Emma - 2020

 Quite a nice version of Austen’s book, it is well done. 

Details:

It’s the story of “Emma Woodhouse, handsome clever and rich”, almost 21 and rather spoiled. Her dear governess is leaving to get married, and Emma is proud to have made the match herself with this Mr Weston. She finds it very amusing, matchmaking.

Miss Harriet Smith is new in town. She doesn’t know her parents and is a simple girl. A family of farmers was kind to her, and their son Robert Martin was rather sweet on her.

Emma wants her under her wing. She has no intention of getting married herself, but wants to match others. She makes up stories on how Harriet’s father must have been a gentleman, and wants her to marry well.

Harriet likes Robert Martin too, but to Emma he’s too below her, not a real gentleman at her level. She wants to match Harriet to a Mr Elton, but Mr Knightley who knows Emma since childhood does not agree.

When Robert Martin writes to Harriet to propose, she seeks Emma’s advice. She was rather excited when she read the letter, but after talking to Emma she refuses. Knightley is shocked and blames Emma for it.

Emma’s sister Isabella comes to visit with her husband and baby child, and she’s just as hypochondriac as her father.

Mr Weston’s son, Frank Churchill, keeps finding excuses not to show up, didn’t even attend his father’s wedding.

Mr Elton confesses his feelings to Emma, saying he never cared for Harriet. She’s below him, and Elton’s visit were for Emma only. He thought she was encouraging him, but she wasn’t.

She didn’t see this coming at all. Now she has to tell Harriet the truth.

Frank Churchill finally shows up, he says he only knows Jane Fairfax, lately in town as well, as a girl of no consequence or importance, and he asks Emma to dance.

She’s decided to like him, sort of bonding on their mutual mocking of Jane, but then she looks a bit jealous when a woman starts talking about matching Jane and Knightley.

Six weeks after Emma’s rejection, Mr Elton is married to Augusta, a rich Italian it seems.

Frank and his aunt and uncle return to town so there will be a ball after all. Emma dances with Frank but nobody asks Harriet, so Knightley does, then he dances with Emma.

It is clear he is in love with her but she shows no encouragement, and now she wants to match Frank to Harriet, but his company sort-of makes her talk when she should hold her tongue, and she is very rude to poor Miss Bates while making a joke. Knightley scolds Emma for it and will not hear excuses. Emma cries a lot, then pays Mrs Bates a visit, feeling quite ashamed.

It comes out, after Frank’s aunt dies, that he’s been secretly engaged to Jane for months, kept it a secret or his aunt would have disinherited him. Emma is sad because of Harriet, and only now she discovers that Harriet meant Knightley, she got a crush on him since they danced and she thinks it might happen between them… Emma doubts it, Harriet accuses her of wanting him for herself, and finally leaves reminding her/accusing her that she refused Mr Martin because of her.

Emma and Knightley meet and sort-of talk, but he thinks she’s hurt by Frank’s engagement, while she thinks he’s in love with Harriet.  Then he confesses his love and proposes to her, but she doesn’t want to break Harriet’s heart again. So she goes to talk to Robert Martin, to tell him the truth so that he will propose again in person.

He does, and Harriet accepts him this time.

Harriet is now of age, and she got a letter from her father, so now she knows who he is, a tradesman in galoshes. Harriet says this with her head high, she wants to get to know her father even if he’s not the gentleman Emma pretended he was. She smiles, though, when Emma invites both to her house. They are still friends.

Now she’s settled, Emma only worries about leaving her father, but Knightley would willingly move into her house to be with her. She marries him.

Emma - Anya Taylor-joy

Knightley - Johnny Flynn

Harriet - Mia Goth

Mr Woodhouse - Bill Nighy

Miss Taylot/Mrs Weston - Gemma Whelan

Mr Weston - Rupert Graves

Miss Bates - Miranda Hart

Robert Martin - Connor Swindells