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Jane Austen’s world is a fascinating place for all fans of period drama. Aware of this interest cinema and TV soon started to adapt the British writer novels to the screen. Until today we can count several Emma adaptations and spinoffs. We are going to talk about four of them, the ones we know and watched or reviewed already.

The 1972, if watchable, is too theatrical and the characters very different from what we always imagine while reading the book. Emma doesn’t have that quirky side that makes up for her snobbish attitude. She is serious and quite the good girl. Also, Mr. Knightley who is, as we are well aware, 16 years older than the young woman, looked much more like her father than her beau. We are very far from the handsome and wise landowner who captivated the heart of Miss Woodhouse.

In 1996 we were gifted with two Emma adaptations. The first casting mostly Hollywood stars with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northan in the leading roles was filled with glamor, beautiful sets and not less gorgeous costumes, If we didn’t care for Paltrow’s Emma who seemed at our eyes even more superficial than Austen’s Emma, Jeremy Northam, in the other hand is a charming delightful man. His Mr. Knightley is a success!

The ITV version, compared with the sumptuosity of the previous one, seemed more simple, especially the costumes. But the actors were for us far superior. Beckinsale’s role in Much Ado About Nothing made us fear for the worst but the young woman gave us a funny, loving and sometimes extremely annoying Emma. Snob enough to get into our nerves, but sufficiently generous to find grace at our eyes and wish her to find her HEA with the very manly Mr Knightley played by Mark Strong. Obviously a very talented actor, Strong is for us THE perfect leading man. He may not have Northan’s classical looks but his talent, his intensity and, oh my, his voice, winned us over right from the beginning. This is our favorite adaptation so far.

When we heard about a new Emma coming up produced by BBC, we were a little skeptical. Could they make something better than Beckinsale’s Emma? Well, we truly hoped so! The cast was a surprise and especially the choice of Romola Garai. Don’t take us wrong, she is a talented actress and a very pretty one but far, in our minds, from being an Emma. Jonny Lee Miller was also a surprise but we wanted to wait and see what he was capable of.
 
The opening credits and music were captivating and the first imagines let us hope for the best. After four episodes of incredibly well chosen settings and beautiful costumes (the colors!!!) we were under the charm.

And you? What is your favorite Emma adaptation and why? Don’t forget to vote in our poll but you can also leave a comment.

It’s been ages since we did our last montly discussion and we’ve been talking lately about organizing another one, this time about the new BBC Emma. Stay tunned during the 15th and 21st February if you want to share your opinions with us!

Today we decided to post a double review, since Ana T. and I had already both seen Emma and written something about it, we decided to share them both.

I just realised that I have now watched 4 versions of Emma, the BBC’s 1972 miniseries, the Paltrow, the Beckinsale and the BBC’s 2009 miniseries. None of them were perfect, with my favourite script so far being of the 1972 series and my favourite cast being from the Beckinsale movie but I can’t get enough of period dramas in general and Austen in particular, so last weekend I decided to sit down with a cup of tea and watch the new version.

I did like it as a whole, I had read lots of less than flattering things about it so I was a bit worried but I really found it a nice, if not particularly compelling series. Let’s start with the script, it was written by Sandy Welch of N&S fame, the script does change some of things in the book, or better yet we now see happening things we had just been told about. That wasn’t bad, it made it easier to understand that Emma’s penchant for matchmaking may have come from her earlier success although in the book I felt it had more to do with her status. And it makes Emma more modern in her attitudes and smiles (a lot of smiling there) and so more approachable by the audience. It also explains the big difference between Emma and both Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill who were sent away.

Where I think it fails is that it makes Emma look like a spoiled brat at times, (the picnic scene for instance) and what’s interesting about that? She may be young but she is still a dignified young lady in the book. Doesn’t mean I didn’t like Romola Garai as Emma, I did like her but I wished for a bit more dignity and the question of her relationship with Churchill should, in my opinion, have been left a bit more vague like I felt it was in the book.

