Friday Film Review: Emma
Emma (2020) was the last film I saw at the cinema before the pandemic arose, nearly a full year ago. So, it will always be a memorable one for me. I sat and watched it one morning before uni classes, at about 9 or 10 AM, solely amongst old ladies, all also on their own, proving my dedication to Jane Austen if anything!
Directed by Autumn De Wilde, the adaptation of Austen’s 1815 novel which was the basis for 1990s classic, Clueless, was worth the early, solitary cinema trip. It tells the familiar story of Emma Woodhouse, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, and her life of gossip and matchmaking, largely for her own gains and agendas, in Regency society. We follow Emma as she interferes with the life of her new companion, Harriet (Mia Goth) specifically, whose relationships she constantly manipulates. Until she realises her actions were wrong and puts things right in the end. The film tells the well-trodden story freshly, with bright colours and disjointed shots, bringing it into the 21st-century.
It seems only right to be writing this in the week Anya Taylor-Joy has received a Golden Globe nomination for her role. She embodied Emma’s coldness and quick wit, as well as her gradually growing compassion, perfectly. But the rest of the cast’s performances were just as stellar, featuring Johnny Flynn as Mr Knightley, Josh O’Connor as Mr Elton and Bill Nighy and Miranda Hart in supporting roles. Each person brought a unique, comedic spin and complexity to their characters as they enlivened Austen’s story.
With regards to the world-building, I am oddly and overly obsessed with seasons. So the set up of this film, which is split into sections based on Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer, massively appealed to me. Clothes mirror these seasons throughout, with mustards for autumn and pale pinks, greens and ginghams for Spring. This use of clothing and focus on the seasonal, blurred into the colour palette, which was reminiscent of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006). Constructing a pastel, sweet-store-like world, with its macarons, ribbons and teacups. This lightness was emphasised further by Isobel Waller-Bridge’s springy score, which morphs strings with folk singing and music that would have been characteristic of the time, to build a sense of the English countryside and its natural simplicity.
The rural simplicity contrasts heavily with the elaborate homes and the seemingly frivolous events that take place within them. In these houses, social class, status, masculinity, friendship, feminism, gossip, the art of interference, public image and reputation, are all covered. But, of all of them, I found the portrayal of female friendship, especially interesting.
The depiction of Harriet is a little sad to watch. Although well-acted, her stupidity and cluelessness are played up for comic effect, which forms an unequal friendship between her and Emma. Although Emma’s intentions towards her are ultimately good, Harriet becomes a pet, rather than a friend who can match Emma’s personality, playing into the class disparity between them. But, if that unbalanced dynamic was the goal of the film, it did succeed. Her relationship with Harriet contributes to Emma’s character arc throughout. She begins self-centred but becomes fairer and more aware of others’ feelings in the end, strengthening her sense of kindness. She knows she is selfish, and she consciously tries not to be.
For all it’s visually fairy-tale-like at times, Emma also prioritises realism in a way that many Jane Austen adaptations and period dramas fail to. It does this by accentuating Emma’s unlikeable qualities and by placing the characters in frequent private, isolated moments. It also acknowledges mental health via the characters of Jane and, arguably, Miss Bates, a subject which most period dramas chose to ignore. Period dramas tend to be framed almost as if people, especially women, didn’t have complex feelings during that time, as if they were consistently perfect and only worried about sewing and marriage. Autumn De Wilde pointedly acknowledges the flaws, humanity and reality of these women, and men, instead.
However, the film lacks diversity and contained odd, repeated references to The Handmaid’s Tale that didn’t lend anything to the plot or its message. Still, as Jane Austen adaptations go, it brought a new tone to Emma. It’s a film which exemplifies the power of female filmmaking, especially when handling such well-known and female-centric content. But, upon considering all the themes in Emma, one stands out against the rest. That theme being the idea that these tiny towns and their gossip, particularly during an era when no one had access to the internet, were worlds for the people within them. No matter what we’d think now, their stories and people were far from frivolous then.
by Lauren Burns (editor)
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