I didn't know what to expect from Emma, which is my third favorite Austen novel after Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice. I've seen every film-video adaptation of the book, and I place this high on the list. There is one scene that Austen probably never conceived, but it was good for the audience and the actress playing Emma. She's quite good, looking a bit like Gwyneth Paltrow but a better actress. The actor playing Mr. Knightley looks about no more than a few years older than Emma, when he should be at least ten to fifteen years older. The actor playing his younger brother, John Knightley, looks older.
Bill Nighy's Mr Woodhouse, is charming, much less of a neurotic old maid than he is in the book, but the standout performance is comedienne Miranda Hart, whom I adore, as the once wealthy-now poor Miss Bates. When Emma insulted her at Box Hill, the audience today actually audibly gasped in shock. Her performance is a knockout, funny and heartbreaking.
Visually, it's stunning. I have never seen a film so choreographed or a version that points up the continual use of servants by the idle rich. And, finally, the score is a pure delight and I hope there's a soundtrack for sale.
