Movie Review- Emma (1996- Kate Beckinsale)

This is the version of Emma I grew up with and because of that, and because I think it's the best version anyways, this is my favorite version of Emma.

Screenplay

Well done for the short time frame it had to work with. Obviously there were parts left out though. A couple ones I noticed were the party at the Coles and the riddle that Mr. Elton wrote for "Harriet" (aka Emma). However I think it keeps well with the spirit of Austen and works Austen's lines in effectively into the movie. 

Casting 

Emma- I love Kate Beckinsale as Emma. She captures the haughtiness and pride of Emma at the beginning but makes an effective change into a kinder more compassionate person. I don't think any other version has really captured the pride of Emma that is such an important part of character as evidenced in the book. I've heard a few people complain that Emma is supposed to be blonde but as Jane Austen didn't give her a hair color I think you people just need to get over it. ;)

Mr. Knightley- Mark Strong is a great Mr. Knightley. I think he spends too much time getting angry though. Chill! ;)

Mr. Woodhouse- I think my favorite casting of Mr. Woodhouse though I would say they make him too old. They perfectly capture his worries and his hypochondriac nature!

Mrs. Weston (aka Poor Miss Taylor)- I think my favorite casting of Mrs. Weston. She's dignified and ladylike. She ends up defending Emma far too much of course as she does in the book.

Miss Bates- My favorite Miss Bates... though maybe a trifle too old. She prattles on ceaselessly and drives us all crazy as she's supposed to.

Frank Churchill- I like the casting in the 2009 version a lot but I think this is the best portrayal. He's handsome, charming and of course a total jerk in the end!

Jane Fairfax- My favorite portrayal of Jane. She's beautiful and very elegant. She has great poise in this version and really pulls off the character so well.

Harriet Smith- A good portrayal but not the best. They do a good job of showing her sweetness but I don't think they show her ignorance as well... I think that partly maybe be due to the fact that they leave out the riddle.

Mr. Elton- The best version of Mr. Elton. He gets the pride and snobbery of Mr. Elton that's shown in the book very well as well as the "devotedness" to Emma.

Mrs. Elton- My personal favorite for Mrs. Elton but I do like the 2009 version a lot too. She's perfectly vulgar and annoying.

Music

There really isn't any soundtrack to mention for this film which is a disappointment! 

Scenery

No complaints.

As I said overall it's my favorite version but I did grow up with it. I just think they get most of the characters so perfectly in this version and stick gorgeously to what Jane Austen was trying to write in her book. 

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Guest post- Movie Review- Emma (1972- Doran Godwin)

This is a guest post from the lovely Heidi at Along the Brandywine. Check out her blog! You will love it! Also be sure to check out her original post HERE. 

Enjoy! 

I was quite curious about this adaptation as it was the only (available) Emma I hadn’t yet seen—and as I was finding it hard to gather much concrete information on it. Imagine my excitement when I found our library did indeed have it!

To begin with, the theme music is sprightly and light-hearted (in fact, my sisters and I agreed it would be fun to add to our piano repertoire). As a whole the film is very 70’s, but if you’re willing to overlook some things (and know what to expect in that regard), it definitely has its merits.

On the dress, the main item I wasn’t sure about was why Emma—and Harriet—often wore caps (as my understanding has always been that women would don caps after marriage). I was looking at some portraits, however—principally by Joshua Reynolds and Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin (both in the 1700’s/early 1800’s)—and the young girls there are occasionally wearing indoor caps. Emma takes place about 1803 and the pictures I found were also mostly of nursery age children (excepting the married women, of course) and maids (who may or may not have been married)—so I’m not sure my research was conclusive, but it was interesting.

Simplicity: A Portrait of Miss Theophilia Ghatkin, 1785

by Joshua Reynolds

But back to Emma! Several of the costumes reappear in later films (a number of them in the BBC 1985 P&P) so—along with the dresses—it was fun to see Emma in Jane Bennet’s pelisse and Jane Fairfax wearing Lizzy’s (or rather the other way round).

