Just Been To See... Emma!

This week I went to see the newest film version of Emma. It has been filmed several times, for the big screen and the small, including a modern version set in a Hollywood high school, Clueless.  

I read the novel years ago, so have forgotten many of the details, but who can forget the storyline? In case you haven’t read or seen it, it’s Jane Austen’s tale of Emma Woodhouse, a rich young woman who had a single success in matchmaking, of her governess, and now thinks she can do it for others. Unfortunately, she merely interferes in other people’s lives, including a naive young girl, Harriet Smith, whom she persuades to reject the young farmer who loves her, and whom she loves, in favour of someone of a higher class. Also, she is so busy trying to matchmake others that she nearly misses her own chance at happiness. This being Jane Austen, everything is sorted out, on time for a happy ending for all. 

So, how did this film work out? Very well! It was beautifully presented, gorgeous period costume and scenery, and though I only recognised two of the cast, the others did fine. I think Toni Collette, who played Harriet last time, was a bit old for the part. This one really looked like someone hanging around with schoolgirls, though she is in her twenties. The music, by Isobel Waller-Bridge, was charming, but there was also traditional music, including folk songs sung by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band. 

I’m a huge fan of Maddy Prior, whom I first heard singing with the delectable folk-rock band Steeleye Span, and I have some of her Carnival Band albums, recorded after Steeleye Span went their separate ways, so it was delightful to hear her singing traditional English folk tunes. 

The two cast members I recognised were Bill Nighy, who was a delight as Emma’s father, and Gemma Whelan as Mrs Weston, Emma’s former governess and her one successful bit of matchmaking. 

You probably know Bill Nighy from all those big name films he has done over the years, eg Love, Actually, which I confess I have mostly missed, plus, of course, he was the Van Gogh exhibition curator in that Matt Smith episode of Doctor Who, in which he got to tell Vincent how wonderful he was, when the Doctor took him briefly to the future to cheer him up. But the first time I heard - not saw - him was as Sam Gamgee in the radio play of Lord Of The Rings, playing as the faithful companion of Frodo, Ian Holm, who went on to play Bilbo in the film. And I rather suspect that Sean Astin used that voice and accent as the basis for his own(He hadn’t read the book, so listened to the radio play). He was William Nighy in that. 

Gemma Whelan was in the Shakespeare sitcom Upstart Crow as Kate, the daughter of Shakespeare’s landlord, who wants desperately to act in his plays, though he keeps telling her that women are not allowed on stage. Kate is not dumb, either; she makes some good points about the absurdity of some of his work, and is never conned for long by the various con artists who appear in the series. She usually figures it out well before Shakespeare does. 

As Mrs Weston, a woman Emma admires and feels a lot of affection for, Gemma Whelan has just the right feel of kindliness, and the right sweet face. 

The film is true to the spirit of the novel, and I did recognise many of the lines from the book. 

Do you have a book-based film that you love because it’s true to at least the spirit of the original?