Emma (1996)

Such a frustrating disappointment

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

I have read some of Austen's work, but not "Emma" so I cannot comment on the faithfulness of the adaptation. I am a bit of a sucker for a nice costume drama, though. I thought that this one was nice. Nice sets and costumes, and scenic locations. Austen's novels were noted for being about not really very much, soap operas of the upper classes, thought not the nobility. This at a time of tremendous upheaval in England, near the culmination of the Napoleonic Wars. A bit of a diversion, I suppose. No one in the film seems to work, so I guess you could call them the idle rich. I liked Gwyneth Paltrow's performance, and was totally charmed by Toni Collette's. Polly Walker looked very nice, in a small and stoic role. I'd say that this is worth watching.

I will say this right away: This is not, in my opinion, the best adaptation of Emma... but it is a tolerable one. I thought the tone (which in many cases can make or break a period drama)was pretty good: It was light and warm. The pacing is pretty rushed, and I didn't particularly care for the cinematography, but the costumes were pretty and fairly accurate. The settings were appropriately lavish. I did think the lurid pink walls of Hartfield's parlour and the gold and teal tapestries at Randalls were over-the-top, but the music was pleasant and seemed well composed (if not well placed at times.)Initially I had my doubts about Gwyneth Paltrow being cast as Emma, but I did have faith in Jeremy Northam's ability to portray the mature and exceedingly pleasant character of Mr. Knightly. I wasn't entirely disappointed by either. Gwyneth wasn't stellar as Emma. She didn't fit the image of the character because she looked a bit skinny and she should never have her hair pulled tight against her head.The delivery of her lines was sometimes nasal and she often appeared vapid or vaguely mournful. Worst of all, she failed to make Emma likable, which is possible,and indeed necessary. Jeremy Northam was physically perfect for Mr. Knightly. I did think some of his lines were not delivered as they should have been, but that is probably as much the director's fault as his own. Toni Collette, while a good actress I'm sure, was entirely wrong for Harriet Smith. Harriet is short plump and fair, where Toni (with red hair and wearing almost exclusively pink) was tall plump and rosy.Ewan McGregor was dreadfully miscast as Frank Churchill. An actor such as he should never be in period pieces. And he had that same horrid, frizzy red/brown hair that you see on young Ebenezer Scrooge in the George. C Scott version of "A Christmas Carol". Now we come to Jane Fairfax, played by Polly Walker who I don't particularly care for in general. Don't think that's the only reason why I would say that she's wrong for Jane though. My issue is that she appears to physically and emotionally strong to play a demure character who spends almost the entire story love-sick. Oh and I may have forgotten to mention this about Polly Walker, but she's Beelzebub. Did you see her smile? In her first scene, that red light around her head was not the sunset. It was the glow of hellfire. Alan Cumming as Mr. Elton was as agreeable as he was supposed to be, but not quite handsome enough, Juliet Stevenson was quite annoying as Mrs. Elton, but I don't think some of her lines were as funny as they were supposed to be. Sophie Thompson's Miss Bates was certainly chatty, but I think she was a bit too young. Lastly, I didn't really care for Greta Scacchi as Miss Taylor, and James Cosmo over-acted Mr. Weston. The story got the important plot points across and apart from the re-location of various moments to sceneries other than those described in the book, there were only two things that I majorly objected to. 1) the portrayal of Mr. Woodhouse. So many of his lines seem critical or harsh. In one of the first scenes, during his "Poor Miss Taylor" rhetoric, Mr. Woodhouse says how he cannot understand why Miss Taylor would leave her comfortable place with them to "raise a family of mewling infants that would bring the risk of disease every time the enter or leave the house." and he says this right in front of one of his TWO daughters. In addition, his eldest daughter has quite a good number of children all of them quite young, of whom he is very fond and is always delighted to see.2) The Archery Scene. This is the part where Mr. Knightly and Emma argue over Harriet's rejection of Robert Martin. This is a pretty intense scene in the book because Mr. Knightly's manner goes from astonished, to indignant to truly vexed. In this movie it begins casual enough, which is good, but it stays casual. Not only that, but when Emma protests that "Harriet is a gentleman's daughter," she doesn't seem to be arguing a case so much as complaining. The delivery of the line is high-pitched and insipid, and after she says it she stands there, looking up at Knightly with her mouth hanging open as if there is nothing going on in her head whatever. Then, in her frustration and already shooting poorly Emma's arrow goes wide and into the general direction of Knightly's dogs. As a totally out-of-place comedic moment Knightly says "try not to kill my dogs,". My problem with this is that this further mocks the idea that Knightly is really irritated with Emma; and Knightly should have made sure that his dogs weren't sitting behind the targets BEFORE they started shooting.Apart from those issues it's an okay adaptation of the book, but not the best.

Based on the Jane Austen novel, Emma Woodhouse (Gwyneth Paltrow) keeps trying to be a matchmaker. Only she is usually wrong in their lives and in her own life.It is possibly one of the funnier Jane Austen movie unless if you include Clueless. This is all about Gwyneth Paltrow. She perfectly embodies the naivety and superiority of her character's attitude. Don't expect some by the book adaptation. They've played up the comedy broadly. The visual style from director Douglas McGrath is rather weak. But Paltrow enlightens the whole movie with an engaging performance. Toni Collette plays the poor Harriet Smith. And Alan Cumming has a hilarious scene in the back of the carriage as Mr. Elton.

bitesizemoviereview dot blogspot dot com Though I have not read the Jane Austen novel, I thoroughly enjoyed this film adaption. For the most part, the acting was good and the sets were decent. Every now and then, a character would appear in a coat or a haircut that seemed out of place for the time period. Paltrow was well-suited for her role as Emma, a nosy but likable "matchmaker." The dances performed in the film seemed to be taken from A&E's Pride and Prejudice a year earlier--of course, the time period is relatively the same, but Emma would have been better off not using the exact same dance and musical score. Although the quality of this film is not top-notch, I enjoyed it for the witty acting and light romance plot.