Emma herself does appear older in this version. But she does also have a dignity, a warm enunciation, and a collected liveliness of manner for an Emma. (In her turns of expression, she actually sometimes reminded us of Gwyneth Paltrow.) Occasionally, I think she does seem a bit more like a governess, a bit schoolmarm-ish (particularly with Harriet and when she’s trying to be especially calm), but she did quite all right with the part.

And Mr. Knightley! Mr. Knightley is Sir Nigel!!! (Do pardon my excitement, but we love the b/w Richard Green Robin Hood tv show—and it’s always thrilling to discover a friend from there elsewhere. :))

So yes, (ahem!) Sir Nigel was very good as Mr. Knightley. With dry flashes of humor, he managed his entire role (including his management of Emma) most excellently well.

Mr. Woodhouse is quite good.

Mr. Weston was open and friendly, and Mrs. Weston certainly gentle and ladylike. (And they have a real baby at the end…well done, indeed!)

Mr. Elton was always eager, smiling, and obliging—if awkward—and I thought it easy to see how Emma could misinterpret his character.

Mrs. Elton is quite adequately rude, vulgar, and funny.

Harriet is very sweet, pretty, and perfectly naïve.

We get to see Robert Martin in a conversation at the end, which is very nice.

And also a lot of Miss Fairfax! Miss Fairfax I very much liked. Gentle and soft, maddeningly reserved, elegant and fascinating—I think she was just about perfect.

And Frank Churchill is high-spirited and engaging—playing his part quite well.

The John Knightleys visit for Christmas…

Isabella is fine.

While John Knightley is quite perfectly John Knightley-ish (and has one of my favorite lines in the film). Referring to Elton, “With men he can be quite simple and rational, but with ladies…ha! I confess he makes my boot itch.”

And now some more particulars: at 270 minutes, this is the longest Emma and oddly enough, I felt to be the one with the most alterations. (There will be some spoilers ahead.) A number of scenes—along with some both major and minor details—are changed (rather unaccountably so due to the length of time). For a few instances: Emma sends the apples to Miss Bates (thus weakening the Knightley-Fairfax puzzle a bit), the Dixons become a completely unrelated couple wanting to hire Jane as a governess, and Jane (and Mr. Elton) are not present at the Box Hill picnic. The John Knightley’s are to end up moving into Donwell and Jane breaks off her engagement not because of Frank’s behavior to Emma—but apparently because of his long absences waiting upon his aunt.

The script was changed quite a fair amount—in general softening or abridging some of the lines (particularly Mr. Knightley’s). I felt those changes did weaken the theme and even some plot connections—creating less tension and a much calmer tone. Looking at it, I’ve decided they were trying to emphasize the danger of flattery. To illustrate, near the beginning Mr. Knightley is concerned about Emma keeping company with Harriet mostly because she is inadvertently a flatterer—and there is a following emphasis on the lines referring to flattery at both the ball and the end proposal scene. There is also a line change at Box Hill. When confronting Emma about her speech to Miss Bates he says, “Emma! Emma! That you—of all people—should allow the flattery of a moment to cloud your judgment so!” At the same time, Emma is never quite as taken in by Frank and since his influence is less, Mr. Knightley never gets particularly jealous of him.

Overall, I don’t think they twisted the story, but I do think that by emphasizing the flattery lines they missed some stronger unifying threads.

As to a few more particulars on certain scenes (and this example is a bit of a side note), but this version has the distinction of having the most forward Mr. E. proposal of any (not the most dramatic, but quite possibly the most mushily romantic—if you can so call the Elton experience). It’s entirely easy to enter into Emma’s feelings on the occasion!

And as I mentioned earlier, you get to see a delightful amount of Jane Fairfax, especially near the end (and including the scene with Emma calling on Miss Bates where Mrs. E. is also present, dutifully awaiting her lord and master).

It’s delightful to see Jane’s gracious warmth and civility, and to see her and Emma laying the foundation for a friendship. Quite satisfying!

Thank you so much for this great guest post Heidi!

