Having a BA in English, Creative Writing Emphasis, I studied 19th Century English Literature in depth. Needless to say, I happily discovered Jane Austen’s works. And of course, having read every single novel, finished and unfinished, I was thrilled to see the many versions of her novels brought to screen, well most of the versions of her work. I will dwell on that subject later.
With that said, the last version of Emma., was absolutely the best Emma I have ever seen! This includes the Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow. Emma. version brought Jane Austen’s characters, plot, subplots, landscapes, and her imagined world to life. The world of have and have nots, the eloquence and rashness Emma puts forth. Moreover, Emma. depicts the position and expectations of women during this era. Women must marry “well”, or forever be a sort of outcast spinster who will live her days, alone, childless, and an unsuccessful, downtrodden part of society. This is not just an upper-class expectation; one must try to marry within the confines of your “class”, as well. If you are lucky, you may be able to marry above your class, but not exceedingly far up. Oh, and trying to be a matchmaker can, in some cases bring you turmoil and grief. I tried once to be a matchmaker, never again, period!
I thought Anya Taylor-Joy was fabulous in the Queen’s Gambit, but she showed her extraordinary versatility as an actor in Emma. Her attitude, expressions, her demeanour, grace, beauty, and complete embrace of Jane Austen’s Emma. She and the other actors brought, or depicted the characters in the book, to life in the most in-depth and accurate way imaginable.
The title, Emma. merely differentiates itself by making a definitive statement, that they are indeed the one and only Emma, with the mere punctuation of a period, Emma. and indeed, they are right in my estimation.
As to not all Jane Austen’s films are created equal, I beg you to only watch the recent production of Persuasion with just one eye open. The main actor who plays Captain Fredrick is appalling, Cosmo Jarvis. His romantic look into character’s eyes Anne Elliot, Dakota Johnson, is as if he were blind or could be looking at a mole on her cheek. Mind you Dakota Johnson, is both beautiful and a very good actor. It must have been hard for her to act with Cosmo. Where are your eyes darling, you must look at me with longing and a depth of love that no other man could! Well, that’s what my Jane Austen character should be able to do. I don’t mean to be so hard on Cosmo, I believe he was wrongly cast. But still, he was stiff, and looked like he was always thinking about where his next marks were. I have got to believe he was cast in this role because he was tall, very fit, and perhaps the sea-faring type of gruffness that was being considered. I think the roll as Rambo would be a better fit.
The production itself was outrageous. It tried to have Anne Eliot speak directly to the camera. I am all for modern adaptations of classics, but it did not work for me in the least. Perhaps, I am as arrogant as one of Jane Austen’s characters and can not stand what I perceive to be a total bastardization version of her work. Dakota is a very good actor, so remember to watch that film with one eye open like Cosmo’s. Oh wait, I couldn’t even see his eyes.
On a positive note watch Jane Austen’s 1940 Pride and Prejudice with Sir Laurence Olivier. It’s fantastic!
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