There are many pros to watching movies at home. Free food. No overpriced bottles of water. Unlimited bathroom breaks. These reasons may not be enough for cinephiles, but at the minimum, movie viewers can still watch new releases via various online streaming services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such is the case with Autumn di Wilde’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel: Emma. Both the film and book follow Emma Woodhouse, a privileged young woman who acts as a matchmaker in her English town, oftentimes without the consent of the men and women whom she’s pairing together.
Some may be familiar with 1995’s rom-com Clueless, directed by Amy Heckerling, which is also (loosely) based on Austen’s work. Clueless was and remains to be a pivotal film from my childhood and one which I continue to watch. The protagonist in Heckerling’s version may be clueless about her peer’s romantic inclinations, just like Emma in the latest version, but both female leads deliver the plot in such a way which has us siding with their actions. In fact, Professor Jeff Strabone – who teaches a senior seminar every other year on Jane Austen – explained in an email that “Emma has to vex the audience with her oblivious privilege and then reel us back in by the end.”
Anya Taylor-Joy plays Miss Woodhouse in Wilde’s version. There is an abundance of close-up shots depicting Emma’s snobbery, focusing on the back and forth of her eyes and curt nod (very much like Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada). Professor Strabone felt that “Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance brought the right balance of mischief and charm to the role: she was appropriately annoying enough of the time, as any Emma portrayal must be.” I completely agree. Although seemingly arrogant, Emma is a rare strong female lead who initially refuses marriage as an outcome for herself. This perspective may change by the conclusion of the story, but Emma’s character arc and Taylor-Joy’s portrayal by no means diminish her independence.
Like Cher in Clueless, Emma’s wardrobe in the movie is classic, yet iconic: vibrant colors of the rainbow mixed with subtle and not-so-subtle detailing depending on the occasion, and hats and ribbons to make your prom dress look shabby. The only other competition in extravagance is perhaps Mrs. Elton (played by Tanya Reynolds) who wears as absurd of outfits as her actress’ theatrical productions in Sex Education. In certain scenes there are also the mounds of cakes and pâtés, which tend to go uneaten and are on par with the food in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women.
While Emma controls the scene, the plot would not continue without the phenomenal performance of the other lead characters. First and foremost is Emma’s friend Harriet Smith (played by Mia Goth), whose bursts of giggles and willingness to embrace her youth contrast with Emma’s rigidity and refusal to eat one of those overly elaborate biscuits during tea-time. The story is as much about love in marriage as it is about the love between friends – perhaps even more so. Although both girls end up with a man in their lives (for Harriet, another Sex Education star: Connor Swindells as the farmer Robert Martin), one of the more emotional scenes is when Emma apologizes to Harriet for dragging her through various matchmaking endeavors that always lefther heartbroken.
Then there is, of course, Mr. Knightly (played by Johnny Flynn), whose character is perhaps the reason why I still believe in the knight(ly)-in-shining-armor trope. Knightly says what no one else will tell Emma, but typically with the intention of helping her and not hurting her. Consequently, the chemistry between these two characters is intense whether on the page or screen. Throughout the film, Emma disregards Knightly’s comments and always brushes him off. It isn’t until a later ball scene when they dance together and fall into each other’s eyes (blah blah blah) that she realizes her feelings for him. Having not yet read Emma, I cannot say for certain how accurately this version follows the book, but the only point when I felt the directing stemmed into the modern age was a particular scene at the end of the film when Emma accepts Knightly’s hand in marriage. Knightly does a little fist pump scenario and it is what I imagine the winner in the Love is Blind series finale looked like.
Mr. Woodhouse (played by Love Actually’s Bill Nighy) and Mr. Elton (Josh O’Connor) both add comic relief to the story with their musing of a constant “draft” and obsession with Emma, respectively. There is also Frank Churchill (Callum Turner) whom Emma originally matches for herself, but who ends up with Jane Fairfax (Amber Anderson). Frank’s good looks and arrogance are on par with Emma and make him another heartthrob of the story. (I can’t help but feel Austen is pulling a Hitchcock with naming one of her characters after herself.)
Although Professor Strabone enjoyed the film overall, “was vexed that the film ignored the material precarity faced by Jane Fairfax—the moral center of the novel. By effacing her poverty, the movie reduced her subplot to just another romance when it should be a stark reminder of the grave dangers non-elite women faced in a patriarchal, classist society. Consequently, the movie eliminated Austen’s political and moral critique of Regency England.” Again, I have not yet read Emma so I cannot comment on the failings of the film in comparison to the book, but I too agree that the film grazed over deeper morals while entirely ignoring others. Perhaps this is the natural outcome when adapting a 544-page book for the screen.
In the backdrop of great acting are breathtaking views of the English countryside, from grand estates to sprawling farms. While watching the movie, I wanted nothing more but to join their party and go on a picnic in the meadows instead of trying to make do with my weedy backyard filled with browning grass. Emma is a distraction from reality and the pandemic we are living through right now. The movie will take you out of the present and thrust you into another time, when Tinder didn’t exist and our fates were up to one intelligent woman who expects only the best. •
Image credits: A Bouquet. Henriëtte Geertruida Knip, 1820. Rijksmuseum, Netherlands. PD for Public Domain Mark
