Emma [1996] - DVD (Gwyneth Paltrow, James Cosmo, Greta Scacchi, Alan Cumming, Denys Hawthorne - Dir: Douglas McGrath)

Most people didn't mind Gwyneth Paltrow's English accent in this charming, 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen's novel (which also inspired Clueless). But even if it doesn't sound quite right to you, there are plenty of authentic and wonderful Brit thespians in this film by screenwriter-turned-director Douglas McGrath (co-author of Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway), including Juliet Stevenson (Truly Madly Deeply), Alan Cumming (Buddy), Phyllida Law (Much Ado About Nothing), Ewan McGregor (the Scots star of Trainspotting), and Sophie Thompson, outstanding and finally heartbreaking as the chattering Miss Bates. Paltrow plays Austen's benign busybody, Emma Woodhouse--so busy trying to arrange the lives of others that she is sidestepping her own. McGrath brings a kind of pretty and light touch to the production, his best move the wise delegation of creative authority to the actors themselves. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews of Emma [1996]

Elizabeth Simmons
Brentwood, UK
26th July 2008

Enjoyable but could have been better ...
What makes this version of Emma enjoyable is the exquisite costumes, locations and colour. I love the portrayals of Miss Bates, Mr & Mrs Elton & Mrs Weston (or poor Miss Taylor). Gwyneth Paltrow makes a pleasant Emma, but although I love her as an actress, I don't think she has really identified with the character of Emma. I am not convinced of Harriet Smith or Frank Churchill either, they are just not authentic to the characters. Mr Knightley is just about passable. The main problem with this is that the story has been severely condensed and I feel alot of the important scenes in the book have been dropped, which has greatly reduced the effect of the story. The TV version starring Kate Beckinsale & Mark Strong have much stronger character portrayals and a much more faithful storyline. This version is ok for a bit of fluff but if you really want to delight in wonderful story telling of Jane Austen, I would recommend the Kate Beckinsale version.

armchair critic

16th April 2008

Lovely, romantic, yet disappointing
Because of its high Amazon rating, I first purchased the ITV production of Emma with Kate Beckinsale. Although that production is laudible in many ways, I felt it was lacking in a few crucial areas, so I thought I would give the Hollywood version a try. After all, I think the Keira Knightly Pride and Prejudice is absolutely beautiful even with its variances from the book and the styles of the period .

Well, the good news is that Gwyneth Paltrow creates a wonderfully sympathetic Emma, which is no small task. Unlike Miss Beckinsale's portrayal, one really understands why a man like Mr. Knightley loves her so well. Furthermore, (unlike the ITV verstion) the scenes of Emma's distress at losing Mr. Knightley and Mr. Knightley's delclaration of love are wonderfully and romantically done. One really pities Emma in her distress and rejoices with her in her happiness.

More good news is that Ewan McGregor plays a fine Mr. Knightley. His portrayal is very genteel and amiable, and winning in its own right. I also liked Mark Strong's more outspoken portrayal in the ITV version, but I did not miss it.

I am affraid however that that is where the good news ends. I won't even bother to look up the name of the actress who played Harriet. The director did her no favors by casting her (a supposedly teen-age Harriet who looks like she's had a face lift) and protraying her as such a dumpy simpleton. Other characterisations among the smaller characters bothered me, too, but that was the worst.

In short, I own 2 Emma productions and I am happy with neither. If you must purchase an Emma, the ITV production is better for over-all artistry, and this one is better in tems of sympathy and romance. I personally am still waiting for the next production, whenever that comes, and in the meanwhile I'll re-read the book.

Grottis

17th March 2008

This movie bored me
I have to say that I expected more out of this movie. Paltrow is a great actress but not even here could see lift the movie. It was nicely filmed and had good actors... Well I don't know... maybe the storyline was thin or the fact that you couldn't feel the emotions in the people. All in all, the movie bored me.

Susan E. Wyld
West Midlands, Uk
5th March 2008

Brilliantly done, Emma, brilliantly done...........
This a great feel-good film and one which I always reach for when I want some light entertainment and romance. I also love the Kate Beckinsale version and usually I always have a preference for one or other where there are two adaptations of a story to pick from, but in this case they really are on a par. They are individual pieces, both very well made with much to recommend them.

Although this is a Hollywood version, with lavish costumes and beautiful settings, it is not over-glitzy or modernized in any way. Gwyneth Paltrow, who I always like, plays a brilliant character with elegant poise and a perfect english accent. Emma is the most frivolous and perhaps least easy to like of all Austen's heroines, but she manages to play her in such a way as to make the viewer understand and love her all the same. By the end, she has matured and learnt so much and it is the natural progression for her to realise her feelings for Mr Knightly and marry him.

The story is packed with humour as Emma sets about match-making and meddling in the lives of almost everyone she meets, ultimately resulting in disaster. The scene at Box Hill is brilliantly done and is definitely a highlight of the show. The proposal scene with Mr Elton is also hilarious. Ewan McGregor is perfect as the dashing but roguish Frank Churchill and Sophie Thompson captures the ridiculous but loveable Miss Bates. Also look out for a fleeting glimpse of Corrie's Richard Hillmann (Brian Capron) as John Knightly.

Time and Tide
France
22nd February 2008

Annoying and shallow
The intelligence and wry humour of Jane Austen just went WHOOSH over the heads of the makers of this version. Gwyneth Paltrow has no clue.

Buy the Kate Beckinsale version.