Six Adapatations Later, Have They Finally Got Jane Austen's Emma Right?
2020 was the year for the sixth adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, this time a film adaptation directed by Autumn de Wilde and starring Anya Taylor-Joy.
As much as I was looking forward to this release I wasn’t entirely sure that another adaptation was necessary and after watching the film I stand by this thought, though that is not to say that this film is one to dismiss because it is not. The cast were great, Anya Taylor-Joy portrayed Emma perfectly and Bill Nighy brought us humour where it was needed; as well as the other supporting cast members including Mia Goth who gave us the ever endearing Harriet Smith. Goth brought the charming and lovable personality of Harriet to life on the big screen and together with Anya portrayed the friendship of Emma and Harriet beautifully.
Right away we see Emma putting her new matchmaking skills to the test with Harriet. Firstly by encouraging her to decline Mr Martin's (Connor Swindells) proposal, informing her that in fact Mr Elton (Josh O’Connor) the local vicar was in love with her. As fans of the novel will know this does not go to plan and soon after Emma continues to find the perfect husband for Harriet. She later sets up a plan so that Frank Churchill (Callum Turner) and Harriet are alone together, unknowing that Harriet in fact has fallen for Mr Knightley (Johnny Flynn) which then encourages Emma to come to terms with her own feelings for Knightley also, which she has been concealing and downplaying throughout the film.
Alexandra Byrne did a fantastic job of bringing Austen’s beloved Emma to life in her lavish 19th century outfits. As soon as a character had appeared on screen, fans of the novel were able to recognise the characters they have read so much as Byrne’s costumes brought them to life instantly. The garments illustrated the classes the characters belonged to and depicted the comparison between them and Emma.
No good romantic film would be complete without a happy ending and of course Austin and de Wilde ensured this would happen as we see all of the characters in love, and some even married by the final credits. Thus ending the film on a lovely high, capturing the romantic essence of both the book and the film.
Autumn de Wilde’s first directorial debut was a success and her version of Emma is a great adaptation, however if I were to compare it to the most recent adaptation of Little Women directed by Greta Gerwig, released late last year, I would say that Little Women was more interesting and entertaining.
Of course both films are adaptations of novels, Little Women was written by Louisa May Alcott and both novels have had multiple adaptations since their original release. Both novels are highly well known and the characters are instantly recognisable. Therefore, it is easy for the viewer to already have expectations of what is going to happen throughout the film if they are fans of the novel or of a previous adaptation. However with Gerwig’s Little Women, her screenplay, soundtrack and casting created a refreshing adaptation which created a much more enjoyable viewing.
Another reason why I would recommend Gerwig’s version of Alcott’s novel more is a personal preference to the protagonists. The protagonists are very different, Emma for the majority of the film is quite a cold character and can be portrayed as very selfish and unkind, this is apparent during the scene in which she offends Miss Bates (Miranda Hart). In comparison to this, Little Women’s Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) is very warm and a character we can all like, enjoy and even relate to at times whilst watching.
Overall I would say Emma is worth a watch, especially if you are an avid fan of Austin but I am hoping that another adaptation is not on the cards for a very long time as I think it will only put people off and soon become quite tedious.
Hi, I'm Georgia, I'm 23 years old and I am a Media and Journalism graduate living in Bristol. I have a passion for writing, especially reviews for film and music.