Emma (1996)

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

With so many screen versions of Emma knocking about I decided to give the sumptuous light hearted romp starring Gwyneth Paltrow with her cut glass English accent.Emma Woodhouse is a confident woman from a wealthy background who spends her days playing cupid by matchmaking. She is a bright know it all who also likes to engage in gossip. Emma's problems arise when she tries to set up a match between her friend, Harriet Smith (Toni Collette) and the Reverend Elton (Alan Cumming) and fails. Emma tries other matches but they also backfire.Emma realises her limitations when she is admonished by Mr Knightly (Jeremy Northam) who is the voice of reason. Emma is well meaning but like everyone else is firmly rooted to the class system of the day.The film is rather light and airy, nice to look at, well acted but also rather boring. It felt just too superficial.

I can't find any more ways to say the word cute while taking notes during the film, because that's Emma in a nutshell. It's a petite, innocent, and simplistic movie that is sure to keep you involved in the story. It features some wonderful dialogue in Jane Austen's novel. It's a nicely composed film, even if the music is not utilized at time as it should be. Gwyneth Paltrow's performance shines like the champagne she drinks in the film, in a breakout role any actress would die for. Paltrow is ever-so-charming as the title character, and puts forth the effort to make this a memorable film and role.Emma is the type of film you'll love watching, it's even appropriate for children, the problem with it is that the fluff is light enough to carry the film into the family genre. There's no depth or artist storytelling, behind the film's green glass, clear water, long candlesticks, opulent furniture, exquisite flowers and classy decor. It does play off some classic fables, but never stomps on any new ground. It's just an amusing time.Emma is a delightful film, that's cute and fluffy with some fantastic visuals and a sparkling leading performance from Gwyneth Paltrow. Rating: 7/10; Grade: B+

I am a fan of classic novels, and authors like Jane Austen and Bronte sisters hold a special place in my library. Jane Austen's novels have always been quite appeasing, but unfortunately the movie doesn't seem to do justice to the novel. After watching Gwyneth Paltrow in The Talented Mr. Ripley and Shakespeare in Love, I did expect the movie to be great. But turns out the other movie by the same name did much more justice to the novel than this one.Though the movie does follow the novel most of the time (I can recall only two scenes that don't exist in the novel), but the way things represent themselves in the novel, the movie hasn't been able to bring the characters to life. Except for the title character on whom the movie (or the novel) is based, the remaining characters have been badly undermined, thus lacking the humor of the novel.Watching movies is my passion as are the books and I often watch movies again, but this one won't be one the list for second watching. Thanks.

Seeing this recently for the first time in 15 years, I was disappointed by its mediocrity. A talented cast is largely wasted, and among their number I do not include Paltrow, who hardly qualifies as talented on this evidence. Her stilted, mannered, plodding approach to her lines suggests that her energy was sapped by the effort of achieving an appropriate accent. However, this was clearly not a problem a few years later in Shakespeare in Love, and the faults of her performance here merely exemplify those of the production as a whole -- faults for which, one imagines, McGrath is largely to blame, though his Nicholas Nickleby a few years later shows that he too was capable of better. The movie is to be cherished for Juliet Stevenson's marvellous (though sadly truncated) turn as Mrs. Elton, but on the whole the film falls far short of the lively, sensitive, and above all natural, TV version of 2009, in which Christina Cole's Mrs Elton is only one of several outstanding performances.