By: Keaton Marcus

Handsome, clever, rich. Autumn de Wilde's take on Jane Austen's "Emma" may not be as narratively intact as it is beautiful, but its group of fine performances, luscious costume design, and exceptional cinematography make it well worth a watch. Taking up about two hours of your time, it takes a while for this adaptation to find it's footing, but the second half is a flawless example of how good a pages-to-screen film can be. Comparatively, Greta Gerwig's "Little Women" had a tad more soul tailored to it last year, but that doesn't leave "Emma" without its own merits. Anya Taylor-Joy leads the cast as the iconic character with deep satisfaction and delivers some devilish humor as well. The supporting cast is considerably sharp, but they aren't the standout in the movie. The sets, and vibrant colors that are so abundant in the picture really capture audiences' attention. Additionally, this happens to be de Wilde's directorial debut, which shows how impressive a rookie in the film industry can be.

If you don't know the story, the film centers around Emma Woodhouse (Taylor-Joy), who is a well-meaning, yet selfish young woman who frequently meddles in other people's relationships. The movie begins with Emma, who is searching for a new companion after her governess Miss Taylor (Gemma Whelan) marries. Much to her horror, Mr. Robert Martin (Connor Swindells) proposes to her orphaned protege, Harriet (Mia Goth), she meddles and convinces Harriet to reject his proposal. She is attracted to the immense wealth of Frank Churchill (Callum Turner), but jealousy reaches a high when her rival, Jane Fairfax (Amber Anderson) is also attempting to win his heart. Determined to have victory over Jane, she also finds love with George Knightley (Johnny Flynn) and must decide who is the right choice.

Anya Taylor-Joy, who you know portrays the title character, is another young actor on the rise with another solid performance. Joy has been in several major productions already, such as M. Night Shyamalan's "Split" and "Glass", as well as A24's horror flick "The Witch". Joy captures the spirit of the character wonderfully, and despite falling a tad flat in the first half-hour or so, as the film gets better, her performance does. The actress brings enough doses of satirical humor and a good injection of emotion to the role. What's most terrific is the chemistry between her, and Bill Nighy, who plays Mr. Woodhouse. Nighy may not have one of the leading parts, but his expressions are enough. The remainder of the supporting cast, especially Mia Goth's Harriet and Josh O'Connor's hilarious Mr. Elton shine as well.

What will have most viewers forgive the lack of clean storytelling are the truly incredible visuals. The cinematography, done by Christopher Blauvelt with exceptional attention to detail, deserves an easy Academy Award. Forget any computer-generated schmuck, when you lay eyes on a few of the landscapes, and set pieces, you won't be missing anything. Sure, we've seen this before in several period pieces, but "Emma" does justice to reminding us of the beauty of the natural world. That, combined with the crisp direction from de Wilde, is more than enough worth the price of admission. The screenplay, written by Eleanor Catton, brings a deft blend of little laughs, emotion and romantic tension that a lot of movies have trouble finding. On the whole, the abrupt changes in the plot may have audiences confused, but this slow-moving adaptation is a gorgeously filmed, smartly written piece of work.

The final opinion is: Autumn de Wilde's "Emma" adaptation is perhaps a bit uneven but is still an elegant production that benefits from stellar performances, fine direction, and artistic cinematography...$PLURGE IT

Rent for $19.99 in HD on Prime Video

By: Keaton Marcus

Box Office Info:

Opening: $234,482 (limited)

Domestic Total: 10M

Worldwide Total: 25.1M