Emma (1996)


Disappointing version of the Jane Austen novel starring Gwyneth Paltrow as the meddling girl who manipulates the affairs of those around her. The incidental music is intrusive, and dialogue that sparkles on the page somehow fails to come alive. At times there is a tired Sunday-evening-TV-drama feel to it. I’m still not sure if Ewan McGregor can act. There are flashes of wit, but not enough of them – baffling given the richness of the source material. It improves as Emma undergoes her character development, but Clueless, which adapts and updates the same story, is a far more entertaining and successful tribute to Austen’s talent.

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