ReviewEmma film review: Anya Taylor-Joy brings Jane Austen novel to life in beautiful adaptation
- This new adaptation by rock photographer turned director Autumn de Wilde has a cast of colourful characters
- Taylor-Joy and Mia Goth both shine in their roles, and the set and costume designs are the icing on the cake
3.5/5 stars
Jane Austen’s Regency-era novel Emma – published in 1815 – gets a sprightly new adaptation from debut director Autumn de Wilde. A former rock band photographer, de Wilde brings a subtle musicality to the film, which last made it to the big screen almost 25 years ago with Gwyneth Paltrow playing Austen’s heroine.
Here, Emma Woodhouse is played by Anya Taylor-Joy, the wide-eyed young star who made such a bright impression in The Witch and M. Night Shyamalan’s Split . Emma is a role that requires a diplomatic touch, but Taylor-Joy brings just the right amount of spikiness to this naive but well-to-do young lady with a penchant for matchmaking.
Set in a world of refined early 19th century English drawing rooms, Emma offers a colourful carousel of characters as brightly shaded as Alexandra Byrne’s radiant costumes. Living with her father (Bill Nighy), who frets comically about the health of others, Emma is frequently visited by Mr Knightley (Johnny Flynn), a reserved but respected gentleman who takes a rather dim view of her rash behaviour.
Other men that come into her orbit include the clergyman Mr Elton (Josh O’Connor) and the dashing Frank Churchill (Callum Turner), but Emma claims she has no interest in marriage. She’s more concerned with interfering in the love lives of others, notably her new friend Harriet (Mia Goth, perfect), who receives a marriage proposal from a kindly but lower-class farmer.