Emma

I have just finished watching the new BBC/Masterpiece Theater adaption of Jane Austen's Emma, and I have just one word for you: Sublime! I have watched the previous two 90's adaptions starring Kate Beckinsale and Gwyneth Paltrow, of the two I preferred the chemistry between between Gwyneth and Jeremy Northam. I really enjoyed Northam's portrayal of Mr. Knightley, but I must say that Johnny Lee Miller's portrayal has surpassed them all.

Emma is about Emma Woodhouse, a young woman who fancies herself an expert matchmaker after matching her sister Isabella and childhood friend John Knightley as well as her governess Miss Taylor with Mr. Weston. After Miss Taylor and Mr. Weston wed Emma no longer has any female companionship. So she goes about turning Harriet Smith into her new best friend and project. Harriet is of an unfortunate birth. She has lived in a boarding house her whole life with no clue as to who her parents are. In Regency England this meant that she was at the bottom of the social ladder. Emma goes about trying to set Harriet up with a man higher on the social ladder than she; this has disastrous results for all but one party involved. From there on out Emma makes one bad matchmaking decision after another, until she finally sees the truth that has been in front of her this whole time.

What really drew me into this story was the opening segment. I didn't know if I really wanted to watch this series because I thought that it would be like the other two adaptions I saw, which were just alike, (and it had been on my DVR since February) but I am so happy that I finally had the time to watch it today. The end result may be the same but the journey there is what makes it special, and this adaption was special. The movie begins with the death of Emma's mother, as well as the deaths of Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax's mothers. This really put into perspective why Emma's father, Mr. Woodhouse, was so protective of she and Isabella. While Mr. Woodhouse kept Isabella and Emma, Frank's aunt took him from his father and Jane had to be sent away to be cared for. After loosing his wife Mr. Woodhouse kept his daughter's near and became really neurotic. He and the girls did not travel and he sat in front of the fire at home and everywhere else he ventured, and he did not leave the safety of his home much. I truly understood Mr. Woodhouse's love and fear of losing his daughter's as he lost his wife. His daughter's in turn loved him and stayed with him. After Isabella and John married they moved to London. This was her first time leaving her home town. She told John that if Emma hadn't been there to stay with her father then she wouldn't have married him. Emma genuinely loves her father as well and never wants to marry and leave him alone. The love and dedication that these three have for each other gave this adaption and element that the others did not have.


I believe that the chemistry between Emma and George Knightley really makes or breaks the movie, and I must say the the chemistry between the leads was sizzling. It wasn't like sex sizzling, it was like a true love sizzling. Romola Garai starred as Emma and the aforementioned Mr. Miller as Mr. Knightley. I enjoyed Romola's portrayal of Emma. Her Emma was a flawed girl with good intentions who loved her father. She did not portray her as though she was this worldly girl, because she wasn't, but she did portray her as a young girl learning about life and love. Johnny Lee Miller's Mr. Knightley was superb in every scene he was in. There was not one moment he was on screen that he was not Mr. Knightley. The subtleties of his expressions were spot on. Mr. Knightley displayed real and honest emotions and the viewers went on a journey of self-discovery with him as well. The scene where Emma and Mr. Knightley dance was one of my favorites because it showed a change in their relationship. Before they saw themselves as brother and sister, but during this scene new feelings made their way to the surface. My favorite scene is the one in which Mr. Knightley reveals his feelings to Emma. The love they displayed for one another felt so real and pure. The last scene of this movie just put a cherry on top of an already wonderful movie.


One more thing I must compliment about this movie is the music. The music director of this film should win an award because each piece of music used was used brilliantly.

I highly recommend the 2009 adaption of Jane Austen's Emma to everyone. Every aspect of this film, from the cinematography to the writing and definitely the acting, was beautiful, exciting, sensual and positively sublime. I hope that you will take this exciting journey.