FILM: Emma

When we first meet the “handsome, clever, and rich” Miss Emma Woodhouse, she is inspecting flowers in a greenhouse, discriminatingly pointing out the perfect blooms to be cut for a bouquet. “No, not that one,” she tells a trailing servant with the shears, “the one beside it.” Emma is an exquisite flower herself, perfectly composed, her hair perfectly curled, and perfectly confident that she can match people as easily as she selects flowers. Alas, the fact that everyone in this corner of Georgian English countryside looks up to her causes her to overestimate her own talents, causing some consternation and complication along the way to marrying everyone off Jane Austen style in this delightful comedy of manners. Emma is brought to life by Anya Taylor-Joy, giving her the confidence and cleverness of Lady Mary Crawley but tempered with the humanity of Lady Sybil (as well as her well-meaning meddlesomeness). I have to confess never having read the Austen novel, nor seen any other adaptation (not even Clueless), so I came to this fresh and didn’t really know how the romantic convolutions would end up. In the end, I didn’t do a much better job than Emma of sizing up the characters, though in fairness, I think the screenplay by Eleanor Catton and director Autumn de Wilde does a clever job of making us see the world as Emma does. The characters are all charming including Johnny Flynn as the dashing Mr. Knightley, Bill Nighy as Emma’s kind but perpetually chilly father, and the suddenly ubiquitous Josh O’Connor as the vicar. The countryside is sunny and beautiful. The music is a very effective mix of classical (Mozart, Haydn) with traditional English folk music. And who knew a minuet could be so steamy? It’s a very enjoyable romp.