Emma. Reviewed.

Photo by Autumn de Wilde via Vogue.

Is Autumn de Wilde the only one around here who gives a fig about the rules?

There are few certainties in life. Spring will come, flowers will bloom, lambs will frolic through them, and Jane Austen adaptations will appear every few years to teach us once again what it means to yearn. Emma., directed by de Wilde and written by Eleanor Catton, implies by the punctuation of its title that it is indeed the definitive version. Time will only tell whether we need yet another, but for me this perfectly packaged present arrived right on time. 

And it is indeed perfect, with not a tightly wound pin curl out of place. The straightforward narrative moved at a solid pace, observed poignant moments when needed, yet took liberties where appropriate and appreciated. Each role is expertly cast, and every actor showed up with their best slippered foot forward. Even the silent footmen in attendance to Bill Nighy’s superbly anxious Mr. Woodhouse spoke volumes with their expressions while shuffling themselves around these ridiculous nineteenth century one-percenters. Frilly and flippant, the dialogue was nonetheless lean and precise. As for the costumes and set design, I haven’t seen color palettes and prop arrangements like that since Marie Antoinette (2006). If they wouldn’t make me look like a Sicilian child bride, I’d have already bought red branch coral earrings after Emma’s example. Heavily researched and meticulously organized, Emma. does exactly what nineteenth century popular fiction is supposed to do: it diverts. 

We all know the story, or have at least seen Clueless (1995). Emma Woodhouse, performed by Attic favorite Anya Taylor-Joy, is the most fortunate young woman of her village in every way possible. Embracing her position on the country pedestal, she makes it her business to meddle in others’ affairs, especially those of the heart, or at least in the most advantageous pairing. In doing so, she neglects her own romantic life, placing ideas instead on the first distant young man who’s just notorious enough to be elusive. Emma rejects her feelings for her dashing neighbor, if anything because she’s known him all her life and is far too much the ordinary. Meanwhile, she manages to alienate herself further by playing benefactress and matchmaker to her less fortunate friend, messing up her life and almost all of those around her. Charming, right?

In this adaptation, what we’re seeing is a return to the “book of manners.” Propriety reigns, social niceties are observed, and the symmetry is swoonworthy. There’s hardly any touching, no shouting, and no bodice-ripping. I gasped when Josh O’Connor’s syllable-perfect doofus Mr. Elton accidentally pitches forward onto Emma while she’s rejecting him in a carriage. How embarrassing for everyone involved, especially the viewers! The most remarkable transformation is that of Mia Goth, who I had only seen in films such as Nymphomaniac: Vol II (2013) and Suspiria (2018). How a woman who was once married to Shia Labeouf can impersonate such a fresh, unpicked daisy so well is astounding. Emma. is filled to the brim with vibrant characters, all endearing and frustrating in their own way. 

What I most appreciate about this adaptation is its frankness, seamlessly melded with good old English restraint. While true to the original work, Catton’s screenplay lampoons Regency high society in the most loving way. I expected a comedy ice cream cone and received a delectable satire sundae. There was zero condescension or pandering to the audience, with the exception of Johnny Flynn’s bum, and even that was presented as just a fact of life. Yes, it’s more of the same, but if we’re going to continue putting out films of pretty white people doing pretty white things, let’s at least have the self-awareness to laugh at ourselves for being so silly in the first place. 

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Zoë G. Burnett is a writer, menswear stylist, and film enthusiast based in Boston, Massachusetts. A born and raised New England Yankee, she feels equally at home in the 7th arrondissement. She is currently editing her first novel. She is a Contributing Editor and The Attic on Eighth’s Film Columnist.