejudice."
New York Daily News by Jami Bernard
O'Connor plays Fanny with an appealingly direct, unflinching gaze.
Stylish and arrives at a satisfying cumulative weight, even if it isn't Austen pure.
An engaging bit of entertainment.
Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten
A confusing jumble of historical drama and modern social essay that only serves to cloud the whole field of Jane Austen studies.
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
The Australian actress Frances O'Connor is a true find. She's as beautiful as the young Barbara Hershey, with a stare that's pensive yet playful, and she puts us in touch with the quiet battle of emotions in Fanny.
San Francisco Examiner by Walter Addiego
What's on the screen may not be a letter-perfect Mansfield Park, but something true to its spirit.