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Movie Review- Emma (2009- Romola Garai)

Okay, so I know I've already written a review of this Emma a couple years ago but with my re-reading Emma I decided to re-watch it and with a second viewing in mind I want to write a new movie review. Now my opinions haven't changed terribly much since the first viewing but I think I need to expand on them.
So to start out I want to look at the writing as that is where I have a good deal of my problems. I have a variety of problems with the casting too but I think I can be fair and say that if the writing hadn't been as it was the characters probably could have carried out their part fairly well.

The Screenplay

To put it bluntly I think a too modern version was written of Emma. While some of Austen's actual lines were used, they were in the minority and the screenwriters added in many of their own lines... some of them were okay... some of them were not. Stick with the source. However, please don't sit there and quote a book to me in the movie but use the lines from the book when it flows well.... just look at Pride and Prejudice '95 to see a beautiful example of how to do it right. However I will say that the movie managed to get a majority of the story in the miniseries thanks to it being an actual miniseries! I'm all about including everything in the book. ;) It was interesting how it focused on how the lives of Emma, Jane and Frank intertwined but I think they almost focused on it too much. 

The Casting

Let me just go down the list of the characters. 

Emma- My biggest qualm is with the casting of Romola Garai as Emma. Okay... I'll be fair, if they'd written her differently she might have worked but still. Emma comes off as dreadfully immature and unladylike. She was giggling every five seconds! Okay... not every five seconds but definitely every five minutes!  Now Emma has her immaturities... that's obvious from the book. She's proud and snobbish, she thinks she can control peoples' lives and make them act how she wants them to. She can be rude to Miss Bates but never in front of her until Box Hill. Romola Garai just runs wild with this childish version of Emma. She's openly rude and unladylike something the Emma in the book would not have stooped to. Emma has her pride. I mean, if Emma is going to complain about how Robert Martin and his family is unrefined I think this version may need to turn around and take a look at herself. This Emma is quite unrefined! Now Romola Garai is not all bad as Emma. When she's not acting like a teenager she's fine in her role. I could really see a well done change at the end as she realizes her errors so maybe there's hope. ;) Now you may think I'm to harsh with her but it's just when I wast watching it at a certain point I paused and looked at my sister and said "If I acted like Emma does here can you imagine what mom and dad would say? I would be in big trouble!" Now that's me as a 21st century young woman (Who's the same age as Emma was) saying that. Emma as a 18th century GENTLEwoman would be scandalizing everyone if she acted like that. Poor Mr. Knightley has a 24/7 case with her! Okay... actually rant not over yet... a new thought just struck me. I wasn't going to complain about how she flirts with Frank Churchill because in the book she does somewhat and them overdoing it in this movie isn't the end of the world BUT then I when searching pictures I saw side by side pictures of this Emma and Lydia Bennett and I was struck by how accurate it was! So I have to complain about that too now! Of course it's not a perfect analogy by any means but it is still something to think about!

This is how I see her though. 

Mr. Knightley- I love Johnny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley. I think... think.... he's probably the best Mr. Knightley. I had one person say that him and Emma look too close in age. I don't think they look any closer in age than any of the other Knightleys and Emmas and I looked it up and the actual actor and actress are nine years apart so while not sixteen it is a pretty good gap nonetheless. I think he perfectly balances the sternness and brotherly love of Mr. Knightley portrayed in the book. 

Mr. Woodhouse- Michael Gambon is a great actor there is no denying. I'm not sure he was perfect for this role though. Don't get me wrong, I liked him, but wasn't blown away by him. Part of this had to do with how they kind of changed his character giving him the reason of his wife's death for why he is a hypochondriac and worries so much. I don't mind giving a reason and it works alright but then overall I just feel like it wasn't necessary and detracted too much from the story. My two cents.

Mrs. Weston (aka Poor Miss Taylor)- Okay, I don't have a problem with the casting of Mrs. Weston in fact I think it was good. She looks like she could pull off the role well. However, again, screenwriting. As Emma's governess she just seemed too indulging of Emma and too giggly. Now I know that in the book she is too indulging of Emma but she doesn't sit there and giggle at Emma's antics. That's ridiculous! Besides that though she does a fine job.

