6) Mansfield Park
Based on Jane Austen’s novel of the same name, Mansfield Park is unique in the world of Austen for its expansion of the novel’s themes.
Fanny Price (Frances O’Connor) is sent to live with her uncle and aunt at Mansfield Park; there, she develops a strong affection for her cousin Edmund (Jonny Lee Miller). Their world is sent into upheaval, however, by the appearance of Henry and Mary Crawford (Alessandro Nivola and Embeth Davidtz). Romantic complications of the Austenian variety ensue, but one is assured that everything will turn out all right in the end. Somehow.
Mansfield Park has been criticized by Austen fans as departing in several major ways from its source material (most clearly the criticism of slavery and plantation culture, from which the family makes their money). But I think that it takes Austen’s themes and expands upon them, allowing in criticism of Austen’s culture without entirely condemning the characters themselves.
In any case, it’s a far more serious story than Pride and Prejudice, and actually quite a bit better for its lack of total dedication to its source.