A story about this — 4 years ago
As much as I adore Gwyneth Paltrow, this adaptation wasn’t very good. Perhaps it was because I had just finished reading the actual book a week ago, so the whole story was still rather fresh on my mind, but I felt that too many corners were cut and the whole wonderful story of Miss Woodhouse and the people of Highbury was rather rushed through. Of course that’s the case with every adaptation, so much has to be squeezed in such a tiny amount of time.
I didn’t quite like the character of Emma, she wasn’t as composed and rational as she is portrayed in the book. Her frenzy over the possibility of Mr. Knightley loving Harriet instead of her was just beyond amazing, I couldn’t believe they made her act like that. And the way she was daydreaming of the said Mr. Knightley before he confessed his love to her – the way it was portrayed was just… not right. Certainly Emma had dear feelings towards Mr. Knightley, but she didn’t show them like, say, Harriet. Overall, I’d say the Emma Austen had written was much more gracious than this film-Emma (it’s not Gwyneth Paltrow’s fault, she was very charming).
On the other hand, I really liked Jeremy Northam, he was a very good Mr. Knightley, though I had imagined him to be a bit more serious still, perhaps. Nevertheless, an enjoyable performance.
I do think this version of Emma could have been better, although it wasn’t a complete disappointment. It made me realise that I actually like Emma (the book) a lot more than I had previously thought, I might even like it almost as much as Pride and Prejudice. :)