Miss Bates- Again, casting seemed fine but they didn't seem to make her talk enough! She just wasn't annoying enough! She gets the fast talking and the inane prattling but she doesn't talk long enough. In the books there are paragraphs of Miss Bates going on and on! I just don't feel like they bring that to the screen well enough.

Frank Churchill- Casting was great here. No major complaint. I did think it was odd he spent a lot of time being grouchy and complaining at the heat at Box Hill. Those complaints in the book were secluded to the strawberry picking at Donwell Abbey and he's supposed to be far more cheerful at Box Hill in contrast. Besides that though good job with the part.

Jane Fairfax- I'm not in love with the casting of Jane. She didn't have the dignified elegance others that have played her carried out. She's sweet and meek but then again she actually shouts at Mrs. Elton a few times! Also I hate that bonnet they put on her. It scrunches her face! She has simply lovely dresses though!

See how that bonnet scrunches her face! 

Harriet Smith- I think the casting for Harriet was perfect and I actually think she was written really well. No complaints there. In fact, I'd say she probably is my favorite Harriet.

Mr. Elton- Blake Ritson was fine as Mr. Elton but not my favorite. He didn't show off the pride of Mr. Elton well enough for me. I did think it was far more obvious in this version than in others that he liked Emma not Harriet but maybe that's just me. Overall okay.

Mrs. Elton- Fine job I'd say. Not my favorite portrayal of her but still good. I know it's not in the book but I think it's pretty funny how they have her actually ride a donkey to the strawberry picking.

All of the rest of the casting is fine and too minor for me to write a paragraph on. ;)

Music

Lovely! I added it to my repertoire already! 

Scenery

Gorgeous! No complaints. 

And one other complaint.... THEY LEFT OUT THE "BROTHER AND SISTER? NO!" LINE!!!!!! I LOVE that line! End rant.

So that is kind of my opinion on this Emma. I'm not in love with it but I don't hate it. If they had recast Emma or rewrote how they portrayed Emma I think it could have been a great version. 

What are your thoughts on this Emma? I know my opinion on it is an uncommon and unpopular opinion but hey... that's me! ;)
Also, be sure to check out Heidi's review of this version of Emma HERE. 

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Emma- Week 11 (Chapters 51-55)

We're done!!! Well.... as I admitted last week, I did finish a week early, but all of the rest of you should be done now (unless there's slackers... for shame! ;)).
I spent the last week re-watching all the different versions of Emma (except the 1972 version... I'm not really interested in watching it). It was very cool to see them back to back right after re-reading the book. I'll be putting out reviews of all of them with some assistance from Heidi who will be supplying some guest post reviews! :) Be sure to look for those this week!
Next week I'll be hosting some giveaways to close out our 200th Anniversary Read-along! Stay tuned for those as well!
Now on to our final book discussion!
First let's discuss Frank's letter to Mrs. Weston. To begin with, his excuses for his behavior with Emma are dumb. I'm just going to be blunt here.... dumb! He can't just assume that Emma is someone who won't be attached to him! That's ridiculous! Additionally, he opened himself and Emma up to gossip! Plus it caused Jane so much pain!!! Also, yes, thank you for admitting you were a jerk and didn't come until Jane was in Highbury! I did think when Emma and Mr. Knightley were talking about the letter it was so cute when Emma wanted him to read it that he said "I'd much rather be talking to you." :)
A few last thoughts on Frank Churchill, I would say that in his conversation with Emma at the end, you could tell he was scarcely repentant of his actions. I love this quote after their conversation "She (Emma) had never been more sensible of Mr. Knightley's high superiority of character." That's right Emma! Frank is a numbskull! That was obvious from day one! Mr. Knightley for the win!
I love that Mr. Knightley and Emma work out the plan to live at Hatfield after they are married. One thing I always love about Emma is how considerate she is of her father and how much she loves him. I imagine he would not have been the easiest person to love sometimes.
Poor Harriet loses again in this situation.... at least first off. I'm glad she ends up with Mr. Martin after all and I'm glad that Emma finally has the sense to see the good of the match. I do think Mr. Knightley was right when he said about Harriet, "I should say she was a good-tempered, soft-hearted girl, not likely to be very, very determined against any young man who told her he loved her." I think Harriet is rather persuaded by her emotions.
Emma also finally takes the effort to become friends with Jane and while I don't think they'll ever be super close, I think that they will be good friends still. Jane is an intriguing character and I'll just say that I would not have put up with Frank one bit! She is far more forbearing than me.
It's cool that Mrs. Weston gets a baby girl! I can only hope with the three new couples that more babies would be on the way!!! :)
I think Emma and Mr. Knightley's conversation about calling him by his first name was hilarious! Mostly I thought so because I always call him Mr. Knightley and I am always forgetting this first name. Most of the time I have to go look it up. His name just is Mr. Knightley. :)
Overall at the end of the book, you can see how Emma has been completely turned around and how all of her fantasies have been destroyed. I think in a lot of ways Emma needed to pay attention to reality and stop living in a world of imagination. Thankfully she had Mr. Knightley there to straighten her out! ;)

