Emma (1996 theatrical film)

In early 19th-century England, Emma Woodhouse is a spirited, proud young woman of wealth and high rank who fancies herself worldlier than merited by her limited life experience. After her governess, Miss Taylor, marries Mr Weston, Emma proudly takes credit for bringing the couple together and now considers herself a matchmaker within her small community. Her father and an intimate family friend, George Knightley, whose brother is married to Emma's sister, dispute her naive assumption that she knows who among her acquaintance should be paired. Though acknowledging good intentions, they discourage any further matchmaking attempts. Ignoring their warnings, she schemes to match Mr Elton, the haughty village clergyman with social aspirations, with her new friend, Harriet Smith, a good-natured young woman of uncertain parentage. Robert Martin, a respectable local farmer, proposes to Harriet, who is infatuated with Martin and inclined to accept. Believing Harriet can have better prospects, Emma urges her to refuse him. Knightley warns Emma not to interfere, asserting that Martin is a young man of higher status than Harriet can reasonably expect. Disregarding Knightley's reasoning, Emma moves forward with her matchmaking scheme. Meanwhile, Mr Elton has aspirations toward Emma herself, flattering her by excessively admiring her watercolour portrait of Harriet and otherwise fawning over Emma. Never thinking that a clergyman would aspire to her high-born self, Emma mistakenly interprets Elton's attentions to herself as ways of advancing his interest in Harriet. When Elton fervently declares his love to Emma, however, she is taken aback and strongly rejects him. Emma's rejection and assumption that he should court Harriet, who Elton believes beneath him, offends Elton, who subsequently attempts to humble Emma whenever the opportunity arises. Soon afterwards, he marries a vain socialite who competes with Emma for status within the community. Mr Weston's son, the handsome and dashing Frank Churchill, visits from London, charming Emma and the community with his graceful manners. Though Frank is attentive to Emma, she nevertheless determines to match him with Harriet as consolation for Elton's rejection. However, it is later revealed that Frank is secretly engaged to Jane Fairfax, a beautiful but impoverished young gentlewoman who has been reduced to supporting herself as a paid companion. Emma expresses unreasonable dislike for Jane for the very maturity and cleverness that make Jane universally admired among the locals. Frank's financial prospects hinge on an inheritance from his aunt, who would disapprove of the match and disinherit him because of Jane's lack of fortune and social status. After this aunt dies, Frank announces his engagement to Jane, revealing that his feigned interest in Emma was a deflection. Emma is more offended at Frank's disregard for her matchmaking with Harriet than is Harriet herself, who states she has no interest in Frank, preferring Knightley. The gallant Knightley had "rescued" Harriet by dancing with her at a ball after Elton had blatantly snubbed her. It is subsequently revealed that Knightley has secretly been in love with Emma, his sister-in-law, who regards him as a brother who often criticises her high-handedness. During a country picnic, Emma's gauche attempt at wit ridicules the loquaciousness of the impoverished Miss Bates, deeply hurting her. After Knightley scolds her, Emma works to make amends with Miss Bates to regain Knightley's approval. Before Frank's secret engagement to Jane is revealed, Knightley mistakenly believes Emma is in love with the markedly attentive Frank and distances himself by visiting his brother and Emma's sister. During his absence, Emma frequently thinks about Knightley, but does not realise she loves Knightley until Harriet expresses her own infatuation with him. When Knightley returns, he and Emma meet and have a conversation that begins awkwardly, with Emma asserting that she has not been devastated by Frank's engagement to Jane. It ends with Knightley admitting his love and proposing to Emma and with her glad acceptance. Their engagement upsets Harriet, who for a time avoids Emma, but she returns a few weeks later, happily engaged to Martin, whom she always loved. All concerned attend Emma and Knightley's wedding. ==Cast==

