Emma (2020) [Blu-ray]

This adaptation is great! The houses and church are painted, so they look different from my other adaptations. And this adaptation has some interesting humor. Some is found in the bonus features, so be sure to watch those, too. The scenery is beautiful, as expected. I love the actors. They made me laugh out loud. They’re perfect for these roles. Even people who don’t normally enjoy movies like this would probably love this adaptation. I’m going to watch it again today.

I can only add my own opinion. The portrayal of the main character is spot on. To me personally she is very pretty but also so spoiled, so self absorbed, very unlikeable. But this is Jane Austen so she has a change of heart. The actress is perfect. She is just how I envisioned this character when I read the book and did not like the title character. I truly don't, even though she grows at the end of the book. Miranda Hart is simply the best and I love how her minor character is portrayed. You know how kind she is. It's Chummy from Call the Midwife. She is wonderful and the director gives Miss Bates her due--thank God! I felt like she was marginalized, disregarded in other productions, but here, you will become incensed at Emma's treatment of this woman and will cheer for Mr. Knightley who tells Emma off. So satisfying. Your tears do not move me, Miss Woodhouse. I love Mr. Knightley but this actor looks very young, even though he is the right age in real life. He's very good but I wish he "looked" older. The director filmed this in glorious colors and designs and gowns and clothing. It's so beautiful. Did my husband who knows nothing about this story like it? Not especially. I had to explain things to him; poor man, he sat through it with me. I felt a little like an Emma myself. For Austenites, it's a treat. For guys, it's a maybe. I don't care, though. I highly recommend it, which is saying something. Not a big fan of the heroine.

Let me start by saying, I am an Austen purist. I have been reading, and rereading her novels since I first opened one at 10 years old. As an 11 year old girl, I didn’t care much for Emma. I thought she was just another mean girl. Being a book nerd with a weight problem, I knew them all too well. However, I appreciated how well written the characters were. As a 17 year old girl, I still disliked Emma. Everyone loved her and she was just behaving as an oblivious rich girl. However, I was still impressed with how well the characters were written. Fast forward to 33 and I have utterly fallen in love with the entire book. As a woman well into adulthood, I can read Emma and see her for the flawed but naïve character she is and recognise so much of my younger self in her actions and worldview. This adaptation is almost true to the book. They capture how clever Emma is, but they do make her more of a mean girl, which she really isn’t. Not Intentionally so, that is. Mr. Woodhouse is more spry and disagreeable than the character is written but this version is expertly portrayed and a pleasure to watch. Miranda Hart was, hands down, the best person to play Ms. Bates. Absolutely a delight to watch in this role. My biggest complaint was how they completely destroyed Isabella’s & John’s characters and marriage. In the book, Isabella is described as “the picture of feminine happiness” and an affectionate wife and mother who cannot bear ti be apart from her husband and children. In this version, she is mean, waspish and they seem entirely miserable to be married to each other. Overall, this movie is beautiful to watch and the acting is spot on. Not my favourite Emma adaptation, but it is my second favourite.

After watching this movie probably 8+ times and finding it to be the height of feminine storytelling, I was surprised to look at the reviews and ratings and find it at 3.5/5 stars. As someone who is - shall we call it what is? - rather obsessed with this movie, I thought I'd take up the proverbial cudgels in its defense. Now, the primary complaint I have read seems to be that this version is not like the book or earlier movies. I have read the book and watched the miniseries and Gwyneth Paltrow versions, and I think if you're aiming for most overtly accurate characters (Gwyneth Paltrow version) or storyline (the miniseries), this movie is probably not for you. That being said, I was delighted for the new take simply because I already have those two other versions and the book at my disposal if I want those exact versions! But, I am not here to disagree with other people's opinions. I'm simply going to "sum up" the multitudinous reasons I think this movie shines and deserves a shot to be appreciated as its own independent work of art. 1. The costuming. It's iconic. The detailing and knowledge of the time period and fashion is amazing. A few of the dresses, pelisses, and spencers are copied almost EXACTLY from fashion plates and remaining extent garments of the Regency era. Also, many of the dresses and chemises are reworn in addition to Emma's sandals having detachable coverings which shows a knowledge of how fashion was designed to be reworn and repurposed, even for the rich. Also, I think this is one of the Jane Austen movies to actually show the characters wearing bonnets and gloves when they ought to have been - except Emma and Mr. Knightley's dance, which was obviously an artistic choice that was all the more striking for all the times that gloves were appropriately worn. I will say though that Frank Churchill's waistcoat looked 1700s-ish to me, and that the mens' pants really weren't as tight as I believe they were supposed to. And, Mrs. Elton was like 15-25 years ahead in her fashion, but it made her look weird so totally worth it. 2. The soundtrack. I love the diversity within it, and the musical nods not only to the classical and operatic genres (as is usually used in such movies), but also to the simpler country tunes. It seemed to really encapsulate the social diversity with the neighborhood of Highbury. Also, the original themes are soooo fun. 3. Speaking of the social diversity, this version of Emma addresses the social complexities of the time period depicted like no other. The book Emma really does have a more socially diverse cast of characters than other Jane Austen movies, which typically just address disparities of station within the gentry, and I think Autumn de Wilde did a brilliant job addressing this and bringing it out so that the undertones are as obvious to viewers today as they would have been to readers in Austen's day. Too, the means with which de Wilde does so, especially through music and fashion, are very graceful. I don't think the other versions depict how socially far "beneath" Emma that the Martins are [they just kind of tell one]. Also, in the other versions, they say how Emma has "improved" Harriet, but one never really sees that. In this version, you can really see Harriet's awkwardness (at dinners and dancing) and how she improves [*cough* copies Emma *coughcough*] her manners and fashion. 4. I really also just love how this version seems to focus on the characters so much more than the plot, as someone who knows the plot inside and out. Emma and Knightley are so cute, I think, with a subtle, friendly chemistry at first and such a cute realization. This is the first Emma movie, I think though, where I have hardcore fangirled over Mr. Martin and Harriet though. How Harriet runs over to him when they meet first in the movie - and how romantic they made the rain scene! They're adorable. And Jane and Frank actually flirt with each other by subtle looks and smiles. Super adorable too. I also appreciated the Frank/Emma thing being a much smaller part than the other versions (especially the Gwyneth Paltrow one). There was a lot more Emma/Knightley, and not just as friends who zing each other. I also appreciated full out wanting to slap Mrs. Elton, and Mr. Elton was hysterically funny. 5. This is kind of related to the characters, but I loved Mr. Knightley. Someone said he was too brooding/grumpy, but I didn't think so... Honestly, he was generally quite good-tempered; he only brooded really when it came to Frank. And, if one reads the book, one is kind of confused for most of it, thinking: "ok, but why do you - oh paragon of rationality - hate Frank Churchill so much??" I liked that this version brought out Mr. Knightley's seriously petty dislike of Frank. I do have a couple of things that I could do without that I'd like to acknowledge: 1. Brief nudity. No thanks. 2. Mean Isabella. Weird flex, but ok. Also, I do understand people not liking that they switched the duet from Frank and Emma to Knightley and Jane, but I thought it was cute to turn the tables. The proposal scene gets a lot of flack. I, personally, found it hilarious and dissembling of the trope where the confession/proposal is the most "romantic" part of the movie. Even as awkward and unexpected as it is, Knightley's concern over her (his awkward little hand movements) are sweet, and the whole scene seemed to shift one's view of their romance away from that one climax to the entirety of their relationship and time together. Anyway, I highly recommend giving it a shot as it's own unique, complex movie, and not doing it a disservice by expecting it to be the same as things that already exist. Also, I highly recommend giving it at least a second watch - the details are endless!

