Review of Emma
midlandsmovies • June 6, 2020
Review of Emma
Review of Emma (2020) Directed by Autumn de Wilde
Based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel, Emma stars Anya Taylor-Joy as the meddlesome protagonist in the Regency era whose involvement in the romantic misunderstandings of several families is cause for much drama.
The wealthy Emma befriends the young and “person of no consequence” Harriet who despite these apparent societal blemishes is offered a hand in marriage by farmer Mr. Robert Martin. Emma feels the local vicar Elton a more appropriate match, so dissuades Harriet from the proposal but soon finds herself at the whim of his affections herself.
With the arrival of Mr. Knightley (Johnny Flynn) Emma finds her matchmaking taken to task, but later on her admiration for Frank Churchill drives a wedge between them.
Mia Goth as Harriet Smith is wonderful, providing an innocence to the proceedings whilst others involve themselves in melodramatic tit-for-tats. And Bill Nighy as Emma’s father is also fantastic as he reigns in his regular over-the-top performance and is all the funnier because of it.
The real surprise though is Miranda Hart as Miss Bates. A support character who gives real sensitivity to the soap opera antics of much of the film. An amazingly emotional scene when one of Emma’s flagrant offhand comments brings the happy hijinks to a halt really pulls the heart strings.
Great cinematography captures the sumptuous costumes and grand locations and the soundtrack includes suitable jaunty ditties that add even more comedy to the proceedings (The score strangely echoes the same musical notes as BBC’s Birds of a Feather TV theme tune which was a little distracting however).
As the games of marriage go back-and-forth, the film’s biggest failure is adding anything new or contemporary to the proceedings. Although I’m not asking for a complete re-imagining, the film sticks with the standard beats and themes of the novel.
Emma’s mean-streak and petty-mindedness is delivered with depth by Taylor-Joy. Her jealousy and selfishness hide just below the surface as she attempts to meddle in other people’s affairs. Again, the film doesn’t provide a revolution of ideas - even a passing fan of Austen’s work will recognise the who-marries-who and love-conquers-status clichés present in all the books.
That said, although a tad too whimsical at times, the whole cast deliver likeable roles and I can’t say it wasn’t a fun trip to the past with lots of laughs in a lavish location.
With Anya Taylor-Joy’s entertaining performance and Mr. Knightley exclaiming “I came to wish you joy”, the film’s delightful attributes really do provide a jolly abundance of joy throughout.
Michael Sales
I’ve mentioned this before in reviews for Midlands Movies; reviewing low budget, independently made films requires a change in mindset. There’s a level of compromise, with allowances made for the odd rough-around-the-edges performance or some shaky effects work.
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