Emma

This review may contain spoilers!

Quite simply put, one of the most impressive adaptations of a Jane Austen novel to date. I would give Emma an 8/10.

Emma is an adaptation of the Jane Austen bearing the same title, in which our main character, Emma Woodhouse, makes a disaster of things in her community after fancying herself a matchmaker. This story is both an interesting period coming of age tale and a classic comedy filled with a variety of unforgettable characters. In fact what made this film so distinguishably better than any other Emma film that has come before is the degree to which humour emerges. It's a markedly clever wit in which dialogue is handled precisely, characters are utilised cleverly and timing is key to everything. I think the manner in which the film presents the titular character is very impressive too, for a significant aspect of the film you feel like Emma actually has control and ownership over her community, like her machinations actually do influence matters amongst her peers. But as the plot progresses we come to understand Emma's 'matchmaking' to be a destructive force and the lessons to be learnt and the same as own values Emma must take on to better her selfish character. I was thoroughly impressed to have seen a Jane Austen adaptation that was entirely engaging and rather accessible for a wide audience. The cinematography for the film is the best I've currently seen in an Austen adaptation, shots were cleverly manipulated around the title role and every scene had an extremely deliberate picturesque quality. The score for the film shared in the easy novelty and wit introduced in the plot; using a classic tone to illicit a connection to the setting and characters.

Anya Taylor-Joy, who played Emma Woodhouse, might very well have found her best role yet; Taylor-Joy plays to the grand machinations and distinct vanity of the character with subtlety and finesse. Johnny Flynn, who played George Knightley, is a kind and passionate tempered role; Flynn and Taylor-Joy have an intense and capable chemistry onscreen that is unmatchable. Bill Nighy, who played Mr Woodhouse, is utterly hilarious as the paranoid hypochondriac; Nighy really has fun with Woodhouse's consistent complaining and fearful attitude. Mia Goth, who played Harriet Smith,  is really quite charming as the mild-mannered friend Emma takes under her wing; the way in which Goth portrays her role bending almost entirely to Emma's will is very well done. Callum Turner, who played Frank Churchhill, is a very arrogant role who seems in love with his own self; Turner manages to make his vain role charismatic while recklessly uncaring to many of the other characters. Amber Anderson, who played Jane Fairfax, is quite a refined and elegant performer; the degree of ease and perfection with which she presented Jane made for a very noble figure. Tanya Reynolds, who played Mrs Elton, is stunning as this very scathing character; her self-absorbed attitude and biting dialogue were excellent to watch. Connor Swindells, who played Mr Martin, is a very charming role that you think a great deal of in his time onscreen; Swindells has a really gentle chemistry with Goth that is lovely to watch. Chloe Pirrie and Oliver Chris, who played Isabella Knightley and John Knightley respectively, made for an excellent pair of extremely differing personalities; Pirrie plays against Nighy's paranoia well with her own while Chris has a wry humorous portrayal of exasperation.

However, the best performance came from Miranda Hart, who played Miss Bates. Anyone who has ever read Emma knows that this role's fast-talking gossip and inability to judge social situations makes her one of the funniest characters in the novel. This film realises the wit, cleverness and charm of Austen's work and I daresay no one performs to it quite as well as Miranda Hart.Her abrupt nature of working into a scene is brilliant and the deft way she handles her dialogue is very witty. It's easy to cast Miss Bates as the 'funny' role when in fact she's a relentless gossip who clings to her friends and relationships due to her lack of prospects. Hart really gets the essence of this and the scene in which Taylor-Joy's Emma mocks her is quite possibly the best scene in the film.

While I really love this film one of it's biggest failings is that it relies too heavily on fans who have read the books or seen the style of these films before. It plays up to familiar themes in these films or just assumes the audience comes from a place of recognition and then chooses not to relinquish enough information. I feel if you aren't very familiar with a Jane Austen inspired feature then this won't be a venture worth your time. The scenes sometimes push things too far in it's efforts to break the mould, moments like Emma getting a nosebleed as she becomes caught between two choices feels like a significant example of this. The pacing for the feature started to steadily peter out, it felt like nothing was spared which worked really well at first but dragged the narrative a lot in the third act. The classic folk song soundtrack came off as pretty stale too, entirely lacking the charm provided by the score.

Josh O'Connor, who played Mr Elton, played the seeking bachelor a little creepy for my tastes; he really played up the nastiness and the blind desire of his role in a manner that just felt extremely over the top. Rupert Graves and Gemma Whelan, who played Mr Weston and Mrs Weston respectively, felt like a necessary duo to introduce and carry the story to the next scene but ultimately provided little in terms of character; Whelan and Taylor-Joy's relationship didn't have a strong dynamic and Graves failed to find the comedy in his role.