• A pastel-infused triumph from debut filmmaker Autumn de Wilde
  • Jane Austen and Anya Taylor-Joy do their part- but the entire mise-en-scene, from the décor to the costumes here is what sets it apart. There’s enough here to make Wes Anderson proud. Other films have been made in this mode, including Paddington 2 (2017). Wes Anderson is one of this generation’s greatest filmmakers- it would make sense to have this level of influence. Given the period genre Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette is another.
  • Early in the film Taylor-Joy is in the handsome greenhouse and is framed by the door
  • Cotton candy pink, strong wallpaper work. Drapes—such splendor and detail- de Wilde’s camera literally ducks underneath a lovely drape at one point. And Taylor-Joy’s Emma even has a music book splashed with color
  • Bill Nighy’s easy charm and that colossal smoking jacket
  • Chapter breaks from Rushmore to mark the changes in the seasons
  • There have been many adaptations of Emma of course- 1995’s Clueless may be the most famous. Taylor-Joy and de Wilde decide to play Emma without any of Alicia Silverstone’s naivete. Taylor-Joy’s Emma is harder to wrap your arms around- duplicitous
  • If you still doubted Taylor-Joy’s talents (The Witch)- there’s a display of unspoken acting with her opening the carriage door with such condescension
  • A stand-alone stunner of Taylor-Joy’s Emma and Miranda Hart’s Miss Bates in front of the window
  • A feat of living room work and interiors
  • Recommend/Highly Recommend border