Conception and adaptation Douglas McGrath "fell in love" with Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma, while he was an undergraduate at Princeton University. He believed the book would make a great film, but it was not until a decade later that he was given a chance to work on the idea. After receiving an Academy Award nomination in 1995 for his work on Bullets over Broadway, McGrath decided to make the most of the moment and took his script idea for a film adaptation of Emma to Miramax Films. Of his decision to bring Paltrow in for the part, McGrath revealed "The thing that actually sold me on her playing a young English girl was that she did a perfect Texas accent. I know that wouldn't recommend her to most people. I grew up in Texas, and I have never heard an actor or actress not from Texas sound remotely like a real Texan. I knew she had theater training, so she could carry herself. We had many actresses, big and small, who wanted to play this part. The minute she started the read-through, the very first line, I thought, 'Everything is going to be fine; she's going to be brilliant.'" She also studied horsemanship, dancing, singing, archery and the "highly stylized" manners and dialect during a three-week rehearsal period. When he read the script for the film, he was initially considered for another role, but he wanted to play George Knightley. Collette also struggled to get into the Austen books when she was younger, but after reading Emma, which she deemed "warm and witty and clever", she began to appreciate them more. McGregor later regretted appearing in the film, saying "My decision-making was wrong. It's the only time I've done that. And I learnt from it, you know. So I'm glad of that – because it was early on and I learnt my lesson. It's a good film, Emma, but I'm just... not very good in it. I'm not helped because I'm also wearing the world's worst wig. It's quite a laugh, checking that wig out." Thompson revealed that it was a coincidence that she and her mother were cast alongside each other, as the casting director had their names on separate lists. Cumming wrote on his official website that the friendship that developed between himself and McGrath was one of the most memorable things about his time working on the film. He went on to state that the worst thing about the shoot was his hair, which had been lightened and curled for the character. Other cast members included Edward Woodall as Robert Martin, James Cosmo as Mr Weston and Denys Hawthorne as Mr Woodhouse, in one of his last film appearances. Costume design British costume designer Ruth Myers created and designed the clothing for the film. She wanted to mirror the lightness of the script within the costumes and give "a spark of color and life" to the early 19th century setting. During her research, Myers noted a similarity between the fashions after the Napoleonic Wars and the 1920s, saying that they had "the same sort of flapperish quality". Of the dress, Myers stated "The inspiration for Emma's wedding dress began with a small amount of exquisite vintage lace that became the overlay. I wanted a look that would work not only for the period but also one that would Gwyneth Paltrow's youth, swan neck, and incredible beauty. I was also hoping to evoke happiness and the English countryside; the sun did shine on the day we shot the scene!" On 24 March 1997, Portman became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Original Score. The album contains 18 tracks; the first track is "Main Titles", and the final track is "End Titles". ==Comparisons with the novel==

While generally faithful to the plot of Jane Austen's novel, the screenplay by Douglas McGrath enhances the dynamic between Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley by emphasizing their conversational banter, making the foundation of their romantic connection more evident. The original novel addresses Emma's misguided sense of social superiority, which is gradually dismantled over the course of the story. In an essay included in Jane Austen in Hollywood, scholar Nora Nachumi argues that, in part due to Gwyneth Paltrow's star persona, the film's Emma appears less chastened by the conclusion than her literary counterpart. ==Reception==

Critical response Emma received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, Emma holds an approval rating of 84% based on 57 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Emma marks an auspicious debut for writer-director Douglas McGrath, making the most of its Jane Austen source material – and a charming performance from Gwyneth Paltrow." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Ken Eisner of Variety praised the film's performances and tone, writing: "Paltrow shines brightly as Austen's most endearing character, the disastrously self-assured matchmaker Emma Woodhouse. A fine cast, speedy pacing and playful direction make this a solid contender for the Austen sweepstakes." Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that Emma was "so genteel, so scheming, so Austen," and described Paltrow's performance as "droll and confident", with the film capturing the "sparkling social maneuvering" of the source material. She praised the ensemble cast and McGrath's direction for maintaining a lively and accessible tone throughout. Roger Moore of Movie Nation described the 1996 adaptation as "the gold standard" of all screen versions of the novel, citing Paltrow's performance as "gloriously winsome, coquettish, and somewhat 'clueless'" in the role. He highlighted the film's strong supporting cast, sharp wit, and Rachel Portman's Academy Award-winning score as key elements of its enduring appeal. Moore concluded that Emma was designed to be "savored and delighted-in over a single sitting," calling it a timeless romantic comedy. Box office Emma was produced on an estimated budget of $5.9 million and released with a limited opening in nine theaters, earning $240,649 in its opening weekend. It gradually expanded to a maximum of 848 theaters in the United States and Canada, ultimately grossing $22.2 million in the domestic market. The film demonstrated strong box office longevity, achieving a high domestic multiplier of 7.28. Internationally, Emma grossed approximately £5 million in the United Kingdom and a further $15.6 million from other overseas markets, resulting in a worldwide total of $37.8 million. The film recouped its production costs and performed solidly in various markets. == Accolades ==

In the United States, Miramax Home Entertainment released the film on VHS and LaserDisc on April, 23, 1997. On May, 12, 1997 it received a Japanese LaserDisc release, with a Taiwanese LaserDisc release occurring in 1997 as well. In 2010, Miramax was sold by The Walt Disney Company (their owners since 1993), with the studio being taken over by private equity firm Filmyard Holdings that same year. Filmyard sublicensed the home media rights for several Miramax titles to Lionsgate. On April 26, 2011, Lionsgate Home Entertainment reissued the film on DVD Filmyard Holdings sold Miramax to Qatari company beIN Media Group during March 2016. In April 2020, ViacomCBS (now known as Paramount Skydance) acquired the rights to Miramax's library, after buying a 49% stake in the studio from beIN. Emma was one of the 700 titles Paramount acquired in the deal. Afterwards, Paramount began reissuing many Miramax titles. On September 22, 2020, Paramount Home Entertainment released a four film DVD set which included Emma and three other Miramax-produced Gwyneth Paltrow films (Shakespeare in Love, Bounce and View from the Top). They also issued the film on a two-disc double feature DVD with Shakespeare in Love on February 23, 2021, and reissued Emma as a stand-alone Blu-ray and DVD on August 16, 2021. The film was made available on Paramount's subscription streaming service Paramount+, as well as on its free streaming service Pluto TV. In Australia, it was also on the streaming service for the Paramount-owned broadcaster Network 10. ==See also==