Emma. (2020)

Emma.: Directed by Autumn de Wilde. With Anya Taylor-Joy, Angus Imrie, Letty Thomas, Gemma Whelan. In 1800s England, a well meaning but selfish young woman meddles in the love lives of her friends.

“Unfortunately for me, this version of Emma was more a miss than a hit. It was too slow u0026amp; failed to draw me in. Some of the scenes were just too long or superfluous, making me wish for them to hurry up to get to the good bits. Visually speaking it was lovely u0026amp; depicted the Regency period well. But the soundtrack was often jarring u0026amp; distracting rather than enhancing a scene. The odd choir singing is a case in point.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI could not like Emma herself. Anya Taylor-Joy was miscast, in my opinion. Iu0026#39;m not sure why. Perhaps it was her unusual eyes? I know I disliked her hairstyles intensely. Horrid! I couldnu0026#39;t connect with her character.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI thought some of the characters were wishy washy. You would not know that Emmau0026#39;s sister Isabella is married to Mr Knightlyu0026#39;s brother John. Or perhaps I blinked u0026amp; missed it? Jane Fairfax was fairly insipid u0026amp; there was not much to indicate that Frank Churchill was a bit of a cad weaving elaborate lies. Bill Nighyu0026#39;s Mr Woodhouse was too childish u0026amp; effeminate for my liking. Mr Knightly, whilst likeable, was a bit childish for his age u0026amp; station u0026amp; not a match for this particular Emma u0026amp; I could picture her walking all over him.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe actors I did enjoy were the characters of Mrs Weston, Harriet Smith u0026amp; Miss Bates, played by Gemma Whelan, Mia Goth u0026amp; Miranda Hart. Gemma Whelan of Game of Thrones fame, handled Mrs Weston with dignity u0026amp; grace. Harriet was delightful u0026amp; suitably innocent u0026amp; gullible. My favourite character in this adaption was Miranda Hartu0026#39;s portrayal of the unfortunate Miss Bates. Miranda is an expert at playing socially awkward characters u0026amp; did not disappoint with Miss Bates. Her embarrassment u0026amp; vulnerability at Emmau0026#39;s spiteful words at the picnic brought me to tears. As did her graciousness in accepting Emmau0026#39;s attempt at an apology. Bravo Miranda!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo there were some redeeming scenes throughout the movie. But overall, it fell short of my expectations u0026amp; the 1996 version of Emma remains my favourite to date.”