Read my review of Emma (the book).

An unexpected adaptation

I tried to avoid any reviews or information about this movie before watching for myself, but I did get a general impression from internet chatter that this is “a fresh take” and incredibly funny version of the story. I think my opinion is the unpopular one… but overall I wouldn’t say I liked it.

The adaptational changes made in this movie mostly succeed at their intended effects. Certain characters, relationships, and scenes are cast or framed in a different way than the book or any previous adaptations have played them. As a writer, I respect this approach to the movie and recognize that it worked well. As a reader, I just didn’t really like several of these takes — Frank as a genuinely selfish and unfavorable person, for example. I love Frank! This movie does not love him.

As a movie, Emma. is an entertaining and well-made artistic endeavor, worth the money spent to rent it. Visually, it is especially satisfying. The bright colors and big rooms felt so new and beautiful. As an adaptation, our heroine is everything I would hope for, and the plot is handled to satisfaction. But this story presents too many things that I pictured as serious, dramatic, or reserved, in a comedic or emotionally exaggerated way. And the supporting cast is too much changed for it to dethrone the 2009 BBC miniseries as the best Emma adaptation in my mind.

This is a good movie, don’t get me wrong. But when I heard it was funny, I was expecting something more loyal to Austen’s original tone of clever wit. This feels more in line with modern ideas of comedy. Still entertaining, still funny, just… not what I wanted.

If you’re tired of period dramas (or not a fan of them in general) and want a funny, pretty romantic comedy, this is a great movie. Worth the money and the hype. Go for it.

If you’re more of a traditional, BBC, Masterpiece Classics, Downton Abbey, piano soundtrack and proper manners kind of person… you probably won’t love this Emma. I didn’t.

Running commentary

We begin with Emma in early pre-dawn hours walking through her greenhouse with two servants. Interesting how this movie begins with immediate very obvious display of the servants. This keeps up as the story progresses. I can’t tell if this is supposed to be a commentary on the social structure, or a running background comedic element? Possibly both.

This movie seems to be trying for a more real-world approach in their story. There’s also a scene where a baby passes gas and begins to cry, and some of the adults jump up in terror and send for the doctor, talking with fear about fever.

Mr. Woodhouse as an energetic, slender man who jumps off stairsteps is… unexpected. Bill Nighy? Not the direction I would have gone. He’s a fun actor, but not my idea of worrisome Mr. Woodhouse.

The sets and costumes are beautiful. This is definitely a pleasing adaptation to the eyes.

Miranda Hart feels right for Miss Bates. I loved her in Spy. She does the sometimes annoying but so endearing character justice.

Gemma Whelan’s Miss Taylor and Rupert Graves’ Mr. Weston fit the parts. I approve.

OH WOW naked butt, this is that kind of adaptation. Okay then. My first impression was that this must be Frank Churchill, blond and introduced literally by his ass and shown as all smiles and friendliness. And young. But no, apparently this is Johnny Flynn’s Mr. Knightley. More on him later.

Mia Goth’s Harriet Smith is very plain. Also brunette? Her speech feels less exaggerated than other adaptations; I appreciate that.

Josh O’Connor is apparently 30, but he still looks too young for Mr. Elton. Emma’s idea to match him with Harriet is much more natural with the compliment he pays to her beauty upon their first meeting. (We know he means Emma, but his gesture to all three ladies in the room begins with Harriet, giving Emma ideas.) His voice at most points sounds too much like Eddie Redmayne’s creepy Balem Abrasax in Jupiter Ascending. Shudder.

The music is unusual, including Italian operas, country ditties, and gospel hymns. All of these are soundtracks, not music within the story, and many seem too loud compared to the rest of the audio. It’s a little jarring.

The shops in town feel roomier, brighter, and much more modern than any period piece or adaptation I’ve seen. That trend remains true with plenty of other settings in the movie.

Emma makes her first impressions of Robert Martin without even getting so close as to overhear his conversation with Harriet. It’s easy to see why she would (unfairly) dislike him when she refuses to even notice him and only knows he’s a farmer.

I’ve never heard of Connor Swindells, but his Robert Martin is a babe. Harriet can get it. Also, his suggestion to take a different road to avoid the flooding is given the “angsty romantic scene in the rain” treatment. I love it.

