Movie: Emma (The newest miniseries on Masterpiece. I'm 80)
Like/Don't Like: Coming around to it.
It's seems about time for a new Emma adaptation, right? The Gwyneth Paltrow one is old enough now to warrant it. And for the most part I liked it. It was faithful enough to the book to please any purest but added just enough imagined scenes to make it its own. The side characters were well played. Michael Gabon plays her dad and I am of the belief that you cannot go wrong by casting Dumbledore. And Johnny Lee Miller was Mr. Knightley and I have to say he has aged well. He always struck me as an uncomfortable actor in his younger days but he seems to have found his groove. Anyway, yes, all side characters well played.
My biggest gripe, and it's not that big but needs to be mentioned, was with Romola Garai, who played Emma. I thought she played her too modern, too over the top. I know that Emma is suppose to be bratty and immature, but she seemed closer to a college co-ed then a proper English lady, which, bratty aside, she also was. It could just be a personal preference on my part but I found it kind of distracting. I will say that I liked her better in the second half, which may be the whole point. Even Jane Austen said we probably wouldn't like her too much.
1 comment:
I enjoyed it, but I think I'll need to watch it again soon. I am embarrassed to admit that I have never actually read Emma, because I haven't made it past the first chapter. So I don't know how it compares to the book, but I loved that it explained why her dad was so protective. I liked that they showed Frank and Jane's backgrounds a little more. I think it was more clear in this version what a jerk Frank is, and that he's really a bad influence on Emma. I agree that this version of Emma herself seems younger and more immature. Gwenyth Paltrow is super classy, and a lot more understated than What's-her-name. It didn't bug me, because I was spending too much time trying to figure out what else I've seen that actress in. Overall, I liked it, but I probably won't buy it.
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