Emma (2020)
Movie rating: 7/10
My only previous Jane Austen experience before watching this film was the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley. The 2020 version of Emma left me with a similar impression. These kinds of movies generally aren’t my thing, but I enjoyed the story, character relationships, acting, and production values.
Those familiar with the novel will need no introduction to the plot. For those unfamiliar, the story revolves around “handsome, clever, and rich” Emma Woodhouse (Anya Taylor-Joy), a young woman who lives on her father’s estate in the English countryside and delights in matchmaking. Austen’s novels were written at a time when the social mobility and economic well-being of women depended almost entirely on who they married. Though England was in the throes of the Industrial Revolution at the time, these developments have little impact on the lifestyles of the wealthy landed gentry Austen’s work tends to focus on.
Despite being a period piece, Austen adaptations like Emma remind me in some ways of modern romantic comedies. Both genres are targeted largely at women and centre their perspectives in a way that was rare in the early 1800s, and for many audiences is still not nearly prevalent enough today. Both feature a healthy dose of humour, witty banter, and a focus on relationships between characters we like. There’s also a common element of wish fulfillment, with stories revolving around attractive, materially well-off people who clash at first, overcome challenges, fall in love and live happily ever after. There tend to be supportive family and best friend characters, beautiful locations and costumes, etc.
At the same time, this comparison is a little reductive and sells Austen short. Her work is on a higher level than most romantic comedies—with more dramatic elements, complex characters, and social commentary on issues such as class and gender. The title character in Emma is clever, strong-willed and independent, declaring her intention early on never to marry. But she is also overly confident in a way that verges on arrogance. Her overestimation of her own abilities to read people causes plenty of trouble as the story unfolds.
Taylor-Joy, in case I hadn’t made it clear in my review of The Northman, is one of my favourite actors working today. She’s as great as one would expect here, showing off her emotional range and an impeccable English accent. Johnny Flynn and Mia Goth do a fine job playing Emma’s friends George Knightley and Harriet Smith, but the standout supporting character for me was Miss Bates, played by Miranda Hart. The scene at a picnic where Emma blurts out an insulting comment to Miss Bates is wonderfully played by both actors, undermining our sympathy for Emma and requiring her to earn it back.
Director Autumn de Wilde packs her film with gorgeous shots of the rural English landscape and interior shots of grand country manors. Production design is top-notch; the movie earned Oscar nominations for Best Costume Design as well as Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The music can be a little overbearing at times, but I did enjoy the hymns, folk songs, and musical performances by the actors.
Of course these old-fashioned period costume dramas generally focus on the lives of the rich. That’s a charge that could be labelled at the great majority of historical films and other genres such as fantasy. When was the last time you saw a medieval setting on film that focused on peasants rather than kings, queens, and nobles? Of course I would like to see more films that focus on the lives of the toiling underclasses. Still, within the bubble of the world Austen focuses on, it’s a well-told story and interesting to see even upper-class women struggle to navigate their way through an openly patriarchal society with rigid class divisions, in which marriage to the “wrong” man can lead to disaster.
There’s a reason we’re still seeing adaptations of Austen’s books more than 200 years after they were written. Clearly her concerns and those of her characters still speak to modern audiences.