No one writes more insightfully than Jane Austen on the family politics of marriage and property, wealth and poverty. In this smart adaptation, young Fanny Price is sent off to live as a poor relation (unpaid servant) at Mansfield Park, her cousins' estate. Eventually her purity of heart triumphs over corruption and adversity -- she even wins the man who loves her. Understated cinematography reminds us artfully that this social commentary/romantic comedy is set on a damp and chilly island in a squalid and underheated time.

Havi Hoffman