I also love Anya Taylor-Joy’s iteration of Emma Woodhouse. She seems perfect. And the new take on settings and colors give fresh life to the genre of period dramas — or comedies, as this one feels more suitably called.

So much of Harriet and Emma’s conversation regarding Robert Martin’s proposal letter is cut, which gives Emma’s role and attitude in this scene a different light. She has less direct or intentional influence than the dialogue in the book gave her.

One of Harriet’s defining traits as a character is being pretty. This Harriet seems too plain. I’ve figured out why her being brunette bothers me so especially — the actress’ eyelashes and eyebrows are so blond you can barely see them. Either dye the eyebrows too, or leave the hair blond. This bugs me on people in real life, too, when the difference is so drastic. Your eyebrows should match your hair! Don’t @ me.

This house is beautifully colorful. I have no idea whether this is more or less historically accurate than the typical dark neutral and wood tones of most period drama rooms. It is definitely different.

The necessity of speeding up a novel’s storyline to fit a two-hour movie tends to make period drama adaptations feel rushed or ill-paced. This movie handles that well with screens showing the seasons, suggesting more time passing between sections than actually shown and giving the story a more natural feel.

What’s with the Madeline lineup of Red Riding Hoods throughout town? This is a consistent motif throughout the movie that I don’t understand.

I love the addition of Harriet transcribing Mr. Elton’s sermons every week. It is so clearly something anyone with a crush on a clergyman would do, especially someone as obsessed as Harriet (in the book she keeps his pencils and bandages, for goodness’ sake). I’m only surprised no other adaptations had thought of this yet. Wonderful detail.

Mr. Woodhouse’s overprotective nature and obsession with health and weather is played entirely for laughs in this adaptation, rather than a grounded character trait. This is passed on quite clearly to his daughter Isabella as well.

These Knightleys don’t look or sound related at all. I think Mr. Knightley as a blond may be throwing me off as much as brunette Harriet. Everything from the brothers’ temperaments to their hair to their heights is drastically different. I actually forgot for a minute they were brothers, and this is after a week of reading and watching almost nothing but Emma.

Mr. Elton in the post-Christmas-party carriage will never not be awkward and uncomfortable, but I think this is the only adaptation that makes the implied level of his drunkenness in the book believable or clear.

I did think other adaptations overplayed Harriet’s heartbreak over Mr. Elton, but laughing and brushing off the slight is not the reaction I expected, either.

Isabella fretting over the children as they climb into the carriage feels so much like a soccer mom scolding her kids before a road trip to Disney. Love that.

Amber Anderson’s Jane Fairfax gives a first impression of being very moody. She comes across quite haughty and full of herself, which is not the impression I got of her in the book.

This Emma has a beautiful voice, so of course Jane Fairfax’s superiority is displayed in playing a complicated song from memory. Emma’s frustration toward and jealousy of Jane is much more reasonable in this adaptation… which doesn’t feel true to the original. The book makes it pretty clear that it is Emma alone who dislikes Jane, out of her own jealousy. This movie makes Jane seem simply an unlikable person.

Callum Turner’s Frank Churchill is charming and flirtatious at first, and takes the “rather cruel to Jane” version of events. But he feels flat and boring in most of his scenes. He has no chemistry with Emma. While obviously they were never meant to be together, they should still have chemistry and fun flirtatious banter as their friendship is built. I love Frank’s character so much in the book and several adaptations, but this Frank could disappear at any moment and I wouldn’t really care. I do think this is intentional. I don’t like it.

This adaptation cuts Emma’s irritation at not being invited to the Coles’ party and implies that she attends specifically because Frank will be there. I think this movie gives more weight to the initial concept of Emma having feelings for Frank than most versions of the story do, though it’s also the first to not explicitly acknowledge that.

Mr. Knightley and Frank’s rivalry for Emma is painted as more of a legitimate rivalry at one point, instead of private jealousy on Mr. Knightley’s part. It almost plays into love triangle trope comedy.

Interesting choice to transfer the book Mrs. Elton’s surprise at former governess Mrs. Weston being ladylike, to this movie Mrs. Elton’s surprise at gentleman Mr. Knightley being… a gentleman. What was the basis of this choice? Why would Mrs. Elton ever doubt Mr. Knightley’s merits? Surprise at a former governess’ manners in that time period makes sense. Surprise at Mr. Knightley being a gentleman? Not really. Was that why the writers did it? To make her irritating behaviors more absurd?

