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Emma (1996 theatrical film)

1996 film by Douglas McGrath From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Emma (1996 theatrical film)
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Emma is a 1996 period romantic comedy film based on the 1815 novel of the same name by Jane Austen. Written and directed by Douglas McGrath, and produced by Patrick Cassavetti and Steven Haft, the film stars Gwyneth Paltrow as the eponymous lead, alongside Alan Cumming, Toni Collette, Ewan McGregor, and Jeremy Northam.

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Set in early 19th-century England, the story follows Emma Woodhouse, a wealthy and self-assured young woman who enjoys trying matchmaking among her friends and neighbors, but risks overlooking her own chance at love in the process.

Emma premiered on 7 June 1996 at the Seattle International Film Festival and was released theatrically on 2 August 1996 in the United States by Miramax, followed by a United Kingdom release on 13 September 1996. It received positive reviews from critics and grossed approximately $37.3 million worldwide at the box office.

At the 69th Academy Awards, Emma won Best Original Score, while also being nominated for Best Costume Design.[4] Moreover, Paltrow's performance earned her the Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture.[5]

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Plot

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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 after, 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 Fairfax 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 criticizes 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 Churchill's secret engagement to Jane Fairfax is revealed, Knightley mistakenly believes Emma is in love with the markedly attentive Churchill and distances himself by visiting his brother and Emma's sister. During his absence, Emma frequently thinks about Knightley, but does not realize 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 Churchill's engagement to Jane Fairfax. 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 Robert Martin, whom she always loved. All concerned attend Emma and Knightley's wedding.

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Cast

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Production

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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.[6] 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.[6] McGrath had initially wanted to write a modern version of the novel, set on the Upper East Side of New York City. Miramax's co-chairman, Harvey Weinstein, liked the idea of a contemporary take on the novel.[6] McGrath was unaware that Amy Heckerling's Clueless was already in production until plans for Emma were well underway.[6]

Casting

McGrath decided to bring in American actress Gwyneth Paltrow to audition for Emma Woodhouse, after a suggestion from his agent and after seeing her performance in Flesh and Bone.[7] 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.'"[7] Following the read-through, the co-chairman of Miramax, Harvey Weinstein, decided to give Emma the green-light. However, he wanted Paltrow to appear in The Pallbearer first, before going ahead and allowing the film to be made.[7] While she recovered from wisdom-tooth surgery, Paltrow had a month to herself to do her own research for the part.[8] She also studied horsemanship, dancing, singing, archery and the "highly stylized" manners and dialect during a three-week rehearsal period.[8]

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Gwyneth Paltrow was picked by the director to portray Emma Woodhouse.

Jeremy Northam revealed that when he first tried to read Emma, he did not get very far and was not a fan.[9] When he read the script for the film, he was initially considered for another role, but he wanted to play George Knightley.[9] He stated "When I met the director, we got on very well and we talked about everything except the film. At the end of it, he said he thought Knightley was the part for me, so I didn't have to bring up the issue at all."[9] Northam added that Knightley's faith in Emma becoming a better person was one of the reasons he loved the character.[9] Australian actress Toni Collette was cast as Harriet Smith.[10] 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.[10] Collette had to gain weight to portray "the Rubenesque Harriet" and she explained "I think it's important for people to look real in films. There's a tendency to go Barbie doll and I don't agree with that at all."[10]

Ewan McGregor was cast as Frank Churchill. He told Adam Higginbotham from The Guardian that he chose to star in Emma because he thought it would be something different from his previous role in Trainspotting.[11] 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."[11] Real-life mother and daughter, Phyllida Law and Sophie Thompson, portrayed Mrs and Miss Bates.[12] 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.[12] McGrath initially believed Thompson to be too young to play Miss Bates, but he changed his mind after seeing her wearing glasses with her hair down.[12]

Alan Cumming appeared as Reverend Philip Elton, who falls in love with Emma.[13] 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.[14] He went on to state that the worst thing about the shoot was his hair, which had been lightened and curled for the character.[14] Juliet Stevenson portrayed the "ghastly" Mrs Elton, while Polly Walker and Greta Scacchi starred as Jane Fairfax and Anne Taylor respectively.[15][16][17] 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.[18][19]

Costume design

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Emma's wedding dress created by Ruth Myers.

British costume designer Ruth Myers created and designed the clothing for the film.[20] 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.[21] 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".[21] The designer explained "The moment I set to research it, more and more it kept striking me what the similarities were between the two periods. It was a period of freedom of costume for women, and it was a period of constant diversions for the upper classes–picnics, dinners, balls, dances. What I wanted to do was make it look like the watercolors of the period, which are very bright and very clear, with very specific colors."[21]

Myers went on to reveal that she did not want the costumes to have a "heavy English look" and instead she wanted "to get the freedom of bodies that you see in all the drawings, the form of the body underneath, the swell of the breasts."[21] Myers told Barbara De Witt from the Los Angeles Daily News that using pastel-coloured clothing to get the watercolour effect was one of her major challenges during the production.[20] The designer was later criticised for being inaccurate, but she stated that she did not want the costumes to look old or sepia.[21] Myers only had five weeks in which to create 150 costumes for the production, and she was constantly working on the set.[20]

Emma's wedding dress was made from silk crepe and embroidered with a small sprig pattern, while the sleeves and the train were made from embroidered net.[22] 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 compliment [sic] 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!"[22]

Music

Main article: Emma (1996 soundtrack)

The musical score of the film was written by British composer Rachel Portman. It was released on 29 July 1996 by Hollywood Records.[23] On 24 March 1997, Portman became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Original Score.[24] The album contains 18 tracks; the first track is "Main Titles", and the final track is "End Titles".[23]

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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.[25]

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Reception

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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 site's 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."[26] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[27]

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."[2] Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, describing it as "a delightful version of Austen's novel," and commended the wit, visual beauty, and performances—particularly Paltrow's, which he called "pitch-perfect." He also praised the supporting cast and noted the film's ability to balance comedy with emotional subtlety.[28]

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.[29] 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.[30]

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.[31][32] 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.[33] The film recouped its production costs and performed solidly in various markets.[34]

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Accolades

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See also

References

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