Review: Emma.
There’s a reason why Autumn De Wilde’s Emma landed on and stayed at the top of my list of favorite 2020 films. The story has been done and re-done when it comes to period adaptations, but there is something about De Wilde’s take on the classic tale that really landed this time. Besides its refreshing perspective on the classic romantic comedy, Emma was the lighthearted romp we needed in 2020. It provided a levity and biting wit that reminded me of why movies are such a cathartic experience in times of struggle.
I was able to catch the film right before lockdown. The pandemic came right on the heels of its theatrical release and I’m so glad that it was one of the last movie theater experiences I had before the shut down.
Emma. follows a young girl who can’t seem to stay out of everyone else’s business. She’s “clever, handsome, and rich,” making her the most desirable of all of the women in Highbury with no shortage of suitors. Emma gets what she wants. She sees people as projects and is only interested in things if they are just slightly out of reach (including the reportedly handsome Mr. Churchill who she has yet to meet at the beginning of the film). She’s so nearsighted she isn’t able to appreciate the people who truly care for her that are right in front of her, like the genuine, albeit naive Harriet Smith, and her neighbor and primary dramatic foil, Mr. Knightly.
It’s not until her meddling and self-righteousness alienate her from the people she loves, that she comes to terms with her self-serving actions. She learns that the people she took for granted were the ones that she should’ve treasured all along.
Anya Taylor-Joy was the perfect choice to play this complex character and to do justice to one of Austen’s most infamous heroine’s. Only someone with the embodied confidence and prowess of someone like Taylor-Joy was going to be able to bring De Wilde’s Emma to life.
If nothing else, the film deserves a slew of technical award nominations. De Wilde’s background in music videos and photography served her well on this project where the production design, costumes, and makeup were all swoon-worthy.
The power of the story of Emma. has as much to do with the sweeping romance and beautiful relationships between the characters as it has to do with an affecting arc where a well-to-do, self-involved girl transforms into a humble girl who pursue reconciliation and forgiveness in her relationships. We can genuinely root for her at the end when she ends up with the guy. If that’s not something to champion after a year like 2020, I don’t know what is.