So thoughts on these last few chapters? Gushings to convey on the cuteness of Mr. Knightley and Emma?!?! ;) Comment below!

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Emma- Week 9 (Chapters 41-45)

So yes, I did change my blog header. I know it's kind of big. I might resize that a bit later but for now that's how it's going to be.

I know I said this last week but this week with the reading I felt it even more for sure but WE ARE ALMOST DONE!!!! Big reveal coming next chapter... that's all I'm saying... though I think most of you know it. :)
I never realized that the Box Hill escapade didn't come until this late in the novel.  I think though in a way it was Emma's final mistake.... final downfall.... and never did she fall so far.
"Badly done Emma!" Thank you Mr. Knightley! Say it like it is!
You can see Emma's true repentance for her rudeness and inconsideration.
Also in these last few chapters you can see her showing more friendship and pity for Jane Fairfax (about time Emma!).  The mystery around Jane grows. :)
Mr. Knightley is also showing himself very in tune to what is going on around him with certain characters. As always, though Emma thinks she knows what's going but really she doesn't.... and Mr. Knightley does.
I noticed so much foreshadowing to what's going to happen in the next couple chapters in these last few as well. If you're paying attention you can see who likes who... it also helps if I already know what is going to happen though I suppose. ;)
So now discussion questions!

• What does Emma think of Churchill? What does Knightley think? Account for their different interpretations. 
• What wrong does Emma commit at Box Hill? What is this significance of this event in the larger setting of the novel?
• Discuss Knightley's rebuke of Emma's behavior. and it's role in Emma's development. 

Please comment with your thoughts and as always even if you aren't participating in the read-along you can still contribute to the discussion! :)

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Emma- - Week 8 (Chapters 36-40)

We are nearing the end people! It's been exciting to do this read-along. When we are finished we will have a week of giveaways, movie reviews and character analysis.  I have the movie reviews (thanks Heidi!), I'll be hosting some giveaways (though If you to host one you definitely can!) however if you want to write a character analysis or anything else let me know!
With these chapters we get the return of Frank, more Mrs. Elton and finally the ball! It's not an Austen novel without a ball. ;)
I personally am starting to see a change in Emma. She is resisting being a matchmaker for Harriet and is actually giving Harriet some good advice. I think Harriet is also maturing.
Thoughts?
So questions!

• Are you beginning to see developments in character? 
• How did Mr. Elton show his character in declining to dance with Harriet? 
• How does Mrs. Elton show her character in everything she says? 

And just cause I love this line here it is. "Brother and Sister? No!" :)

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Emma- Week 7 (Chapters 31-35)

This week's reading of Emma brought us the introduction of Mrs. Elton! Also I noticed we are over halfway through the book (I'm sure we were last week too but I wasn't paying attention... obviously). Frank Churchill does not make an appearance in these few chapters but he is promised back soon. Emma also struggles with herself on whether or not she is actually in love with him.
One of the most interesting aspects of these chapters I found was Mrs. Elton's interest in Jane. While Emma feels pity for Jane for being inflicted with Mrs. Elton, as Mr. Knightley said, Emma herself was never really there for Jane. It was good to see that Emma took that rebuke to heart but obviously she still has a long way to go.
Something my mother always pointed out to me was that Mrs. Elton's acted as a foil to Emma's character. Mrs. Elton was the evil version of Emma in a sense and since she was so bad we are more gracious to Emma. Thoughts to ponder on.

