Movie Reviews

Movie Review: “Emma.” Is The Delightful Romance Film That We Need


 

In 1800s England, a well-meaning but selfish young woman meddles in the love lives of her friends.

“Emma.” is the latest Jane Austen adaptation that follows Ana Taylor-Joy as the titular character who is caught in a love triangle (but is really more like a love heptagon) between Mr. Nightley (Johnny Flynn) and Mr. Churchill (Callum Turner).

To expand on my love heptagon comment, the romances in this film can be a bit convoluted and difficult to follow. Along with the main love triangle, there’s Emma’s friend, Harriet (Mia Goth), Emma’s competitor, Jane Fairfax (Amber Anderson), a preacher, Mr. Elton (Josh O’Connor), and a farmer, Mr. Martin (Connor Swindells) who are caught up in their own romantic wooings.

As someone who was unfamiliar with the story and has never read a Jane Austen novel before, love triangles usually make me want to barf. They are a tired story device, but I do enjoy them when they are done well. And though “Emma.” has a love heptagon in its story, I think overall it was handled well. As said before, it was a bit difficult at first to follow all of these characters, but the back-and-forth between them all was thoroughly entertaining, and everyone ultimately gets their happy ending.

Taylor-Joy was very charming as Emma. The relationship that I responded to the most was her and Harriet’s friendship. She cares greatly for her friend, and though she ends up meddling in her love life, she just wants to make sure that Harriet is taken care of. It’s refreshing to see Taylor-Joy take on this type of role as I’ve only seen her in horror films up to this point. The character of Emma is a whole other animal for her. She is proper, snobby, and has a bit of a superiority complex. But though she can be a bit of a mean girl, you still root for her.

It’s also worth noting that “Emma.” is a comedy as well as a romance. That mostly comes from three characters – Mr. Elton, Emma’s eccentric father (played brilliantly by Bill Nighy), and Miss Bates (Miranda Hart), who doesn’t know when to stop talking. They were the ones to brought in the most laughs, mostly because these three characters are awkward in one way or another. I must admit that I thought the acting was superb in this film, especially from the talented, young cast. And if you watch British television, you will see a few familiar faces, some of the stars from popular Netflix show “Sex Education” appear in this film as well as Lestrade from the BBC series “Sherlock.”

And as usual with Jane Austen film adaptations, you can expect beautiful costumes and elegant production design to capture the era. The movie’s color palette was very bright, which added to the lighthearted nature of the film. This is also director Autumn de Wilde’s first feature and she somehow manages comedy, characters, and romantic tension effortlessly.

The last decent romance film that I’ve seen was Netflix’s “Always Be My Maybe,” and I liked “Emma.” a bit more than that film due to the great acting, comedy, and overall charm. So, while “Emma.” can be a rollercoaster ride at times, it’s one that is sure to delight you and make you laugh along the way.

 

In Theaters Friday, February 28th

 

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Isabelle Anguiano

Isabelle is a film critic who was born and raised in Dallas. She graduated with a BA in Media Arts with a minor in Spanish at the University of North Texas. To Isabelle, nothing can beat going to the movie theater, it's her home away from home. And as a lover of all things TV and movies, she runs her own review blog at IsabelleReviewsMovies.com as well as contributes to IrishFilmCritic.com and ShuffleOnline.net.