EMMA.
Emma is a wealthy young woman in Regency Era England who, with not much else to do, spends her days playing matchmaker for her friends. Once her governess is married off she sets her sights on a new acquaintance, Harriet, and thus the story begins. The film is pretty straight forward Jane Austen- a young girl with too much time on her hands, themes of classism, the token weird vicar, a classic misunderstanding that leads to heartache before an ultimate resolution. It’s all there and it’s all wonderful.
Anya Taylor-Joy is great as Emma. She starts out as kind of a brat but plays it with hints of goodness so that when her character does eventually evolve we not only believe it but we love to see it. Emma is not interested in the path to marriage that is expected of young women during her time and Taylor-Joy does a great job of portraying this without coming across as annoying or preachy. When she falls in love in the end, because of course she does, it seems to hold even greater weight because of her previous resistance to conform to the norm. The supporting cast is great as well. Bill Nighy is, as always, wonderful and provides a good bit of humor as Emma’s hypochondriac father. The romantic lead Mr. Knightly, played by Johnny Flynn, is perfect because he’s the kind of handsome and charming that sneaks up on you so that by the end it feels like you yourself have also fallen in love with him over the course of the movie.
I’m a Jane Austen fan so I knew that I would like this movie one way or another but I was pleasantly surprised to actually really enjoy it. What works best for EMMA. is that it maintains its classic Austen-ness while having a very modern feel to it. It’s a bit quirky and pretty fast paced so it will keep you interested the whole time. I do recommend watching with subtitles so as to not miss any important dialogue (which there is a lot of). Ultimately, EMMA. is the perfect movie to escape into. It’s worth watching to get swept up in the scenery alone. Beautiful homes, sprawling hillsides, exquisite costumes. For a few hours it will transport you out of anxiety-ridden quarantine and to a wonderfully different era. I laughed and cried and, honestly, am ready to watch it again.