When Jane Austen introduced Emma Woodhouse, the eponymous title character in her 1816 novel Emma, she wrote the following:
“I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.”
The new adaptation of Emma. was released into theaters last weekend. Stepping in the shoes of Highbury’s queen bee is Anya Taylor-Joy. Unlike Austen’s other heroines, Emma is not hard up for cash and is not looking for a husband. She spends her days tending to her hypochondriac father, Mr. Woodhouse (Bill Nighy) and arguing with her neighbor and longtime friend, George Knightley (Johnny Flynn).
She also thinks that she is a matchmaker. When one of her matches leads to a successful marriage, Emma starts to believe that she has the magic touch when it comes to marriage and romance. She will soon find out how wrong she is.
I loved this adaptation. Director Autumn de Wilde adds delicious-looking pops of color while screenwriter Eleanor Catton kept as close to Austen cannon as she could have gotten. It is a joyful, hilarious and absolutely wonderful film.
I absolutely recommend it.
Emma. is presently in theaters.
-Adina Bernstein