maddy-1

How anyone can prefer the Gwyneth Paltrow version over this one beats me. Kate Beckinsale is absolutely charming and doesn't have Paltrow's nasal whine, Mark Strong is possibly not quite as handsome as Jeremy Northam but he is so endearing! (And who was that who said he looked 50? as far as I know, he was actually too young at the time to play Mr Knightley.)Harriet, too, is more convincing -- Toni Colette is far too statuesque. It's much closer to the book than the other version, and elegant as the Paltrow film is (hmm, isn't that what Emma called Jane Fairfax if she was pressed?), it is also rather cold and distant, whereas this version is warm and gentle. My only quibble with this version is the altogether too friendly ending; I doubt whether in Jane Austen's class-conscious world Harriet and her Mr Martin would ever have danced with the two "upper-class" couples. Nevertheless, whenever I'm in the mood for Emma, this is the one I grab!