This is the 1996 version, in case you had any questions, as like most Austen stories, there's only about a dozen different movie versions floating about :)
For those who are not Austen aficionados, Emma is a matchmaker who is constantly getting the matches wrong. Comedy of manners with lots of romance in polite society. Everyone learns a lesson and has a happy ending. You know, typical Jane Austen.
I loved the period details of the piece. It had a lovely feel to it. Very calm and escapist sort of movie. And (totally random side note) as a knitter, the shawls in the movie are GORGEOUS!
Casting was great. I like Gwyneth Paltrow alright, though she's by far not my favorite actress, but she was very suited to the flighty, well-meaning Emma. Toni Collette was wonderful as always, playing Harriett, the subject of Emma's matchmaking "help." Juliet Stevenson was suitably irritating as Mrs Elton, and Alan Cummings was well cast as her husband. I loved Miss Bates though! Played by Sophie Thompson (younger sister of Emma!), she is just perfect!! She was also Aggie, the maid in Sherlock Holmes' "The Master Blackmailer" (the Jeremy Brett version) and Dorothy in Gosford Park. Very suited to period pieces, she's one of those faces that you see and recognize, but might not be able to place right away - unless you make a constant challenge of it, like several folk who shall not be named ;) She is so well meaning yet so irritating that when Emma has her snippish scene at the picnic, it's just heart-breaking seeing Miss Bates be hurt. Best scene in the movie. Not in a malicious way, wanting to see Miss Bates hurt, but it's so well played, Miss Bates hurt and Knightley scolding Emma. So well done! And as a kicker, it's Phyllida Law (Thompson's real life mother) playing Mrs. Bates, her mother :)
I liked Ewan McGregor as Frank Churchill, but why did they give him such a bad haircut?? He played the warm, engaging flirt to perfection, but that hair was just distracting at times, when you know he can be SO much better looking. (sigh)
And I remember having a discussion with Mom while she was in one of her English classes about good Austen heroes in film, i.e. Colin Firth vs Alan Rickman vs Hugh Grant and so on. (By the way, our two favorites are Colin Firth and Alan Rickman). The hero here is Jeremy Northam playing Knightley. Very nice choice. Like Emma herself, Knightley wasn't my favorite Austen hero. I guess having someone match one of my less favorite heroines means that he is by extension not one of my favorite heroes? But Northam plays him very well, turns him into a very warm and human character. Ended up liking Knightley much better after this movie!
Silly note: at the ball, Emma and Knightley dance to the same song (therefore, the same dance) as Lizzie and Darcy in the BBC version of P&P! I know - MAJOR dork moment, but it made me smile! I was in the kitchen as that scene was playing and realized I was humming to the music, so I backed it up to see, and yes, same song, same dance!
And for those who care about these things, here's some trivia: Both Thompson sisters are married to people that they met of the set of Sense and Sensibility (another favorite of mine). Emma is married to Greg Wise, who played Willoughby, and Sophie is married to Richard Lumsden, who played Roger Ferrars (the brother). The things you learn on IMDB! Sophie wasn't in that Austen movie, but with Emma being so involved... Austen is such a matchmaker!
Overall: 4 of 5. Emma wasn't ever my favorite Austen story, but it's still Austen and they do it justice here. A nice change from heavy CGI and explosions or bleak dramas. A nice, sweet change of pace. And of course, a good Austen hero doesn't hurt :)
For those who are not Austen aficionados, Emma is a matchmaker who is constantly getting the matches wrong. Comedy of manners with lots of romance in polite society. Everyone learns a lesson and has a happy ending. You know, typical Jane Austen.
I loved the period details of the piece. It had a lovely feel to it. Very calm and escapist sort of movie. And (totally random side note) as a knitter, the shawls in the movie are GORGEOUS!
Casting was great. I like Gwyneth Paltrow alright, though she's by far not my favorite actress, but she was very suited to the flighty, well-meaning Emma. Toni Collette was wonderful as always, playing Harriett, the subject of Emma's matchmaking "help." Juliet Stevenson was suitably irritating as Mrs Elton, and Alan Cummings was well cast as her husband. I loved Miss Bates though! Played by Sophie Thompson (younger sister of Emma!), she is just perfect!! She was also Aggie, the maid in Sherlock Holmes' "The Master Blackmailer" (the Jeremy Brett version) and Dorothy in Gosford Park. Very suited to period pieces, she's one of those faces that you see and recognize, but might not be able to place right away - unless you make a constant challenge of it, like several folk who shall not be named ;) She is so well meaning yet so irritating that when Emma has her snippish scene at the picnic, it's just heart-breaking seeing Miss Bates be hurt. Best scene in the movie. Not in a malicious way, wanting to see Miss Bates hurt, but it's so well played, Miss Bates hurt and Knightley scolding Emma. So well done! And as a kicker, it's Phyllida Law (Thompson's real life mother) playing Mrs. Bates, her mother :)
I liked Ewan McGregor as Frank Churchill, but why did they give him such a bad haircut?? He played the warm, engaging flirt to perfection, but that hair was just distracting at times, when you know he can be SO much better looking. (sigh)
And I remember having a discussion with Mom while she was in one of her English classes about good Austen heroes in film, i.e. Colin Firth vs Alan Rickman vs Hugh Grant and so on. (By the way, our two favorites are Colin Firth and Alan Rickman). The hero here is Jeremy Northam playing Knightley. Very nice choice. Like Emma herself, Knightley wasn't my favorite Austen hero. I guess having someone match one of my less favorite heroines means that he is by extension not one of my favorite heroes? But Northam plays him very well, turns him into a very warm and human character. Ended up liking Knightley much better after this movie!
Silly note: at the ball, Emma and Knightley dance to the same song (therefore, the same dance) as Lizzie and Darcy in the BBC version of P&P! I know - MAJOR dork moment, but it made me smile! I was in the kitchen as that scene was playing and realized I was humming to the music, so I backed it up to see, and yes, same song, same dance!
And for those who care about these things, here's some trivia: Both Thompson sisters are married to people that they met of the set of Sense and Sensibility (another favorite of mine). Emma is married to Greg Wise, who played Willoughby, and Sophie is married to Richard Lumsden, who played Roger Ferrars (the brother). The things you learn on IMDB! Sophie wasn't in that Austen movie, but with Emma being so involved... Austen is such a matchmaker!
Overall: 4 of 5. Emma wasn't ever my favorite Austen story, but it's still Austen and they do it justice here. A nice change from heavy CGI and explosions or bleak dramas. A nice, sweet change of pace. And of course, a good Austen hero doesn't hurt :)
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