I was predisposed to enjoy this adaptation even though I'd seen reviews that indicated it was not a faithful adaptation and some that did not rate it at all. However, I was quickly annoyed by the disgraceful attack on our Queen Elizabeth I. I can only assume the scriptwriter is descended from a disgruntled Scots emigrant and doesn't know the truth. Whilst the view of our great Queen as a brutal persecutor of Mary Queen of Scots may delight some disgruntled Scots, it is totally inaccurate. Mary was a foolish woman although also in a difficult situation as she was a staunch Catholic in a country that had turned mostly Protestant. After her third very stupid marriage failed and she was on the run from her own nobles who had no respect for her - which is significant - she hoped England would give her protection. Yet at the same time she continued to insist obsessively that she was Queen of England and plot and scheme to do away with her "Protector" Queen Elizabeth. Unfortunately for her, the usual rule of winner takes all applied. She had to be imprisoned as she was encouraging sedition. Elizabeth should have had her executed long before she actually did after enduring many years of Mary's interminable plotting against Elizabeth's life, but Elizabeth held to the view that a Monarch should not be dishonoured. It is a pity her cousin Mary of Scots didn't have the decency to honour Elizabeth similarly. Mary didn't it seems care about the fact that England had had an appalling experience under the brief but manic rule of Catholic fanatic Mary I who introduced the vicious Spanish Inquisition with horrendous results into England. Thank heaven she didn't last long. The Inquisition is totally alien to English ways. There was no way England would stand for another Catholic ruler either - which is partly why later James II later was slung out, and rightly. There is no way Fanny - or Jane Austen - would insult Queen Elizabeth as in this movie. I must assume the movie isn't British or the scriptwriter would know better.
The Slave Trade... Jane Austen did not get into politics. Fanny wouldn't have dared to criticise. Tom is a selfish arrogant drunkard and I don't remember him ever complaining about slavery. Did he? Fanny was quiet and careful not to offend and very well aware of her lowly status. Her Aunt Sir Thomas's wife was very fond of Fanny though imposed greatly on her - why isn't this bond shown? Fanny and Edmund were rather insufferable prigs by our modern standards but not by theirs. This movie's Fanny is far too feisty by far.
If the scriptwriter hadn't chosen to get into politics and smear England's great Queen, this movie would have gained 8 stars from me. I don't mind a loose adaptation, but do get the facts right. If the story had been written by a Scot resentful of the treatment of their Catholic Queen Mary and about Scots of the time who might have been equally annoyed, the view of Mary and Elizabeth it expressed would have made sense.
The Slave Trade... Jane Austen did not get into politics. Fanny wouldn't have dared to criticise. Tom is a selfish arrogant drunkard and I don't remember him ever complaining about slavery. Did he? Fanny was quiet and careful not to offend and very well aware of her lowly status. Her Aunt Sir Thomas's wife was very fond of Fanny though imposed greatly on her - why isn't this bond shown? Fanny and Edmund were rather insufferable prigs by our modern standards but not by theirs. This movie's Fanny is far too feisty by far.
If the scriptwriter hadn't chosen to get into politics and smear England's great Queen, this movie would have gained 8 stars from me. I don't mind a loose adaptation, but do get the facts right. If the story had been written by a Scot resentful of the treatment of their Catholic Queen Mary and about Scots of the time who might have been equally annoyed, the view of Mary and Elizabeth it expressed would have made sense.