One Mann’s Movies review of “Emma” (2020).
Bob the Movie Man’s Rating:
Certification:
US: PG. UK: U.
I loved the look of Emma from the trailer. And I was not disappointed. It is a simply sublime piece of comic entertainment.
A picture of inno-cence. Emma (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Mr Woodhouse (Bill Nighy). (Source: Focus Features).
“Do you detect a draft?”
Emma Woodhouse (Anya Taylor-Joy) is a rich, privileged 21 year-old looking after her elderly and quirky father (Bill Nighy) in the family stately home. She has never loved, despite the persistent presence of ‘family friend’ George Knightley (Johnny Flynn), but finds it entertaining to engage in matchmaking, particularly in respect to her somewhat lower class friend Harriet Smith (Mia Goth). Emma has high ambitions for Harriet… ideas significantly above what her social station and looks might suggest.
Emma has her sights on a dream…. the mystery man Frank Churchill (Callum Turner), son of wealthy local landowner Mr Weston (Rupert Graves). She has never actually met him, but is obsessed with his myth. #fangirl. As a source of immense annoyance to her, but often a source of valuable information on news of Churchill, is the village ‘old maid’ Miss Bates (Miranda Hart). “Such fun”!
But Emma’s perfect life is about to face sticky times, as her machinations fail to yield the expected results and a stray comment, at a disastrous picnic, threatens to damage both her reputation and her social standing.
Action-packed this is not.
If you like your movies full of action and suspense, you are digging in the wrong place. “Emma” is slow… glacially slow… wallowing in beautiful bucolic scenes (with superb cinematography by Christopher Blauvelt); gorgeous costumes by Alexandra Byrne; and hair styling by Marese Langan.
The movie also benefits from a joyfully tight and funny script by debut screenwriter Eleanor Catton (a Man-Booker prize winner). This picks relentlessly at the strata of the class system set up by Jane Austen‘s novel: “Every body has their level” spits spurned suitor Mr Elton (Josh O’Connor).
A match made… erm. Mr (Josh O’Connor) and Mrs (Tanya Reynolds) Elton. (Source: Focus Features).
Well cast leads.
I know Anya Taylor-Joy as the spirited Casey from “Split” and “Glass“: she was impressive in “Split“; less so for me in the disappointing “Glass“. But here, I found her UTTERLY mesmerising. She has such striking features – those eyes! – that she fully inhabits the role of the beautiful heiress who haunts multiple men sequentially. I even muttered the word “Oscar nomination” at the end of the film: though we are too early in the year to seriously go there.
An even bigger surprise was the actor playing George Knightley. Johnny Flynn has been in a number of TV shows I haven’t seen, and a few films I haven’t seen either (e.g. “Beast”). But I had the nagging feeling I knew him really well. The illustrious Mrs Movie Man clocked him: he’s the Cineworld “plaid man”! (For those outside the UK or not patrons of Cineworld cinemas, he was the ‘star’ of a Cineworld advert that played over and Over AND OVER again for months on end before every film I saw. Arrrgggghhhh!).
Johnny Flynn as George Knightley (left) and Cineworld “Plaid man” (right). (Source: Focus Features / Cineworld).
Here, Flynn is excellent as the frustrated and brooding Austen-hunk. He even gets away with an arse-shot within a U-certificate!
Particularly strong in the supporting cast are Bill Nighy (being delightfully more restrained in his performance); Miranda Hart (being “Miranda”, but perfectly cast) and Mia Goth (memorable for that eel-bath in “A Cure for Wellness“).
A picture of social climbing. Mia Goth as the love-lorn Harriet Smith. (Source: Focus Features).
And a big thank-you for this review in the online Radio Times for naming one of the comical (and bizarrely uncredited) footmen as Angus Imrie – – the truly disturbed stepson of Claire in “Fleabag”. It was driving me crazy where I knew him from!
Intrusive music.
The one criticism I would have is that I found the (perfectly fine and well-fitting) music, by David Schweitzer and Isobel Waller-Bridge (sister of Phoebe) poorly mixed within the soundtrack. There were times when I found it overly intrusive, suddenly ducking under dialogue and then BLASTING out again. Sometimes music should be at the forefront…. but more often it should be barely perceptible.
The definition of sexual tension. Emma and George get closer. (Source: Focus Features).
As you might guess….
…I loved this one. The story is brilliant (obsv!); the film is simply gorgeous to look at; the locations (including the village of Lower Slaughter in the Cotswolds and Wilton House – near me – in Salisbury) are magnificent and a blessing for the English Tourist Board.
All the more impressive then that this is the directorial feature of video/short director Autumn de Wilde.
This comes with a “highly recommended” from both myself and the illustrious Mrs Movie-Man.
Trailer:
The (excellent) trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsOwj0PR5Sk.
Hi Bob, you mentioned Wilton House in your review. Having visited it myself, I’m amazed at how many times it appears on film and TV. The Crown seem to use it often . In particular a certain room is sometimes dressed up differently to serve as various different rooms within the fictional Buckingham Palace. This room always leaps out to me whenever I see it in a period drama . I was thinking of setting up and a spot the room competition!
I must admit that after only living 15 miles from it, I’ve never visited! I must do so and then play”spot the movie”!