The scene of Harriet and Emma dancing together in their underwear and curlers before bed made me wonder if anyone will ever give an Austen story a queer twist. That would be so fun to watch. Honestly I think I’d prefer Emma to be with Harriet than this version’s Mr. Knightley. (Full disclosure: I am ridiculously partial to brunettes.)

I love that they kept “It is almost enough to make me think of marrying” when Mrs. Elton took Emma’s place as head of the party at the ball. That was my favorite one-liner in the book.

The framing of Mr. Knightley asking Harriet to dance feels strange in this adaptation. First, we see no indication that he does it to please Emma, which is fine, but I guess I’d gotten used to that visual implication in other adaptations. Second, angelic music plays in the background as he is framed as her hero. It gives more credibility to how the moment affects her emotionally, but for a movie in which Emma is the main character it felt almost like a sudden, temporary point-of-view shift.

This Mr. Elton and Mrs. Elton seem quite unhappy with each other. I don’t remember getting a clear idea one way or the other from the book whether Mr. Elton was actually happy with his bride or regretted his impulsive marriage; this isn’t a point for or against adaptational merit. I just find it fascinating to see how different adaptations interpret the same relationships from the source material. (Side note: This might be my favorite version of Mrs. Elton. Tanya Reynolds is both adorable and delightful to watch.)

Emma dancing with Mr. Knightley is very awkward, with a lot of sexual tension. I can understand why they would handle the scene this way as storytellers, but I prefer the versions in which they’re simply having a grand, fun time at a ball.

Then Mr. Knightley… chases Emma’s carriage back to the house? That was weird. It seems they did it only to have Mr. Knightley and Frank both present to set up the misunderstanding between Emma and Harriet about Harriet’s new crush.

OH MY they changed Emma’s harsh line to Miss Bates. Same meaning, but different wording. It feels more cutting. Emma’s face makes it clear that she regrets what she said immediately. The rest of the party is visibly uncomfortable. I think this adaptation does the best at showing how everyone is aware of and affected by Emma’s cruel remark. Even Mrs. Elton’s disdain and sharp comments for Emma feel deserved in that moment.

Mr. Woodhouse seems less doting, and less blind to his own daughter’s faults, in this adaptation. It is humanizing… but also not quite true to the source material.

This movie does take a pretty sharp diversion from the book when Harriet realizes that Emma is not happy about her feelings for Mr. Knightley because she wants Mr. Knightley for herself. She also directly blames Emma for her choice to refuse Mr. Martin’s proposal. I think the writers wanted to give Harriet more intelligence and agency, and I respect that, but I do think this choice undermines the friendship and Harriet’s sweet innocence and naivety. To me, this character and their relationship were more important than any romantic relationship in the book. I personally don’t like this change.

What the hell is with Emma’s nosebleed? And the crying fit over Harriet? They make a farce of the classic Austen adaptation proposal scene. I understand wanting to do something different/new and subvert expectations, but… really? The anime nosebleed trope? Come on. There is literally no explanation in the movie about why Emma suddenly has a nosebleed, and it’s barely even acknowledged. Why did they do this??

In a completely new scene, Emma seeks out Robert Martin to set the story about Harriet straight and give him the portrait she painted months ago. I like this addition. It gives Emma more agency as a woman in her own story and feels like a nod to Mr. Darcy repairing the relationship with Bingley and Jane in Pride and Prejudice. The following scene where Harriet and Emma make up do build the substance of their friendship again.

We see Harriet and Robert kiss before we see our heroine get her happy ending. I like it. I do like this Robert Martin better than this Mr. Knightley, so that’s probably a factor. Plus, Harriet’s my favorite. She always deserves perfect happiness.

Emma and Mr. Knightley’s scene of partial privacy behind a comical arrangement of screens is very sweet and romantic. It’s probably my favorite Mr. Knightley scene in this movie. I think the magic is completely due to Emma’s chemistry with her man. Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance saves the couple for me.

I’ll admit, the opera music grew on me. I still think the gospel hymns felt out of place and too loud.

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If you’ve made it through all my Emma reviews (or even just this one), treat yourself to this video breaking down the historical accuracy of Emma.‘s costumes by wonderful Polish YouTuber Karolina Żebrowska: