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Emma (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Harriet (Mia Goth) speak of love too often.
Sandra Olmsted’s Cinematic Skinny: de Wilde’s “Emma.”
Jane Austin Returns in
Autumn de Wilde’s
Deliciously Wry “Emma.”
by Sandra Olmsted
According to debut-director Autumn de Wilde of “Emma.”, her influences include “Bringing Up Baby” and John Hughes’s coming-of-age films; however, a nod to “Clueless” (1995), the transportation of Jane Austin’s classic to modern American high school’s click society, is also due. Emma (expertly played by Anya Taylor-Joy) is again the self-absorbed and self-righteous young woman who believes she alone knows what is best for everyone, especially in terms of romance. In addition to sticking close to Austin’s original text, De Wilde and screenwriter Eleanor Catton also set their film in the appropriate time period.
The lovely Emma, who has had very little “to vex” her during her 21 years, decides that she can match make like no one else in her small, privileged, country society. Although she tells herself she isn’t interested in romance for herself, she seems determined to match everyone else off and save the mysteriously absent Frank Churchill (Callum Turner) for herself. De Wilde and Catton’s plot follows the quaint intrigues of this age and of Emma’s matchmaking, while providing a commentary on Emma’s self-assuredness and snobbery in the excellent performance of Johnny Flynn, as George Knightley, Emma’s neighbor, childhood friend, and harshest critic. If the dance they share is any indication, George may be the one with whom Emma has the greatest chemistry, and de Wilde’s understanding of dance in the courtship rituals of the period and detailed direction puts their chemistry on full display.
What Austin’s “Emma” lacks in story, it more than makes up for in the opportunity for the wry observational humor of de Wilde and the nuanced performance of Catton’s script by a stellar cast expertly directed by deWilde. True to her background in rock photography and music videos, De Wilde focuses on the look and feel of the textures of not only the sets and costumes but also of the subtleties of the story and dialogue. The mixtures of soft fabrics and fluffy feathers against the many marble and granite interior settings symbolize the silliness of Emma and her strikingly resilient backbone of self-assurance. In the bucolic outdoor settings, Emma frequently reveals her true self, either delivering an uncharacteristically cruel but accurate summation of Mrs. Bates (Miranda Hart) or breaking down under the full realization of her own limitations and failures.
Austin’s Emma portrays a time when protective rest and careful avoidance of any illness was important to survival, and Bill Nighy, as Mr. Woodhouse, Emma’s father, portrays this with his limited dialogue regarding his fear of drafts. His amazing nuanced performance, however, illustrates the power of cinema to convey meaning in comic glances and small gestures. The moment he comforts the distraught Emma, who has finally accepted her failures, by sitting silently beside her, is simply beautiful.
When Jane Fairfax (Amber Anderson), Emma’s chief rival for most accomplished young woman, returns home to the village, the pressure for each to find their perfect match among the limited choices available ramps up, and Emma, Jane, George, and Frank vie for attention from promising prospects for romance and marriage. Meanwhile, Harriet Smith (Mia Goth), the younger, orphaned friend of questionable birth confesses to Emma that she has fallen in love with every man who speaks to her after Emma, who has taken Harriet under her wing, discourages Harriet from accepting the proposal of Mr. Martin (Connor Swindells), a local farmer of good means. After Mr. Elton (Josh O’Connor), the local minister, marries someone else, Harriet mistaking kindness and polite conversation for love leads Emma to forego some potential love interests for Harriet’s sake leading to situations worthy of any screwball comedy. Taylor-Joy’s performance as the nearly predatory and often shown as unblinking is matched by Goth’s wide-eyed appearance and innate innocence, which makes their performances and interactions scene-stealing tours de force.
“Emma.” which includes the period at the end, is a film that taps into its source material as the original prototype for much of what is called romantic comedy today and into the power of cinema to express the nuanced without the wordiness of dialogue, which is a retro trend in modern cinema — to recapture the forgotten power of silent cinema, and de Wilde nails it. The one flaw in the whole film, and one which annoying takes the viewer out of the film, is de Wilde’s portrayal of the girls from the local school as walking in tandem dressed in red capes which easily, and hopefully accidentally, provides an associated with “The Handmaid’s Tale.” “Emma.” is a Focus Features release, which is rated PG for brief partial nudity and runs a spritely 125 minutes. “Emma.” is in theaters now and well worth seeing.