Altijd leuk een nieuwe Jane Austen film. Mooie locaties en prachtige kostuums. Ik heb wat moeite met de gekozen acteurs voor de personages. Ik had een andere Mr. Knigtly verwacht, en ook een andere Frank. Maar goed, het blijft een leuke film. Jammer dat Emma heel de film chagrijnig kijkt, niet echt de charmante Emma van Jane Austen. En wat die bloedneus ineens moet voorstellen, heel vreemd op zo'n moment. Toch de moeite waard om te kijken.

I really love this adaptation of Emma, though I wasn't really expecting to. It's a freer adaptation than most - Mr Knightley, for example, is far less reserved than we're used to - but it's true to the heart of Austen's story, and some of the Particular Moments are as well done here as in any other. I really loved the rural feel to it, the country traditions and the folk music. The novel is very much set in a rural village, and this adaptation made the most of that. The other thing I really loved was the way the characters' physicality was made real - while the characters are all still suitably innocent (inn-OH-cent?) and you could watch this with peeps of any age, we are reminded that the prim-and-proper clothes cover real flesh-and-blood people. Austen knew that, of course, but this film makes other costume dramas seem to keep the focus too tightly on the surface. 5 very happy stars!

I was, I admit, sceptical of this latest rendition of Emma, but I was pleasantly surprised. The acting did feel a little forced in a few scenes, but they managed to portray the light-hearted and comical side of the novel very well and there was a good focus on getting the costumes and the sets accurate. Even the two brief scenes of mild nudity were not that off-putting, as - whilst not strictly necessary - they did end up serving a purpose, to highlight the utter impracticality of the fashion of the time. I especially enjoyed that the servants were also fairly prominent in the movie. Only a few other adaptions have included bits with servants, with the odd line here and there, but most of the time they are always just background characters. I think the closest I have seen so far was the 1996 version of Emma, when they showed a short clip of the enormous effort of the servants that went in to the outing at Box Hill, for what looked like a fairly low-key picnic. This adaption brings servants forward, as real people and members of the household, and tries to show, in a comedic way, the struggles they dealt with on a daily basis serving finickity members of the Gentry. An enjoyable movie, even for die-hard Jane Austen traditionalists like me.

Cette nouvelle version du roman de Jane Austen « Emma. » possède un souffle moins académique que les précédentes adaptations pour le cinéma ou la télévision. Les deux acteurs principaux ont les âges de leur rôle et la jeunesse d’Emma (Anya Taylor Joy) – et ses inconséquences – en acquiert plus de réalisme. Georges Knightley, interprété avec brio par Johnny Flynn possède quant à lui toute la sobriété de style et l’aura de son personnage. La réalisatrice, Autumn de Wilde, parvient à associer des décors sublimes et historiques avec une vision légère, décomplexé et parfois presque comique de la société anglaise de l’époque. Tout en étant fidèle à Jane Austen, le film se permet quelques libertés dans sa mise en scène qui nous rendent les protagonistes encore plus proches de nous. La photo est merveilleuse et les acteurs tous très convaincant. Bill Nighy campe de son côté un savoureux Mr Woodhouse qui a lui seul vaut le détour. Le film, particulièrement rythmé, envoute le spectateur bien que son argument soit archi-connu et déjà-vu. On peut parler d’une complète réussite.

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