Douglas McGrath’s Emma 1996 Movie Review
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McGrath’s Emma 1996
Runtime- 2hr
Air date- August 30th, 1996
Director- Douglas McGrath
Writers- Douglas McGrath
Filming locations- Highbury Village, England, UK
Where to watch- stream on Paramount+, Prime Video Channels, or rent/buy on Amazon Prime Video
Starring Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma Woodhouse
One of the two Emma adaptations that came out in 1996, which one is better?
Thoughts
Honestly, my bias became more apparent as I started watching Emma adaptations. I do my best to give reviews as fair as I can and to try not to compare too much to other works. I try my best to see the artistic view, see if the themes and how well meshed the film in respect to the book. This have been a challenge for me since there has been two adaptations that came out relatively close to each other. It has been really hard to not compare the two.
This adaptation has been deemed the more popular one, and I can see why. Many others think that this version is subpar compared to the other. I think this is a great adaptation of Emma. I saw that they put a lot of the important moments from the book and were translated well into film. Though some changes were made in the film, it made it so that it flowed well for a two-hour movie.
Another thing I liked about this adaptation is that the characters, especially Emma, are not so black and white. They come off well rounded, neither good nor bad, which is the reality of people’s character.
Emma Woodhouse
I like how Gwyneth Paltrow portrayed Emma in this film. Emma is a young woman who is stuck in her own world. She is naive to how others act and only notices behaviors that align with her beliefs. I liked that she made efforts to be good, though kindness was a trait she had to learn to be more aware of. She was a bit of a mean girl with a more manipulative side to make her ideas come to fruition. A complex character that had major growth.
Mr. Knightley
I like Mr. Knightley as well. He is critical of her behavior, but he also is her friend. The film showed their bickering and friendship which gave them a dynamic relationship. He also shows many times compassion for others too.
Making Amends
I think the only major flaw I found in this adaptation is that Emma did not make much of an effort to make amends to people she has wronged. Miss Bate and Jane Fairfax, Emma made maybe two attempts and then writes how they will probably change their feelings soon. Same with Harriet Smith, though a silly girl, felt a bit betrayed upon finding out that Emma and Mr. Knightley were to wed. No efforts were made on her part to fix this, and in the end, everyone was on good terms with Emma and she made little to no progress to try to make amends to them. I get the book was a bit like this too, but I felt like there was more effort put in rather than little to none and then proclaiming that they will turn around soon.
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
