WHAT I LIKED: Jane Austin's Emma is the story of a young, shallow, upper-class woman who manipulates and controls those around her learning the importance of true friendship and acts of kindness. What Eleanor Catton and Autumn de Wilde's version does most of all though is play up the book's situational humour that comes with having such a naive character at its centre. Emma carries on oblivious to her cruel ways, and those who idolise her are equally oblivious to their sorry states, and that's only brought to life so well because the script is so snappy, and because the performances are so good. Anya Taylor-Joy is great in the titular role, Mia Goth does a hilariously smiley job as her doting friend, and Bill Nighy plays up some great laughs as her self-indulged father. That, along with some beautiful Barry Lyndon-esque cinematography and the well-realised period setting, results in a fairly light and amusing watch that will undoubtedly bring some smiles to its audience.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Whilst playing up the humour, the film forgets to build its characters into genuine individuals who you care about. Yes the whole point is for Emma to be shallow, but you never get the sense there's anything deeper in her character so when she finally changes it comes as a bit of a surprise. Also, you never really feel for the people around her, and in the end the result is a film where you attach very little with the characters at all. That wouldn't have been a problem if the film was a laugh-a-minute, but the humour actually gets a little tiring as the film trots along, and with no laughs or characters to care for, you're left with a pretty hollow experience in the end.
VERDICT: A well-performed and lightly amusing - but ultimately fairly hollow - adaptation of Jane Austin's Emma, this film is no let-down, it's just no huge success either.
