As a Jane Austen enthusiast, an avid reader and an obsessive film watcher, I was anxious to watch it as soon as it came out in cinemas. After watching the trailer, I was a little bit off put, with the sickly overdose of pastels coming from all directions, but the presence of the wonderful Miranda Hart amongst the cast made it seem a bit brighter. Nevertheless, I walked into the cinema excited. The glowing reviews on the sides of buses were enough to convince me it would be a great film.
That is 2 hours and 12 minutes of my fleeting life I will never get back.
To start with the positives, the costumes were historically accurate, which seemed to justify the film for some folks, but apart from that, it was downright unenjoyable.
To start, I did not like the scene of Mr Knightley at the beginning where we all experienced the misfortune at looking upon the actors bare butt. For me, it felt very out of character for Mr Knightley, and certainly not something I would associate with an Austen novel. Perhaps it was supposed to showcase vulnerability? But surely there are more clearer ways of doing that than putting his rear on show.
I found the character of Emma to be someone completely different from the book. Instead of a girl who has good intentions, but has her flaws, she is portrayed as nothing less of a sulky brat. I wasn't fond of Mr Knightley or Frank Churchill, the both seemed shallow and deprived of any liveliness, or any signs of life.
The film is slow paced, and I like long films, I've happily sat through films over three hours long, but this one had me wishing it would end. Its pointless shots of scenery, and the immaculate detail of shops and homes were pretty, but I felt like I was watching the same thing over and over, and over again.
I was not fond of the dialogue, it was drawn out, I assume we were supposed to take note of the characters facial expressions, but I ended up daydreaming and forgetting I was in a cinema and supposed to be watching a film.
And the comedy. If you can even call it that, was something else. It seemed to be veering towards almost a slapstick, with the running "joke" of Mr Woodhouse's "do you feel a breeze" boring and unfunny. Not to mention the questionable facial expressions that were intended for our "entertainment"???? My heart completely sunk to the floor when they decided to have Emma's nose begin to bleed throughout one of the most important scenes. Some have interpreted this as presenting her as imperfect, or a sign of vulnerability or whatever, but to me this ruined the charm and beauty of the scene.
What really caused me to roll my eyes was the passionate kiss between the protagonist and Mr Knightley. What I love about Austen, and many of the adaptions (not this one) is the way that social standards are clear for us to see, and the central couple do not rely on physicality to show us their affections (as in the book it is not talked of) but we see their affections in the way they speak, the way they look at each other, they way they interact. In this adaption however, there is no chemistry between Emma and Knightley.
In my opinion, it is overrated. If you want to watch an enchanting adaption of Emma with all the charm of the book, I would suggest the 2009 version.
