Emma (2020) – A new Jane Austen movie adaptation | Why period drama fans love to compare versions

Johnny Flynn has been cast as Mr. Knightley and and Anna Taylor Joy will play Emma Woodhouse.
Image by @autumndewilde on Instagram

There will be a new adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma released next year, in 2020. If there's one thing I really get excited about, it's a new period drama series or adaptation. Whether I end up loving or hating it, there is lots to unpack and discuss with my fellow period drama fans, so regardless of the outcome I will enjoy watching it.

Emma is the story of a wealthy young single woman who has her heart set on matchmaking all her neighbours, resulting in many mishaps and ignorance of her own heart .. until the end (shh!). The famous opening line of the novel reads, "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her."

It has been a little controversial in the forums, that Emma is being adapted again, as it was last adapted in 2009. Yes, that was ten years ago now, but it seems so recent to us fans because the BBC's Romola Garai / Johnny Lee Miller mini series version really set the bar high, and there are other Jane Austen adaptations due for an update. I don't see how the 2009 version can be outdone, but I will still watch the new one of course, and then decide on what I think.

There are also two other versions that were released in 1996 (the same year!) – a mini series by iTV, starring Kate Beckinsale and Mark Strong, and a feature movie by Miramax starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Toni Collette and Jeremy Northam (this version coming in at a close second for me). So, in the past 23 years we have had three adaptations.

Romola Garai as Emma and Johnny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley. (BBC, 2009.)	Kate Beckinsale as Emma and Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley. (iTV, 1996.)	Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma and Jeremy Northam as Mr. Knightley. (Miramax, 1996.)

Adaptations are always a hot topic amongst period drama fans. Why? One reason is that films/series are never as good as the book. It's impossible for them to be so, though. Not every detail can possibly be included (especially if it is only a feature-length movie and not a series), so we happily complain about what they left out, or chose to include in lieu of some other important section from the book.

Another reason is the artistic licence of the director, which varies, and so therefore isn't always to one's taste—especially if, heaven forbid, the soundtrack is modern! Pathé's Marie Antoinette (2006), directed by Sofia Coppola, comes to mind. It is a very artistic representation of Marie Antoinette, with a delightful-if-not-accurate colour palette of sweet pastels and a very modern soundtrack—but it is such a fun movie. It is not what we would call a 'classic' adaptation, and not everyone's cup of tea, but certainly a creative one.

Actress Kirsten Dunst stars in Marie Antoinette (Pathé, 2006) Image source

You need to bear in mind that roughly, us period drama fans usually fall into one of two camps: The ones who like the movie or series to show accurate sets, costumes, and use the original dialogue as much as possible; and the other lot I would describe as 'Janeites' — the type of fans who will buy a "I love Mr Darcy" pillow from Etsy but have never actually read any of the literature (and realise that Wentworth or Tilney are far more agreeable, er-hm). They enjoy the story and the artistic license however it is presented, and may discuss things such as the attractiveness of the actors and how beautiful the costumes are, regardless of their accuracy.

I admittedly fall into both camps, so I appreciate the perspective of both sides. One the one hand, I took a course on Jane Austen to better understand her and her works. On the other hand, I will easily enjoy the modern and fun Bollywood take on Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Bride and Prejudice (Pathé/Miramax, 2004).

Bride and Prejudice (Pathé, 2004) Image source

There is a classic debate amongst some fans that nothing tops the BBC's 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice, starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth; where others argue the version released by StudioCanal in 2005 with Kiera Knightly and Matthew MacFadyen is far superior with its beautiful cinematography, contemporary soundtrack by Dario Marianelli and casual take on costumery and hairstyles. As for me, I appreciate them both.

Pride and Prejudice (BBC, 1995) vs. Pride and Prejudice (StudioCanal, 2005). Image Source Image Source

Also, there were a lot of differing opinions about the latest adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair, starring Olivia Cooke (iTV, 2018). Many preferred Reese Witherspoon's portrayal of the fierce Becky Sharpe (2004), because she made the character likeable, but others argued that she wasn't a character to be liked, so Olivia's portrayal was much more accurate. On the other hand, the modern soundtrack from the more recent version had thumbs going down but the superb casting was applauded. See what I mean?

