Emma (film)

""One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.""

Despite not having Pride and Prejudice level popularity, Emma has inspired not one or two, but four straight adaptations currently available, and quite a few slant ones. These adaptations tend to provoke rather violent flamewars, though it seems to have calmed down a bit since the 2009 miniseries was made.

The various versions of Emma are:

1972 miniseries


The BBC adapted Emma as part of their general habit of doing Jane Austen novels every ten to twenty years. Starred Doran Godwin as Emma and John Carson as Mr. Knightley.

These tropes find their match in this film:

 * Adaptation Expansion: Though ostensibly faithful to the novel, the writer actually expanded many things - from Emma's early prattle making her seem almost like a Miss Bates wannabe, to Mr. Elton's reading to Emma and Harriet during the portrait painting (mentioned but not shown in the novel). Interestingly, the strawberry picking at Donwell and the outing to Box Hill are combined into one day, though each is again stretched by the writer.
 * Dawson Casting: Humorously, not for Emma herself (though Godwin does appear more mature than her 22 years), but John Carson was 45, eight years older than Mr. Knightley's 37 (and it shows).

1996 film


Written and directed by Douglas McGrath for Miramax films, the film starred Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma and Jeremy Northam as Mr. Knightley.

These tropes find their match in this film:
"Emma: Oh dear!
 * Adaptation Dye Job: In the novel, Emma, in a rare physical description by Jane Austen, has "the true hazel eye." Gwyneth Paltrow, on the other hand, has definitely blue eyes, which were highlighted in promotional materials (such as the CD score cover).
 * Gaussian Girl: Emma frequently appears as such, especially when writing in her diary, thinking about.
 * Incredibly Lame Pun:

Mr. Knightley: What's that?

Emma: Oh, ah, something about the ah, deer...we need...for the venison stew."


 * Pragmatic Adaptation: Several devices are used to make the film more cinematic, such as the beautiful opening with the spinning model globe. Additionally, the Harriet plot is emphasized to the near-exclusion of the Frank Churchill sections. Various elements such as the archery scene, the diaries, and the conversations with Mrs. Weston also indicate the choices deemed necessary to translate the story.
 * : Because of the expansion of the Harriet sections, the.
 * Younger and Hipper: Jeremy Northam was only a few years younger than Mr. Knightley, but partly due to Gwyneth Paltrow's height, he was often perceived as "exactly the same age as Emma" (to quote Anthony Lane of The New Yorker).

1996 telefilm


ITV's telefilm starring Kate Beckinsale as Emma, Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley, and Olivia Williams as Jane Fairfax. The brainchild of the landmark 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice team of writer Andrew Davies and producer Sue Birtwistle.

These tropes find their match in this film:

 * Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Though not directly spelled out in the telefilm, Andrew Davies gave a version of this to Frank Churchill. Instead of the somewhat careless charmer of the novel, Davies believes that Frank is a sociopath who hates women as a result of his mother's death (viewed as abandonment) and his aunt's controlling personality.
 * Adaptation Distillation: Though Emma is the second longest Austen novel and this telefilm is only an hour and 47 minutes long, Andrew Davies does a great job at keeping nearly all the relevant dialogue, scenes, and events. The resultant film is very faithful in event and general tone, but much, much faster paced. A few integrations of filmic techniques are seen in the use of Emma's imaginations being visualized, and the ending shades into Pragmatic Adaptation with the combination of events into a Harvest Festival.
 * Author Appeal: Screenwriter Andrew Davies tends to alter or adapt one older male character in his screeplays to a recognizable type of friendly, sociable, homebody fellow - in Emma, it's Mr. Weston, who in the novel is something of a clueless social butterfly, but here pipes in with a few words on the joys of marriage and home life.
 * Dream Sequence: Emma's daydreams and matchmaking scenarios often appear via this device - usually with hilariously over-the-top dream music, flower petals, slow motion, and first person point of view.
 * Dueling Movies: Was being filmed at the same time that the McGrath/Paltrow/Northam film was in theaters. Came out in the same year in the UK. Also something of a meta-situation, since six Jane Austen films came out from 1995-1996.
 * Genki Girl: Though not as pronounced as Romola Garai's 2009 Emma, Kate Beckinsale's Emma is described in the screenplay as possessing bouncing arrogance and energy. Additionally, when she thinks her scheme between Harriet and Mr. Elton is succeeding, she gives a very cheerful bounce as she walks towards her house.4
 * Nightmare Sequence: In a counterpart to her dreams, Emma's worst fears also play out in her dreams when.
 * Smug Snake: Frank Churchill. Per the changes noted above, his character has some significant lines in this vein.

2009 miniseries


The BBC returned to Emma after nearly four decades, scripted by Sandy Welch (though they had planned a follow-up to Pride and Prejudice in 1996, cancelled when the other two versions were announced - a project which was also supposed to be scripted by Sandy Welch). Starred Romola Garai as Emma, Jonny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley, and Michael Gambon as Mr. Woodhouse.

These tropes find their match in this film:

 * Adaptation Expansion: The series takes several elements from the novel which are mostly understated, such as Emma's teenage years, the connections between Emma, Frank, and Jane's childhoods, Emma's never having seen the sea, and Mr. Woodhouse's fears for his daughters, and expands them into subplots.
 * Author Appeal: Screenwriter Sandy Welch follows a similar pattern to her previous literary adaptations in many ways. She keeps the four-episode structure from Our Mutual Friend, North and South, and Jane Eyre. Additionally, like Jane Eyre, she approaches Emma's story through her childhood.
 * Dawson Casting: Romola Garai was 26, five years older than Emma's 21 (and a decade older than Emma at 16, in the prologue of the film).
 * Early Bird Cameo: Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill appear in the prologue as children, emphasizing their importance in the story much earlier than most adaptations do. Perhaps justified since the material adapted does appear quite early in the novel, but Jane and Frank do not appear in person in the novel until the second volume, and both appear first as adults in the second episode of the miniseries.
 * Genki Girl: Garai's Emma is prone to do everything very energetically.
 * Hey It's That Guy: Mr. Woodhouse is Albus Dumbledore!
 * Lens Flare: In the 2009 BBC series, after Emma insults Miss Bates, the camera tracks down her face after a sleepless night, and the rising sun flares. Also, in the third episode, as Mr. Knightley walks across the field.
 * Overprotective Dad: Michael Gambon plays an extremely gentle version of this character. While Mr. Woodhouse is something of this trope in the novel and all adaptations, Gambon's Mr. Woodhouse explicitly speaks of his special concern for his daughters as a result of losing his wife when they were very young.
 * Younger and Hipper: Partly due to Emma's being cast at a more mature age, but Jonny Lee Miller was 34 at the time he played Mr. Knightley, and is young-looking.