Period Drama Review: Emma (1996)

Were you expecting the much beloved version of Emma starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam? That's fine if you were. I didn't know until this year that a second version of Emma also came out in 1996, this time starring a remarkably young Kate Beckinsale as the leading lady.

I have a confession to make. 

Emma Woodhouse has always been my least favorite of Austen's heroines, with Fanny Price as a close second. No actress has been able to make Emma remotely likable to me, not even Gwyneth who is pretty much everyone's favorite rendering of this officious busybody. To my amazement, Kate Beckinsale impressed me, more than impressed me, blew me away with her performance as Emma.

I had pretty much lost hope that an actress existed who could convince me that Emma had a heart beating in her breast. She always seems such an arrogant person, holding low opinions of everyone while having very little status other than being a Woodhouse. If she were to travel to London she would be nobody, which is why she is content to stay put in her little hamlet where she is the queen.

But I digress.

My intention is to say that Kate Beckinsale made me like Emma Woodhouse!

There are three reasons why I like Kate Beckinsale's Emma the best.

1. Kate's performance was almost completely unaffected. Most actresses playing Emma are deliberately overdone with the attitude, but Kate plays her as more of an immaturity of character that actually does mature throughout the telling of the story. She is young, but not in an obnoxious teenage way that, forgive me, Gwyneth exudes, but rather simply young in the ways of a woman not yet hitting her stride.
2. Genuine repentance is also the order of the day for Kate's Emma. She learns early on with every mistake she makes that she is utterly in the wrong. She deeply regrets harming others, especially Miss Bates, and there are quite a few moments of genuine tears.
3. She is Regency. I never felt like I was watching a modern actress play Emma. That's always been an issue for me, especially with prettier versions, if you will. She sold me on the reality that she was a woman in the Regency period, living her life. I never once fell out of that magical quality of being transported.

Well done, Kate, for convincing me that a version of Emma exists that I can wholeheartedly love.

Other reasons for loving the other version of Emma from 1996

Mr. Knightley.

This may surprise you, but I think Mark Strong gave a stupendous performance as Mr. Knightley. If I remember correctly, Mr. Knightley is not supposed to be an attractive man. But he has certain attractive qualities about him that draw in the audience. Mark Strong accomplishes that task very well. He is not a good looking man in my opinion, but his eyes hold depth and conviction that I found appealing, and apparently so to does Emma. He is less reserved about his attraction to Emma; his eyes actually reveal more of what he's feeling than most versions, and I appreciated that it was obvious how he felt about her. Mark Strong is now my favorite version of Mr. Knightley.

The filming style. 

Okay, so, I don't really know what to do with super pretty Regency films. That's not reality, I'm sorry. Crisp, clean, and beautiful, and so utterly fake. I completely bought that this was a small town in England during the Regency period with real people living their lives. It is more honest and less affected of a film than most other adaptations.

The clothing. 

It's simple! I love that they put these people in simple clothes that you would have worn during the Regency! I know that Gwyneth's pink dress is stunning, but it is not at all practical and is simply there to be pretty. That's it. Whereas all of the gowns in this version of Emma felt real and lived in and comfortable, which they would have needed to be. I love the practicality of it!

The screenplay.

Because it is excellent. It takes the best bits of the novel, throws away the rest because Emma  is a bloody long and somewhat boring book, and adds little snippets where needed.

For example, I had always thought that the new 2020 version of Emma was the first where Emma even remotely apologizes to Mr. Martin. Not so. Kate Beckinsale's Emma marches her way across a crowded room and in front her peers extends her hand to Mr. Martin and extends a sincere and honest invitation for him and Harriet to visit them at Hartfield. It's a beautiful scene because it is done in front of so many people and shows Emma for who she should be, a leading lady of the community who helps train the others in how they should behave towards those of a lower social status. Not with arrogance, but humility and kindness.

My Final Thoughts on the other 1996 version of Emma

This is a truly marvelous version of Emma. I'm only sorry that it took me this long to watch it. I think my eyes were blinded by pretty for so long that I forgot that I actually appreciate a little more realism in my period films. I loved Kate Beckinsale's fresh approach to this character, and I appreciated all of the casting choices, from Mr. Frank Churchill to Harriet Smith.

The kiss at the end is innocently pure. Something I feel is usually lacking. This time I truly felt like not just Emma, but also Mr. Knightley had no romantic experience so the kiss was hesitant and delicate and unsure, just as you would expect. It was delightful and charming and made me smile.

Does this mean I'll never watch a different version of Emma? No, of course, I'll still watch the other versions when I'm in the mood for them. But I don't really think the others have nearly as much heart as this version, and certainly none of the other versions cast a brilliant Samantha Bond as Mrs. Weston, an actress I admire and respect.

If you haven't watched Kate Beckinsale as Emma, you're missing out. Track down a copy asap!