Emma. (2020)
Directed by Autumn de Wilde
In 1800s England, a well-meaning but selfish young woman meddles in the love lives of her friends.
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18 films that influenced Emma.
What critics say influenced Emma.
While it may not be an imaginative reboot akin to Amy Heckerling’s Clueless , Autumn De Wilde’s Emma.
They include two from 1996 starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Beckinsale; a 2009 miniseries with Romola Garai; and of course the loosely based Clueless with Alicia Silverstone from 1995.
Since then, it has been adapted for television eight times and adapted for film four times, most notably as the 1995 modern interpretation Clueless.
The most widely-known and loved are the 1996 film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, and the 1995 comedy, “Clueless,” by Amy Hecklerling and starring Alicia Silverstone as a modern-day, Beverly Hills teen.
It speaks volumes for her elastic relevance that her work is still so out there: de Wilde’s Emma. is one of numerous adaptations in a line-up that also includes the brilliant riffs of Clueless.
Emma is sort of a kindlier version of Glenn Close’s carnivorous marquis from “Dangerous Liaisons,” a self-appointed matchmaker and string-puller.
There’s a strong element of screwball comedy at play (De Wilde cites Bringing Up Baby as an inspiration alongside John Hughes’s coming-of-age movies), an approach that pays crowd-pleasing dividends, even as it reduces the complexities of the original text to a rather more caricatured screen romp.
At times, de Wilde’s deliberate pacing feels of a piece with Kubrick’s work in Barry Lyndon , acclimating the viewer to a time and place so distant from their own.
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…lifts Taylor-Joy over the top as a serious young performer in the ranks of Thomasin McKenzie (“Leave No Trace,” “Jojo Rabbit”) and Saoirse Ronan (“Lady Bird,” “Little Women”).
Taylor-Joy, star of cult horror films Thoroughbreds and The Witch, is a young actress with huge eyes, arched brows, and a bow-mouth, suggesting a predatory baby, while Flynn — staring out between his high-winged collar and under his shaggy hair — is more a hunk than the stuffed-shirt hero of the novel.
This time around, the young Emma Woodhouse is played by Anya Taylor-Joy, star of “The Witch,” in her first adult role.
With her giant eyes and air of mystery, she possibly recalls too well her unsettling roles in “The Witch” and the M. Night Shyamalan twin bill “Split” and “Glass.”
Anya Taylor-Joy ( The Witch ) plays the title character, daughter of a gentleman and most proud to be so.
This Emma is played by Anya Taylor-Joy, a young actress whose burgeoning career has already included Thoroughbreds, Glass and one of the best horror films of the last decade (The Witch).
Were Taylor-Joy not so distinctive-looking, it would be difficult to recognize her as the same actress who navigated horror films like The Witch and Split so well.
Fans of Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” (2006) will be in heaven, as will anyone who labors under the impression that being alive in Austen’s day was like dwelling inside a doll’s house, or a hatbox.
Aided by Bill Nighy‘s infectious eccentricity as Emma’s doting father, Goth’s docility, and Miranda Hart‘s somewhat desperate, yet no less loveable comedic flair as the genteel spinster Miss Bates, as well as the visual opulence of Alexandra Byrne‘s costuming (the Academy Award-winning designer of such fare as Elizabeth , Thor , and Murder on the Orient Express ) and Isobel Waller-Bridge‘s (yep, Phoebe’s sister) traditional score, Emma.
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These insufferable (albeit sometimes touchingly vulnerable) types have been character fodder for many a bitingly witty social satire through the decades, as evidenced by Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite,” and while “Emma” is a much tamer and less adventurous tale than Lanthimos’ black comedy classic, it’s a tart little gem, bolstered by a bounty of clever and winning performances.
With her giant eyes and air of mystery, she possibly recalls too well her unsettling roles in “The Witch” and the M. Night Shyamalan twin bill “Split” and “Glass.”
Were Taylor-Joy not so distinctive-looking, it would be difficult to recognize her as the same actress who navigated horror films like The Witch and Split so well.
It’s a tricky role for star Anya Taylor-Joy (Split) but she has successfully created a protagonist who is both interesting and unlikeable.
But this new one, which stars luminous star of The Witch and Split Anya Taylor-Joy (born, coincidentally, in 1996), is pitched perfectly.
As Emma, Taylor-Joy (who made such a startling debut in “The Witch” and was the best thing in both “Split” and “Glass”), perfectly channels all of these aspects—she is equal parts likable and maddening and when she does go too far by thoughtlessly unleashing a barbed comment at a character who did not deserve such treatment at all, you can genuinely feel her utter mortification at having caused someone deliberate distress.
Resulta fascinante ver a Anya ( Split , The Witch ) y Mia ( Suspiria , High Life ) en roles completamente distintos a los que han interpretado en sus cortas pero impresionantes carreras, comprobando una vez más el poder de su talento.