Regarding Mr. Knightley I do feel that Jonny Lee Miller does a competent job of it but I wish they had chosen someone with a difference physical presence, someone stronger, looking more mature and compelling and preferently someone unknown. It’s becoming a bit odd to see always the same faces showing up. Also his confrontations with Emma are a bit too loud and straight to the point and lack Austen’s wit. I did feel Miller’s Mr. Knightley got better with time (I preferred in the last two episodes) and I particularly enjoyed him and Emma at the ball in episode 3 but I can’t help wondering what another actor would do with the role. Oh and a word for Blake Ritson’s Mr. Elton, Tamsin Greig’s Miss Bates and Jodhi May’s Mrs Weston.

What I did like a lot in this version were the settings and the costumes. Just lovely to watch and the whole series is very well lighted, the outdoors with sunny days, the beautiful buildings and gardens. It all made it a very nice experience.

So, this is a series I would recommend to all Austen and period drama fans. For me there were the reservations I mentioned above that make it a series I’ll probably watch again in the future but without the mesmerising effect of a P&P, a N&S or a Jane Eyre.

As any Jane Austen fan, I was eager to see the new Emma BBC adaptation. Until now, my favorite was Kate Beckinsale’s and while I was convinced it would be difficult to do better, there was hope for something outstanding, something that would surprise me and knock my socks off. The result wasn’t quite what I expected, nerveless I did enjoy revisiting Jane Austen world.

The story happens somewhere in the beginning of the 19th century in Highborn, a small village in England. Emma Woodhouse is a rather proud young lady who imagines herself as the perfect matchmaker. Her family is healthy and respected and as the younger child she is spoiled and surrounded by people who admire her. Miss Taylor, her governess and later her companion, can’t find any fault with the enchanting and lively girl.

When Miss Taylor becomes Mrs Weston, Emma tries to find a new friend. In one of her visits to Mrs Goddard’s School she notices a charming young woman, Harriet Smith. Not much is known about her except she has a mysterious protector who always paid for her expenses. Emma immediately thinks her future friend might be the illegitimate daughter of a gentleman and decides to take her under her wing.

After the success of her matchmaking schemes with the new Weston couple, Emma is convinced she can find the perfect husband for Harriet. Her first choice is the new reverend, Mr Elton… But she will learn the hard way that her wishes are not always the right ones for the people she loves.

Emma is one of my least favorite books by Jane Austen, just after Mansfield Park. She is the kind of heroine difficult to warm up at first, her proud attitude and snobbish comments don’t make the task easier. In this new adaptation, they manage to give her a mischievous and free caring attitude that quite suits the character and shows her in a much more sympathetic light. If I was not entirely convinced by Romola Garaï’s choice, her bright smile and bouncing blonde curls showed me a more immature side of her Emma that is easier forgiven.

My main complain is the lack of screen time of Mr. Knightley. Is there a need to explain to screenplay writers that Austen’s men are one of the strong points in her novels? I felt Jonny Lee Miller gave us a wonderful performance but certainly he could have been even better if he had the chance.

Harriet Smith was probably the most annoying character in the series. If she’s gentle and sweet, she’s also too insecure and easy manipulated. She gets in and out of love for three different men in a year without much thought. Her permanent whining is something that got a bit on my nerves…

A curious fact about Jodhi May who played already in a period drama with Romola Garaï – Daniel Deronda. There she was the young and beautiful Mirah Lapidoth and Garaï played the spoiled and selfish Gwendolen Harleth, both were about the same age. Strangely, here they must have 20 years of difference…

The cast was well chosen but nobody really stands out… Everyone was at the right place, in the right time. The costumes and surrounding were beautiful, as always with BBC.

In the end, this was a good adaptation that certainly wins after being watched a couple of times, it grows on you without you noticing.

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We leave you with the promo video:

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1366312/