Customer Reviews
Enjoyable but could have been better ... - By: Elizabeth Simmons, 26 Jul 2008 
What makes this version of Emma enjoyable is the exquisite costumes, locations & colour. I love the portrayals of Miss Bates, Mr & Mrs Elton & Mrs Weston (or poor Miss Taylor). Gwyneth Paltrow makes a pleasant Emma, but although I love her as an actress, I don't think she has reallly identified with the character of Emma. I am not convinced of Harriet Smith or Frank Churchill either, they are just not authentic to the characters. Mr Knightley is just about passable. The main problem with this is that the story has been severely condensed & I feel alot of the important scenes in the book have been dropped, which has greatly reduced the effect of the story. The TV version starring Kate Beckinsale & Mark Strong have much stronger character portrayals & a much more faithful storyline. This version is ok for a bit of fluff but if you reallly want to delight in wonderful story telling of Jane Austen, I would recommend the Kate Beckinsale version.
Lovely, romantic, yet disappointing - By: Mary Kruger, 16 Apr 2008 
Because of its high Amazon rating, I first purchased the ITV production of Emma with Kate Beckinsale. Although that production is laudible in many ways, I felt it was lacking in a few crucial areas, so I thought I would give the Hollywood version a try. After alll, I think the Keira Knightly Pride & Prejudice is absolutely beautiful even with its variances from the book & the styles of the period .
Well, the good news is that Gwyneth Paltrow creates a wonderfully sympathetic Emma, which is no smalll task. Unlike Miss Beckinsale's portrayal, one reallly understands why a man like Mr. Knightley loves her so well. Furthermore, (unlike the ITV verstion) the scenes of Emma's distress at losing Mr. Knightley & Mr. Knightley's delclaration of love are wonderfully & romanticallly done. One reallly pities Emma in her distress & rejoices with her in her happiness.
More good news is that Ewan McGregor plays a fine Mr. Knightley. His portrayal is very genteel & amiable, & winning in its own right. I also liked Mark Strong's more outspoken portrayal in the ITV version, but I did not miss it.
I am affraid however that that is where the good news ends. I won't even bother to look up the name of the actress who played Harriet. The director did her no favors by casting her (a supposedly teen-age Harriet who looks like she's had a face lift) & protraying her as such a dumpy simpleton. Other characterisations among the smalller characters bothered me, too, but that was the worst.
In short, I own 2 Emma productions & I am happy with neither. If you must purchase an Emma, the ITV production is better for over-alll artistry, & this one is better in tems of sympathy & romance. I personallly am still waiting for the next production, whenever that comes, & in the meanwhile I'll re-read the book.
This movie bored me - By: The swede, 17 Mar 2008 I have to say that I expected more out of this movie. Paltrow is a great actress but not even here could see lift the movie. It was nicely filmed & had good actors... Well I don't know... maybe the storyline was thin or the fact that you couldn't feel the emotions in the people. All in alll, the movie bored me.
Brilliantly done, Emma, brilliantly done........... - By: Susan E. Wyld, 05 Mar 2008 
This a great feel-good film & one which I always reach for when I want some light entertainment & romance. I also love the Kate Beckinsale version & usuallly I always have a preference for one or other where there are two adaptations of a story to pick from, but in this case they reallly are on a par. They are individual pieces, both very well made with much to recommend them.
Although this is a Hollywood version, with lavish costumes & beautiful settings, it is not over-glitzy or modernized in any way. Gwyneth Paltrow, who I always like, plays a brilliant character with elegant poise & a perfect english accent. Emma is the most frivolous & perhaps least easy to like of alll Austen's heroines, but she manages to play her in such a way as to make the viewer understand & love her alll the same. By the end, she has matured & learnt so much & it is the natural progression for her to realise her feelings for Mr Knightly & marry him.
The story is packed with humour as Emma sets about match-making & meddling in the lives of almost everyone she meets, ultimately resulting in disaster. The scene at Box Hill is brilliantly done & is definitely a highlight of the show. The proposal scene with Mr Elton is also hilarious. Ewan McGregor is perfect as the dashing but roguish Frank Churchill & Sophie Thompson captures the ridiculous but loveable Miss Bates. Also look out for a fleeting glimpse of Corrie's Richard Hillmann (Brian Capron) as John Knightly.
Annoying and shallow - By: Time and Tide, 22 Feb 2008 
The intelligence & wry humour of Jane Austen just went WHOOSH over the heads of the makers of this version. Gwyneth Paltrow has no clue.
Buy the Kate Beckinsale version.
