Mansfield Park (1999) *

Directed by Patricia Rozema. Frances O'Connor and Embeth Davitz star in this frustratingly modern re-telling of Jane Austen's most brilliant, yet least popular novel. Unconditional Austen purist will be shocked by the cavalier attitude Ms Rozema has taken towards a literary classic, turning positive characters into monstruous villains, while totally eliminating Austen's uniquely subversive wit and replacing it with shrill, victimologist rhetoric.