"Emma" : For the lovers of the classics

Emma is Jane Austen's fourth and final novel published during his lifetime. And, despite its light form, this is the most mature of her novels, it is perfectly readable and does not lose its relevance even today. Emma., Yes, that's right, with a dot at the end, the fourth film adaptation of the novel in 25 years. It is the debut directorial work of Autumn de Wilde, portrait photographer and music album designer.

Emma Woodhouse is an elegant, wealthy, independent and not at all stupid girl of twenty one years old. Living with an incredibly suspicious and "sickly" father, after leaving the house of her governess and companion Miss Taylor, she is frankly bored and amused by arranging marriages of the people around her. Emma declares that she will never get married in her life, but, nevertheless, she believes that she is well versed in matters of the heart.

Naturally, in both cases she is wrong. If Emma came out today, and not 205 years ago, it would probably be called a typical women's novel. The past years have turned a fairly simple sitcom into a funny historical and everyday novel, full of interesting details from the life of England in the era of the Regency.

The British know how to make historical costumed films, especially those dedicated to the early 19th century. Well-preserved aristocratic mansions and entire streets with two-hundred-year-old buildings allow for shooting on location, with minimal use of visual effects.

However, some scenes in Emma. amaze with some unreal, pastoral purity and a little theatrical perfection, here you can clearly feel the hand, or rather, the look, of the director-photographer. It seems that the film can be cut into separate frames and used as wallpaper on the desktop or ... covers for classical music albums of the Romantic period. Bravo, Autumn de Wilde.

The work of decorators and costume designers deserves traditional praise. And if the outfits of Emma and her friends, fettered by a rather simple fashion of classicism, are simply beautiful, then men's suits flaunting the most incredible and insane colors are something.

As is always the case with film adaptations, the main question is to what extent the filmmakers will get into the images that have already formed in the minds of readers, especially since the role of Emma was once played by such good actresses as Alicia Silverstone, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Beckinsale. Well, we should pay tribute to the casting specialists - Anya Taylor-Joy just perfectly fits the image, the best Emma Woodhouse was not worth dreaming about.

Facial expressions, gestures, head tilt, manner of speaking - it seems that Jane Austen's character just came to life. Anya Taylor-Joy is generally a great fellow, she plays some scenes of the film practically without words, with only facial expressions and barely noticeable movements of her eyes and chin. However, here it is worth giving credit to the director and the director of photography, who managed to show these nuances. Yes,

As for the rest of the actors, although not all of them fall into the characters prescribed by Jane Austen, they are incredibly colorful and hilarious. Bill Nighy, for example, does not at all look like the book Mr. Woodhouse, but his every appearance in the frame brings a smile, and the actor's characteristic manner of acting brings this character to life incredibly.

Musician Johnny Flynn, leader of the folk-rock band Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit, despite our fears, was very appropriate in the image of George Knightley. In his interpretation, George Knightley is closer to Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. By the way, attentive viewers will notice that many of the features that Leo Tolstoy endowed the hero of "Anna Karenina" by Konstantin Levin borrowed from George Knightley.

Good at Emma. and supporting actors. Rupert Graves (Inspector Lestrade in Sherlock) transformed into a slightly awkward Mr. Weston; Gemma Whelan (Asha Greyjoy in Game of Thrones) as sweet and sensible Mrs. Weston; Tanya Reynolds (Lilly from Sex Education ) - to vulgar Mrs. Elton; Josh O'Connor (Prince Charles in the third season of The Crown ) - in the narcissistic Mr. Elton; Callum Turner (Anatol Kuragin in War & Peace ) is good as dandy Frank Churchill. An excellent acting ensemble.

Emma. very similar to its main character. She is beautiful, funny, a little naive, sometimes eccentric and a little narcissistic. And incredibly cute. Yes, I am aware that not everyone loves the adaptation of classic British novels, but ... give "Emma" and Jane Austen a chance.

One can argue for a long time which of the Jane Austen adaptations deserves the title of the best. Well, my personal favorite, Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice, starring the gorgeous Keira Knightley, remains at the top of the podium (I watched this film three times, including in the original language, which I highly recommend to everyone).

---