Emma.
Directed by Autumn de Wilde
Screenplay by Eleanor Catton, based on the novel by Jane Austen
Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn, Bill Nighy, Mia Goth and Josh O’Connor
MPAA Rating: PG for brief partial nudity
Running time 2 hours 4 minutes

by Audrey Callerstrom

There’s a moment in the latest adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma. when we witness George Knightley (Johnny Flynn) getting dressed. Mr. Knightley, nude from the waist down, tucks in the long tails of his shirt, slips his pants over his bare butt and puts on his boots and top hat. How often in these Austen-era films do we even get to see a man going about his day-to-day in such an intimate manner? Small moments like seeing Mr. Knightley get dressed are novel in this regard. After all, this adaptation, called Emma. (or as Twitter calls it, “Emma period”) is directed by a woman, photographer Autumn de Wilde (who photographed the album cover for Beck’s Sea Change, among others). Still, aside from this fresh approach, and aside from the rich textiles, this is an adaptation of Emma that limps from moment-to-moment, almost as if each character anticipates the next development in the 200-year-old story.

To redirect you from the previous paragraph, let’s step back to 1996. No, not to Clueless, that came out in 1995. In 1996, Gwyneth Paltrow played the titular character in Douglas McGrath’s Emma, and she was terrific. She was charming, pouty, annoying, sweet, spoiled, thoughtful, and foolish, all the things the character was meant to be. From moment to moment, you’re with her. You’re never distanced from her in any way; you are always in her world. Her friendship with Harriet Smith (Toni Collette) develops organically. When she makes a social gaffe during a picnic, it’s cringeworthy. Apparently at the time that it came out, audiences were surprised to find out Paltrow wasn’t English, she was that good.

This is what the current Emma. is missing. Anya Taylor-Joy, of The VVitch and Split, is too stoic and distant as Emma Woodhouse. Her default expression is “I am listening to you right now,” and there’s little understanding of her actions and behaviors. She’s never the center of her own world. Moreover, she is like a planet that other characters orbit around, including her father, Mr. Woodhouse (Bill Nighy), Mr. Knightley and her new friend/project, Harriet Smith (Mia Goth). It’s hard to tell if this is because of Joy’s performance, or because of how the film is directed, but it’s likely both, and unfortunately the success of a film like this depends on the lead’s performance. This isn’t to say that there aren’t stand out performances. Nighy is amusing, if underused. Mia Goth is sweet as a bumbling, naïve Harriet. The best performance, by far, comes from Flynn, and the film moves and breathes when he’s on screen. He’s sexy, he’s cranky, you can see the subtle moments of his desire for Emma peek through, even when he’s silently hunched in a chair. But when he’s not in a scene, things slow down.

Emma. does look gorgeous, and the art direction and the costumes are lush. With each new scene comes promise of new outfits, new jewelry, new upholstered couches and paintings. The piping on Emma’s color looks like frosting. Many scenes take place in a gorgeous fabric store, which acts like the office water cooler, where gossip is exchanged and plot developments are revealed. The store is all rose-pink, and the drawers of fabric are illustrated in hand-painted cursive. I was in the theater at the time, but I wanted to pause it.  What do those drawers say? How long did it take them to design this fabric store together? Where did costume designer Alexandra Byrne draw her inspirations from for these elegant collars? Can I pull off an empire-waist dress? Who is Johnny Flynn, and where do I know him from? (Answer: He has a small part in the Clouds of Sils Maria). If you are a die-hard Austen fan, by all means, I won’t get in your way. You will enjoy this film. If not, skip this version and watch the Paltrow one, which is currently streaming across multiple platforms.