Adaptations: Emma BBC 2009

Emma is currently my favorite Jane Austen novel - I say currently because I need to re-read Pride & Prejudice (it’s been over 7 years…) and I still need to read Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey. Emma made me laugh out loud! Austen does an excellent job bringing to life a host of characters that are believably flawed. 

The 2009 BBC adaptation of Emma nailed the essence of this novel. I have watched it countless times and each time I am enamored by how funny and spot on are the actors. In my opinion, a first time reader of the novel could simultaneously watch this adaptation and move between the two mediums seamlessly. As I like to say when discussing adaptions - it captures the DNA of the book. 

This adaptation is visually bright, colorful and optimistic, which brings the lighter mood of this novel to life. The chemistry between Romola Garai (Emma) and Jonny Lee Miller (Mr. Knightly) is spot on. These actors excel in using their facial expressions so precisely that they often portray more than what is coming out of their mouths. Each supporting character is also excellently cast - Michael Gambon as Emma’s hypochondriac father and Tamsin Greig as the rambling, oversharing Miss Bates, is so true to how these characters are portrayed in the novel.

Austen’s novels are very character driven - there are pages and pages of dialogue and these conversations reveal so much of who these characters are, as opposed to some authors who will describe the attributes of a character through very detailed narrative descriptions. Austen uses this dialogue throughout a novel to build a character’s traits (both good and bad), in a way that pieces together the true persona slowly. For me, an adaptation of Austen’s novels has to really capture this trait, or else it falls flat for me - even each supporting character has to be precise. This adaption gets this right and each time I rewatch it, I catch something new because the actors are so subtle at times - just like Austen’s writing. She is so precise that it really takes multiple reads of he works to see the amount of detail she injected into the narrative and the exchanges between characters. 

I haven’t seen the 2020 movie adaptation of Emma yet and I’m not exactly pressed to - I’ve heard mixed reviews. I’ll eventually watch it, but in true “me” fashion” I don’t feel the need to jump on something just because it’s freshly released and everyone is talking about it. I’ll get to it when I get to it. 

Have you watched this adaptation of Emma and have you seen the new movie? Which version is your favorite and why? 

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