Part II
Emma
With the exeption of P&P, no works by Jane Austen has received as many adaptations as Emma. Somehow, after 200 years, not only do the book still charm readers with its vain and snobbish heroine, but it also still manage to persuade producers that our Emma Woodhouse worth the money to make movies and TV series about. The book truly is timeless. By the time this post is out, a new adaptation is on its way to the screen. In this post, I would like to introduce to you the first movie and TV series I watched that were adapted from Emma.
BBC Emma miniseries (2009) starring Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller
Turning a beloved novel into a TV miniseries that can surprise viewers in a positive way is never easy. BBC seems to always know what to do with their English novels. Though the 2009 adaptation doesn’t add many things to the original novel of the same name like the classic P&P adaptation in 1995 does to P&P (adding new things doesn’t make the adaptation better than the book, but it does bring new light to it), this version is a solid one.
The casting is spot-on, with Romola as the Emma Woodhouse, the handsome rich queen of Highbury social circle and Johnny Lee as Mr. Knightley, Austen’s least posh leading man. As many Austen fans can remember, Mr. Knightley is sixteen years Emma’s senior. In many version before this one, some filmmakers executed their films in such a way that our hero felt like Emma’s father figure. When they eventually got together, everything was just weird. This time, Jonny Lee plays the role marvelously. He’s Emma’s long time friend, her only critic and the love she never knew she needed. Romola is the highlight of the entire miniseries. She understands her character so well, I could easily believe she is Emma, presumptuous and snobbish, yet also amazingly lovable.
The series has some breath-taking scenes in Mr. Knightley’s strawberry garden, Box Hill and different ballrooms. The score is lively and fun, fitting for an adaptation of the famously humorous and sarcastic novel. To sum up, if you enjoy Emma by Jane Austen, or if you haven’t read Emma but like period drama in general, this is a great series to binge watch.
Emma (1996) starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam
This is probably one of Gwyneth Paltrow’s earliest movies and one of her first movies with Miramax as well. All in all, it’s a decent watch, certainly not as enjoyable as the 2009 BBC version, but it’s fairly pleasing as a movie and an Austen adaptation. If you are me, who basically watch anything that has some sort of connection with Austen’s life and works, you should give it a chance to justify itself. Despite it short length of two hours, the film covers most of the important events. The actors and actresses do enough to carry the movie, though no character really strikes me as exceptionally memorable. Gwyneth and Jeremy, specially, do a fine job with their roles, bringing a believable depiction of their characters to the large screen. Plus, Obi-Wan Kenobi is here. I never knew Ewan McGregor can sing before this film, which then led me to Moulin Rouge. The color palette and costume designs are light and dream-like. The setting and music are lovely as well.
I hope my words didn’t discourage you from watching this film. I’m very nit picky when it comes to the topics that I love. In addition, the fact that I place it in a recommendation post and not just my film catalog means that I think it’s worth the time. It’s not hard to look for this adaptation, so if you’re curious, try it once and judge for yourself.
Clueless (1995) starring Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd
A bonus for this category.
There’s never much to say about a high school movie. It’s simple and fun like all high school movies should be. However, for one reason or another, the production team of clueless managed to strike the perfect balance between the lightheartedness of a teen rom-com and the sarcasm of Austen original novel. Due to the simplicity and predictability of the storyline, I find it really difficult to review a movie of this genre without spoiling all the goodness. Therefore, I’ll leave you with one final line only: Watch it and have a really good time.
A new Emma adaptation is coming. Having watched the trailer, I can say that I have mixed feelings about it. Deep inside me, I really want to think that it’s going to be a good one.
A sleepy conscience 