A sumptuous Emma... and she looks like she's a bit of a handful: BRIAN VINER reviews the new big-screen version of Emma

UK Daily Mail ^ | February 4, 2020 | Brian Viner

[C19fan]

Screen adaptations of Jane Austen novels come in myriad forms, Emma more than most.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Beckinsale and Romola Garai have all played Austen's least lovable heroine, a meddling matchmaker who in her creator's words 'had lived nearly 21 years in the world with very little to distress or vex her'.

The rest of us can sometimes get both distressed and vexed by the sheer number of Austen adaptations.

Back in the days when BBC seemed to stand for Bosoms, Bonnets and Carriages, hardly a year went by without another one rolling up, in a coach and four.

Maybe that's why the cinematic interpretation of Emma I enjoyed above all others was called Clueless and set in 20th-century Beverly Hills.

[C19fan]

Will the Feminist Nags complain when men do not flock to another adaptation of "Emma"? I have seen the versions with Beckinsale, before she spray painted latex onto her body, and Garai.

[Red Badger]

Brady Bunch needs money?

Put on a show!

Actors and directors need an Oscar?

Do a Jane Austen novel!..................

[Veggie Todd]

Looks about right at a handful. But I might have small hands. I wouldn’t mind giving them a test drive.

[Sans-Culotte]

I really liked the 1996 Gwyneth Paltrow version. It was beautifully filmed and very well cast. What really set it off was Rachel Portman’s music score, which was one of the best scores in (then) recent years.

[nickcarraway]

Feminists would not like Emma. Besides, Jane Austen was one of the most conservative authors in history.

[BenLurkin]

Human-Alien hybrid. About 1/8 alien.

[SunkenCiv]

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