Emma:
Best-laid plans gone wrong
Ruwini JAYAWARDANA
Douglas McGrath’s Gwyneth Paltrow starrer Emma may have been adapted
by Jane Austen’s globally known classic but it does not do much justice
to the original text. The movie centers too much on Emma Woodhouse and
George Knightley and hardly leaves room for other characters.
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Emma and
Harriet |
Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma Woodhouse |
Emma Woodhouse has beauty, wealth and a loving family. Smug and self
confident Emma spends her time matchmaking for her friend Harriet Smith.
Her interest is sparked off from successfully pairing her governess to a
local widower.
Then she sets her sights on the lower born and easily led Harriet and
tries to marry her off to the local vicar, Reverend Elton and later
Frank Churchill. Her naïve schemes are as funny as well as excruciating.
No doubt Emma makes an unlikely heroine and to echo Austen’s own
words Emma is the ‘heroine no one will like.’So it is a challenge for
Paltrow to portray the young girl in a manner which will amuse the
audience at the beginning and even make them dislike her slightly before
accepting her in her new found mature light at the end of the story.
At first take Emma seems to be a snobbish young lady from the well to
do class but once we get to know her better we realize that she is
actually well meaning and good hearted and all her actions are taken
with a good intention in mind. When disaster strikes she is touchingly
venerable. This draws the audience to her.
However inexperienced as she is Emma does not realize that some of
her comments and actions will bear bitter fruit and actually hurt
others. She learns this only through practice and shines as the good
hearted girl she actually is.
Paltrow achieves this aspect with unwavering grace as Emma finally
finds happiness in the arms of George Knightley. She is undoubtedly the
star of the movie as the other characters are played by lesser known
actors who fail to live up to her charms.
Jeremy Northam may have fitted the role of Mr Knightley in looks but
he seems too polished to be a fitting companion for Emma’s likes.
He does a better job in telling her off after the drama at Box Hill
with Miss Bates rather than in courting her. There is lack of chemistry
between the two though it was oblivious that both of them are going to
end up together.
Though Austen’s Harriet is a pretty 17-year old, Toni Collette does
not fit this image.
She makes a much older and plumper Harriet. She seems more like a
dame nearing her spinsterhood who is desperate to grab onto the nearest
man who shows the slightest interest in her rather than the petite
youth.
This is in stark contrast to Emma’s character. The film’s version of
Harriet seems to have been injected deliberately to enhance Emma’s
attractiveness.
This does more damage to the story than good. The same tactic has
been used in casting Ewan McGregor as the supposed-to-be-dashing Frank
Churchill. Luckily Jane Fairfax portrayed by Polly Walker is more
likeable but her screen time has been cut short to make room for Emma.
The 19th century Dorset village is charmingly captured on film but there
are instances when you cannot help feeling that the director could have
made more use of the beauty of the scenic English landscape. For
instance McGrath could have played up some of the outdoor scenes with a
panoramic view instead of zooming in on the characters.
Since the main focus of the movie is on the comic element quite a bit
had to be severed off the original tale. The Frank Churchill-Jane
Fairfax liaison seem to have suffered the most from this change in track
because the viewers cannot make a head or tail out of the romance. Both
of them play important roles in Austen’s novel because they are the ones
who create tension between Emma and Knightley and makes us realize that
there is more than a deep friendship between them.
The theme of Emma is the education of women and indeed we see this
purpose achieved through Knightley trying to better Emma.
Though the story follows along the lines of Austen’s original in most
instances this is clearly not made for scholars. It aims at the younger
audience for entertainment rather than for academic purposes.
Similar to Emma, McGrath’s best-laid plans too may not have made the
mark in this production. It lacks the liveliness of a good adaptation
but is an entertaining light hearted comedy. |