Emma.

Recently got a chance to watch this. I like the film with Gwyneth Paltrow, and absolutely love the BBC miniseries, so I was cautious watching this, especially with the several bad reviews. I don't know if it was because I went in with low expectations, but I was delighted by this movie! Admittedly if you don't know the story, it can move fast, but to be fair, the book is long and tedious, with a lot to fit in two hours, which is one of my problems with the 2008 movie. The visuals and fashions of this movie are beautiful, and Emma's character did show improvement unlike some of the comments I saw. This one definitely captured Jane Austen's humor, and you can be guaranteed to laugh a few times. The BBC mini-series is still my top rated, but the 2020 "Emma." is, in my opinion, a notch above the 2008 "Emma", but would definitely recommend all adaptations, especially the book.

This was the last movie my wife and I saw in the actual theater-- back in March 2020 -- just days before covid-19 lockdown began. As of July we're wondering when we'll ever get to see another. In the meantime we've acquired a big UHD TV and subscriptions to a bunch of streaming services. But there's still nothing to match watching on a big screen with a packed audience of engaged viewers.

Anyway: long before there was "Mean Girls" and "Clueless", there was Jane Austen's novel about a good-hearted but manipulative, un-self-aware young woman who has a great deal of learning to do about real people. This most recent version of "Emma" is very nice and certainly worth seeing in whatever format. I think it's neither better nor worse than the good 1996 version (the one with Gwyneth Paltrow in the title role) -- they both have fine production values and fine casts, just different emphases, shadings of the various characters, and the choices for cuts made to the story to make it fit into a normal 2-hour run time. Anya Taylor-Joy is not only a good, distinctively featured young actress but she also *looks* as young as Jane Austen's heroine is intended to be, about age 20. She has the (often baseless) self-confidence arising from a privileged, untroubled upbringing, but a journey of self-discovery awaits her, and that's what makes the story.

Other standout characters include Mia Goth, who plays friend/protegee Harriet Smith as even more of a hapless stooge than usual; and the incomparable Bill Nighy as Emma's father Mr. Woodhouse. Is he really just a hypochondriac always fussing over cold drafts and fireplaces? It becomes clear that he knows and sees a good deal more than his loving but blithely unobservant daughter gives him credit for. And Nighy can steal scenes without saying a word, just by body posture and a raised eyebrow. He's a cinematic treasure. Johnny Flynn as Mr. Knightley is fine but a bit forgettable in the end.

And the scenery. It's so lush and green and bright that you have to consciously shake yourself to realize that no, the English countryside is really NOT always warm and sunlit as it is here. But this is fiction, and it just helps us settle in and enjoy the comfortable ride through this classic tale. For the best screen version of Emma out there, though, I happily recommend the 2009 TV miniseries starring Romola Garai. She's perfect for the part, and its 4-hour length lets the full story expand and breathe the way it should.

Based on a timeless novel Emma by Jane Austen, this latest movie adaptation of her book is a beautiful, gorgeous and entertaining re-make that should easily please Austen fans old and new as it looks phenomenal. Its cast, led by the terrific and wonderful Anya Taylor-Joy, are/is utterly splendid. "Emma's" script is adapted by novelist Eleanor Catton (The Luminaries) and manages to capture much of Austen's own comedy, translating it elegantly to the screen. The result is a stylish and eminently watchable movie adaptation. In addition to the script, the production values are stellar, while movie is visually stunning and impeccably researched - it really felt like an authentic window into the 1800s. At the end, film - updated in all the right ways - is filled with an abundance of genuine charm. For those who are fans of the period drama this is a must see, while this gentle film, also, deserves to introduce Austen to a whole new generation.

Rating: 7+/8-

Emma is a subtle comedy, delving into issues of marriage, sex, age, and social status. It was the last book of hers published while author Jane Austen was still alive. About the character Emma she said, preparing to write the novel, "I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like."

Emma is 21 and privileged, she fashions herself as a matchmaker and most of the stories that develop result from this. It truly is a comedy of manners. Not slapstick comedy, the type of subtle British comedy.

This movie pretty well follows the novel and Anya Taylor-Joy to me is just perfect as Emma Woodhouse. She is a good actress but I especially love to look at her face, with her wide-set eyes and perfect lips. Strangely after she was selected to play the role she was hesitant, she said she didn't think of herself as attractive enough. In fact in an interview she said, "I have never and I don't think I will ever think of myself as beautiful. I don't think I'm beautiful enough to be in films."

Bill Nighy is very good as her wealthy father Mr. Woodhouse and as often happens when he has a supporting role, Nighy steals every scene he is in.

Good movie of a familiar story, I enjoyed it. I watched it at home on BluRay from my public library, my wife skipped.

I saw this before seeing the Queen's Gambit, so I wasn't yet won over to the brilliance of anya taylor joy. This film did not win me over at the time. I thought she came across as overly haughty and disconnected. You may say that Emma is meant to be an un-likeable character, and that may be true, but I think a truer version of Emma would be of a young woman whom we know has lost her way and who is treating people less than honourably, but who is doing so because of her own fears and insecurities and who journeys through the course of the story to understand this more and to endeavour to be better in the future. There should be an empathetic and redemptive aspect to her despite her meanness. This was wholly lacking in this. And I now think it is far more about the production than taylor joy's portrayal. The film was overly focussed on looking good and missed connecting the characters with the audience. It reminds me of Bridgerton in that all the time and effort was spent on making things look great but the characters are pretty lifeless. Johnny Flynn was the best I thought he got the personality of Mr Knightley really well, but again the production didn't allow this to come through as well as it might. I really respect the attempt to bring Austen to modern audiences, I am not a purist, however this just regretfully isn't a great adaptation of the story nor a great movie. Watch the Romola Garai version of Emma.