I might add, I found the 2018 version quite distracting because Tom Bateman, who plays Rawdon Crawley, looks so much like the tennis player Roger Federer!

Vanity Fair (iTV, 2018). Image Source

I could go on comparing versions of adaptations. It's really one of my favourite things to do, along with spotting the same actor from one movie to the next ("Where have I seen him from?")

This new adaptation of Emma will create another big swirling pot of conversation as we compare not one, not two, but three previous versions. (There are more "versions", but I discount the 1974 adaptation as I don't consider that as modern and therefore comparative and I don't include the modernised, barely-recognisable-as-a-version Clueless, 1995).

Let's talk about the casting. (The below images are from @Autumndewilde)

Emma will be played by Anya Taylor Joy, which I first saw in The Miniaturist (BBC, 2017). Mr Knightley will be played by Johnny Flynn of Les Misérables (BBC, 2018) and Vanity Fair (iTV, 2018). Johnny Flynn was absolutely amazing as William Dobbin in Vanity Fair, but I'm not yet convinced he is the right casting for Mr Knightley, who is meant to be 17 years older than Emma. But, I will watch before I cast my humble vote and am happy to be proved wrong.

Anna Taylor Joy will play Emma Woodhouse.	Johnny Flynn will play Mr. Knightley.

Other exciting cast members will include Bill Nighy as Mr. Woodhouse—you probably probably recognise him as Billy Mack, the singer, from Love Actually (2003), but I know him as Colonel Osbourne from Anthony Trollope's He Knew He Was Right (BBC, 2004); the delightful Miranda Hart from Call the Midwife series as the garrulous Miss Bates; Josh O'Connor (Les Misérables, or Larry Durrell from The Durrell's of Corfu series, 2016-2019) will play Mr. Elton; Rupert Graves (A Room With A View, The Forsyte Saga) will play Mr Weston; and Callum Turner (War and Peace, BBC, 2016) will play Frank Churchill. Mia Goth will play Harriet Smith, and Amber Anderson will play Jane Fairfax.

Bill Nighy will play Mr. Woodhouse.	Rupert Graves will play Mr. Weston.	Callum Turner will play Frank Churchill.

(Oh! I really have a disliking for poor Callum Turner due to his character, Anatole Kuragin, from War and Peace. A real villain we love to hate. I will also struggle to watch the upcoming season of The Crown with Tobias Menzies as he played the awful Black Jack Randall in Outlander, brrrr! But again, I digress...)

Filmed in England and directed by Autumn de Wilde, it will hit screens in the US in February 20, 2020 and in the UK on February 28, 2020 (Focus Features). If anyone knows the release date for Australia, please let me know. You can stay up to date at http://www.focusfeatures.com/emmafocusfeatures.com/emma.

Mia Goth, Josh O'Connor and Johnny Flynn will play Harriet Smith, Mr. Elton and Mr. Knightley respectively. Via @Autumndewilde

And please, do not ask if it Emma is an updated version of Clueless. I might just have to hunt you down and tie you to a chair and force you to watch every period drama adaptation in history!

---

References, further information and credits:

Emma (2020): A New Jane Austen Movie, Willow and Thatch, retrieved from https://www.willowandthatch.com/emma-taylor-joy-movie-adaptation-news/

Instagram @focusfeatures, @workingtitlefilms, @blueprint.pictures

All images sourced from @emmafilm by @autumndewilde

---

Consider using one of your witness votes on untersatz!

Run by my husband (contrabourdon) and organduo—supporting the community with regular contests: Easy SBI Contest, Pinky and Spiky Drawing Contest and Secrets of Organ Playing Contest. Also powering the popular giphy bot and donating STEEM for deemarshall's creative contests.

You can support me using Steem Basic Income