Jan. 16, 2025

I’ve heard it said that the titles of Jane Austen’s famous novels are the main issues that cause the protagonists' struggles throughout the book. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy’s main problems in their relationship are their pride and prejudices, which prevent them from seeing the good in one another for most of the book. If you put this statement against Austen’s novel, Emma, it seems that the main issue is the protagonist herself, and honestly, I would wholeheartedly agree. 

Emma Woodhouse (played by Anya Taylor-Joy) is a young, wealthy woman living in her home, Hartfield, located close to the village of Highbury. At the beginning of the story, Emma finds success in matchmaking after pairing her governess Miss Taylor (Gemma Whelan), with a man in the town. This success gives Emma a love for matchmaking and she then spends the rest of the movie wreaking havoc, albeit accidentally, while trying to pair her new friend, Harriet Smith (Mia Goth), with a fitting suitor. As she meddles in her friend’s love life, Emma ends up causing problems with practically everyone she knows and things don’t get better until she finally listens to the advice of her close friend, Mr. Knightly (Johnny Flynn). In the end, Emma mends the problems she caused, giving her and her friend Harriet the happily ever afters that they dreamed of.

I’m personally obsessed with Pride and Prejudice but until this Christmas break, I had not gotten around to watching any of the other adaptations of her books. I’m so glad I watched Emma because it was a truly entertaining movie with a fun, easy-to-follow plot, and wonderful acting. I started the book as soon as I finished the movie and so far, it seems that the movie was made with incredible accuracy, with much of the dialogue being directly from the book. I will admit, at first, I was a little skeptical of the movie because the character interactions seemed a bit stiff or strange, but as the movie progressed it got better and I think it was an intentional choice by the directors to have the awkwardness set a tone of the properness of the society Emma is in. Overall, I really enjoyed the movie. I think it is a wonderful adaptation of a classic and it was very funny watching all of the miscommunication that Emma caused (though a little stressful). If you are a fan of romantic comedies, period dramas, and Jane Austen, I would highly recommend this movie.