Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As a long time Janeite, I've seen all the adaptations, and one thing that is critical for them is to recapture the manners and spirit of the period, and the flavor of the novel. To me, the best adaptation of Emma to screen is the BBC version with Beckinsdale and Mark Strong, who were perfect as Emma and Knightly. Emma in this latest version appears more like a skivvy or a shopgirl in her expressions and manners - Romola Garai is gauche and gushing - with her abrupt bobbing curtseys and bouncing in and out of chairs and rooms she seems more like a chambermaid in a middle class house than the daughter of a gentleman. How can she be appalled at the middle class Mrs Elton when her own manners and demeanor have none of the polish or poise of a gentlewoman? One of the characteristics of Emma was that she was very full of her family's position as one of the first in Highbury, which necessarily leads to her imagining Harriet as a gentleman's daughter too good to throw herself away on an otherwise respectable farmer, to her clashes as the Coles attempt to "move up" into "first class" society - something the rest of her set -- Knightly, the Bates -- have no issue with, or her rejection of Elton and Mrs Elton. Emma's expressions, posture, even her hair, are entirely out of character for this important point in the novel. Knightly (Johhny Lee Miller) appears too young -- you don't get the sense there is the necessary 16 year difference that is essential to maintaining the initial romantic distance between them. He also doesn't have the inherant dignity and decorum that is Knightly. The whole cast appears skewed to 2010 values in demeanor. Jane Fairfax had a great deal of revealing expressions for someone who is supposed to be so reserved. On the pluses, Mr. Woodhouse is rather good, but he's been doing this sort of period work often in his career, and understands the requirements. The rest of the cast is passable. The best adaptations also use as much of the books narrative and dialogue as possible. Unfortunately the author of this screenplay, unlike Andrew Davies, chose to put her words in the character's mouths. The dialogue doesn't have the cadence of the original, and the dumbing down of the expressions to 2010 speech is a serious annoyance for those of us who love the irony and wit in Jane Austen's turns of phrase. Still, the film is pretty to look at and it is passable. But if the point of putting Jane Austen to film is to recreate Jane Austen, it would help to take some care to make it Jane Austen, in characters, in mores, and in period. Emma and Knightly have been brought forward too much and lost their essential natures. This flawed adaptation reminds me of the recent adaptation of Mansfield Park, -- if not as bad -- where they substantially transformed the heroine and the dialogue to 21st century standards. I'm sure there are people who will like this more populist version of Emma, but it doesn't work for me. For other purists, again, I'd recommend the BBC Beckinsdale version, which is unfortunately a much shortened version of the book, but still captures better its tone and spirit. I can only hope someday someone does a more faithful adaptation of my favorite Jane Austen novel. In the interim, this is worth a rental, if not a purchase.