The movie year began with an excellent British film, "The Winslow Boy," and now it's coming to an end with another, "Mansfield Park." One word comes to mind when we talk about what's missing in much of what's playing in American cineplexes today as compared to much of what we import from the U.K. The word is "class." Class in every sense of the word. In this story, Fanny Price a poor young relation from Portsmouth, comes to live with her wealthy relatives at their manor house, Mansfield Park, thereby setting in motion a chain of events leading to tangled relationships, love affairs, misery, and a few "happily-ever-afters." In true British fashion, the character-driven story is allowed to unfold at its' own pace in beautiful settings, and played by excellent actors, chief of which are Lindsay Duncan(in a shocking dual-role,) and the playwright Harold Pinter,(as the head of the family.)The younger actors(Embeth Davidtz, Alessandro Nivola, Frances O'Connor and Jonny Lee Miller) seem to have been born in their costumes. They're excellent. It was the director's idea to incorporate some modern ideas(feminism, diversity, lesbianism, civil rights,etc.) into the story. It works. As does giving Fanny much of Jane Austen's personality, as well as her own. If your "cup of tea" is Jane Austen, see this film.