‘Emma.’ (2020) Review

Emma.Synopsis: In 1800s England, a well meaning but selfish young woman meddles in the love lives of her friends.

Handsome. Clever. And rich. Those are the three adjectives used to describe Emma Woodhouse. She wishes never to marry and would rather stay at Hartfield with her father, Henry. Rather than take a husband for herself, Emma delights in matchmaking, especially after taking credit for the marriage of her governess, Miss Taylor, to Mr. Weston, a well-to-do neighbor. Eventually, Emma meddles a bit too much in the lives of her friends, and things begin to go awry due to misunderstandings, miscommunications, and Emma’s stubborn belief that she knows best.

There have been countless adaptations of Jane Austen’s work. While I have enjoyed many modernized interpretations (Clueless, Bridget Jones’s Diary), I have a soft spot for films that stick close to the source material in the proper setting. The first thing I noticed about Emma. is the gorgeous cinematography and production design. The film envelops you with rich pastels and rolling green countryside.

Emma. covers an entire year, and every season is breathtakingly portrayed. I preferred the outdoor scenes because, while the homes are magnificent, I have to admit that I’ve always found the inside design and décor of these wealthy manors to be a bit gaudy. Yes, I know they’re meant to be extravagant and a symbol of wealth, but they only felt stifling to me.

Alexandra Byrne was in charge of the costume design, and oh my… I think there were times I paid more attention to the clothes than I did to what was actually going on in the scene itself. She perfectly matched the costumes with the movie’s overall look. There are apparent differences in style depending on the social class, but all the clothes were colorful and detail-oriented, topped off with overexuberant bonnets and hairstyles. So yes, Emma. is a joy to look at, and I am forever disappointed that I probably wouldn’t get away with wearing Regency dresses to work every day.

Anya Taylor-Joy was a fantastic choice to play the title character. Emma is a stubborn, prideful character, and her dismissive nature toward nearly everyone in her life is difficult to watch. But Taylor-Joy balances Emma’s flaws and attributes so well that even when she is at her most unlikeable, you want to see her own up to her mistakes and make things right, not only for everyone she’s managed to hurt but for herself too. I think Taylor-Joy brought an edge to Emma that I hadn’t seen in past adaptations, and I appreciated that Taylor-Joy seemed to embrace Emma’s more unflattering personality traits. I haven’t seen Taylor-Joy in much, but I have really enjoyed what I’ve seen from her.

She also had fantastic chemistry with Johnny Flynn, who plays Mr. Knightley, a friend and the brother of Emma’s sister’s husband. He is the only one who truly challenges her and calls her out on her bad behavior, even when she refuses to listen. Is there any doubt that their constant squabbling is just an outlet for their repressed sexual tension? 

Regarding Jane Austen’s heroes, Mr. Darcy is probably the end-all-be-all of the swoon-worthy leading men, but I think Mr. Knightley could be a worthy opponent to that top spot. He’s adorably awkward at times but also sensitive and empathic to those around him, especially those of a lesser situation Emma’s friend Harriet (Mia Goth) and the lovely, amusing Miss Bates (Miranda Hart). He is certainly more perceptive than Emma, but while he attempts to warn her off of meddling with other people, he ultimately lets her make her own choices, even if he knows they’ll come back to bite her in the bottom. They were delightful to watch on-screen together.

Bill Nighy as Emma’s father, Henry, was one of Emma.’s highlights. He’s a hypochondriac who considers his eldest daughter’s wedding day one of his life’s worst days. His love for his daughters is very evident, as is his loneliness, and while Nighy doesn’t have much to do in the movie, he draws some of the biggest laughs with merely a look. I will say that Miranda Hart is an absolute gem as Miss Bates. I’ve loved Hart since I saw her in Spy, and she’s so sweetly funny and affable. She steals nearly every scene she’s in, and when Emma inadvertently insults her in front of their gathered friends, you can’t help but feel her shame and heartbreak.

My only real issue with the cast was with Josh O’Connor, who played Mr. Elton. Nothing against the actor himself, but at times I felt like he was being so obvious in his attempts to be funny that Mr. Elton came across as a caricature rather than a fully realized person. When he reappears with his new, attention-seeking wife (Tanya Reynolds), Mr. Elton takes a backseat to her for the rest of the movie, which is a bit of a relief.

There are some pacing issues, and Emma. does take a while to really get going as it introduces all the players and their situations. A couple of times, I felt like maybe the movie was a bit too long, but honestly, the last two-thirds of the film was worth the slow start. Autumn de Wilde delivers a stylized and charming adaptation of the novel with an excellent cast and gorgeous production design – I know I gushed about that already, but honestly… even if the movie had been terrible, I would have swooned over the look of it.

Emma. is also very faithful to the source material while still seeming fresh, despite all the adaptations that have come before it. One of the things I’ve always loved about Jane Austen and the films created from her work is that her stories are the kind I want to read or watch when I want to believe in love and feel happy. For me, Emma. achieves that.

Watched: 02/25/2020
Emma. Notable Song: Emma and Mr. Knightley (A Kiss Before They Wed) by Isobel Waller-Bridge, David Schweitzer