• What techniques does Austen use to ensure that we remain sympathetic to Emma?
• What kind of woman is Mrs. Elton?
• How do you think Frank's absence is affecting Emma? 

Feel free to comment with your thoughts (Even if you aren't participating in the read-along)! :)

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Emma- Week 6 (Chapters 26-30)

So I realized somehow I listed and read six chapters for last week's discussion post... accidentally including chapter 26 when it should have been part of today's discussion post! Oh well! I have us back on track now though. Right now you should be done with chapter 30.
Here are some questions to ponder on.

1. What speculations does the gift of a piano to Jane Fairfax provoke?
2. Why does Mrs. Weston suspect that Jane and Knightley are moving toward engagement? Why is Emma resistant to this idea? 
3. What is your current opinion of Frank Churchill? Has it changed from last week? 
4. Harriet is shown to be easily persuaded by Emma. Do you think she has a real will of her own at this point in the book? How do you think she made decisions before she met Emma? 

SPOILERS

So when I was reading it this time I noticed that it was actually more obvious then I remembered it being that in the scene when Frank has to go back to his Aunt Churchill and he comes to say goodbye to Emma that he is going to tell her he is engaged to Jane Fairfax. He's talking about visiting the Bates right before he says it and the transition he makes really does sound like it actually. Of course it was understandable for Emma to think he was going to propose to her. Let's be honest here, it's not like Frank was making it obvious that he and Jane were engaged.... in fact the opposite and he was making it look like he was interested in Emma so you can't blame Emma for thinking he was going to propose to her. However, in retrospect looking at his speech you can see how he was leading up to telling her about him and Jane. Anyways... random thoughts. :)

END SPOILERS

Share your thoughts!

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Emma- Week 5 (Chapters 21-26)

We're now on our fifth week of the Emma Read-along! I'm really enjoying reading it more this time. Emma has always been my least favorite of Austen's novels, though of course I still do like it. I feel though that with this read-along I am paying more attention and taking the time to look at themes I haven't seen before in previous readings of Emma.

When reading Miss Bates' speeches does anyone else just here her voice in your head saying it super, super fast and all in one breath? I do!

Once again this week I'm complaining about Emma's pride! Her plan to refuse the Cole's invitation for the dinner party because they needed to be taught a lesson that her family was so far above them that they shouldn't have the audacity to ask them was so snobbish! I'm glad she ended up going.

Okay I have non-spoiler discussion questions and spoiler discussion questions because there's a lot to look at if you've already read it and know what's going on and then also if you haven't and don't. So when you comment and answer just make sure you say spoiler before answering the question.

Non-Spoiler questions

• So we finally have met Frank Churchill! First impressions?
• What does Emma think of Churchill? What does Knightley think? Account for their different interpretations. 
• Who do you think sent Jane Fairfax her piano? 
• Compare and contrast Mr. Elton and Emma Woodhouse? Now first off you may think that's a weird comparison but when I think about I find that so many things that Emma mentally accuses him of she is guilty of as well! Just food for thought. 

SPOILER questions

• Is anyone else just freshly reminded how much of a jerk Frank is to Jane?
• Also, to top it off, Frank is showing obvious attention to Emma.... what do you think Frank is even thinking? 

END OF SPOILERS

Please comment with your thoughts and as always even if you're not doing the read-along feel free to join in on the discussion! 

Also, weird random fact that I found out but did you know that Joan Aiken (author of many children's books but notably my favorite The Wolves of Willoughby Chase) wrote a book about Jane Fairfax entitled Jane Fairfax? It sounds kind of interesting. I might have to look into it. 

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