Summary:
A young woman in high society 1800s England meddles in the lives of her friends and relatives with the best of intentions, but not always the best results.
My Thoughts:
I’ve found that one of my great joys in life is reading a classic novel before it’s freshly adapted for the screen, so that was how I approached this film adaptation of Jane Austen’s’ Emma’: I read the novel shortly before seeing it. I must admit that while I’ve read a couple of Austen’s novels before (“Pride & Prejudice”, “Northanger Abbey”), ‘Emma’ was probably my least favorite of her works I’d read so far; it’s certainly not bad, but I found the pacing was a bit slow, and some of the comedic moments I failed to find truly funny.
That being said, I still looked forward to my viewing of “Emma” because I’ve really enjoyed the recent performances of Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Witch”) and Mia Goth (“Suspiria”), and the production design looked to be simply divine. I expected to enjoy this film, but I hadn’t expected to enjoy it nearly as much as I did; this is a delightful little story that takes time to infuse more humor and wit without ever feeling un-Austen-like, but it’s also a tale that is just dripping with allure and charm.
“Emma” just might be a new classic.
“Emma, you should not make matches, or foretell things. Whatever you say always comes to pass! You must not make any more!”
After rightly matching some friends together in marriage, Emma Woodhouse (Anya Taylor-Joy) becomes convinced that she knows the best match for everyone, and she sets out to meddle in the lives of her friends and acquaintances. Mr. Knightley (Johnny Flynn, “The Clouds of Sils Maria”), Mr. Elton (Josh O’Connor, “God’s Own Country”), Frank Churchhill (Callum Turner, “Green Room”), Harriet Smith (Mia Goth), Mr. Martin (Connor Swindells, “The Vanishing”) and Jane Fairfax (Amber Anderson, “Your Highness”) all have their lives affected in various ways.
Anya Taylor-Joy is a perfect Emma Woodhouse. Emma in the book is incredibly well-mannered and well-meaning; she’s the perfect picture of grace and elegance (or at least, that’s how she sees herself), but she’s also incredibly flawed and full of herself. The way that Taylor-Joy portrays Emma is wonderfully accurate to the book, but she infuses a bit more- not venom, that’s too harsh a word- but a bit more bite into Emma’s character, and it makes her all the more compelling. Mia Goth is also the perfect choice to play Harriet Smith. Harriet, bless her heart, is a bit of a simpleton who doesn’t exactly know what she wants out of life (which is one of the reasons that Emma and she get along so easily; Emma manipulates Harriet into doing the things she wants her to do quite easily). Because Harriet is so easily swayed, her character comes off as indecisive and flippant, and Mia goth is able to perfectly capture the shakiness that Harriet’s character is built upon- she feels perpetually nervous, but even in her shaky and nervousness, she’s able to grow ever so slightly by the end of the film. Bill Nighy (“Underworld”) who plays Emma’s father, is absolutely hilarious in this movie. Mr. Woodhouse in the book is a character that is relatively humorous, but he doesn’t really do much to further the plot; in the film his character is much the same, and his irreverent brand of humor really livens up the slower bits of the movie.
Another thing I loved about this movie was the production design. This movie is an absolute feast for the eyes on almost every visual level. Even from the first shots, it feels as if we have wandered into a pastel-colored daydream. The costumes are gorgeous and elaborate, the settings are beautiful and exquisitely photographed, and I was absolutely baffled by the number of flowers which seemed to pop out of every nook and cranny. This a beautiful film that is simply a joy to behold.
There were a few issues with the film, however, most notably there were a few moments of awkward direction. A few of the party scenes (or church scenes) have characters group together away from others, and during those scenes, it seems as if the background characters are just silently waiting by for our foreground characters to finish their conversations. If that had just happened in one scene, I probably wouldn’t have really noticed it, but that awkwardness happened in at least three scenes. This film does have a few slower moments as well; this is a film about the leisure class just going about their daily lives- the stakes aren’t particularly high, so some of the conflicts feel a bit trite. Still, there is a lot of simple charm to be found in the working through of these little problems.
Verdict:
I really enjoyed “Emma”- I think it’s a very good adaption of a decent book. If you’re a fan of Austen’s work or films that deal with comedy of manners, you’ll probably find a lot to enjoy here.
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