ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL (EMMA)

  

In an article in The Guardian in 2015, English professor and literary columnist John Mullan argued Jane Austen's 'Emma' was one of the most important literary works of the past 200 years.

Making an impassioned case for the novel's right to be recognised as a game changer, Mullan argued: "Emma, published 200 years ago this month, was revolutionary not because of its subject matter: Austen's jesting description to Anna of the perfect subject for a novel - "three or four families in a country village" - fits it well.

"It was certainly not revolutionary because of any intellectual or political content.

"But it was revolutionary in its form and technique. Its heroine is a self-deluded young woman with the leisure and power to meddle in the lives of her neighbours.

"The narrative was radically experimental because it was designed to share her delusions. The novel bent narration through the distorting lens of it's protagonist's mind.

"Though little noticed by most of the pioneers of fiction for the next century and more, it belongs with the great experimental novels of Flaubert, Joyce or Woolf.

"Woolf wrote that if Austen had lived longer and written more 'she would have been the forerunner of Henry James and of Proust'.

"In 'Emma,' she is."

There have been adaptations of 'Emma' on radio, stage and screen.

These include a live TV dramatisation in 1948 on the BBC, an ITV version with Kate Beckinsale, Douglas McGrath's 1996 movie with Gywneth Paltrow and even a 2015 manga adaptation.

Amy Heckerling's teen comedy 'Clueless' with Alicia Silverstone transposed the story in 1995 to Beverly Hills, while Rajshree Ojha's 2010 romantic comedy 'Aisha' set it in Delhi.

So it takes a brave filmmaker to swim in the waters of a novel as treasured as Austen's.

But that is what New York film director and photographer Autumn de Wilde has done with the help of New Zealand novelist and screenwriter Eleanor Catton.

The result is a vibrant adaptation that looks stunning and amuses, thanks to a spirited cast led by Anya Taylor Joy and some luscious costume design, production design and memorable cinematography.

Set during the Regency era, Taylor Joy's Emma Woodhouse glides through a tight and lively social circle, matchmaking and manipulating situations to bring people together.

After her governess marries, Emma lavishes her attention on Mia Goth's Harriet Smith to help find her match after urging her to rebuff the offer of marriage from Connor Swindells' tenant farmer Robert Martin.

Her romantic compass, however, is seriously out of synch, as attempts to match Harriet with Josh O'Connor's Vicar Elton flounder.

After humouring her attempts to bring him and Miss Smith together, the clergyman eventually admits he harbours romantic aspirations towards Emma.

However they are not reciprocated.

There is a clear bond, however, between Emma and Johnny Flynn's friend George Knightley who regularly visits her and her father, Bill Nighy's Mr Woodhouse.

Emma's father is delightfully eccentric, spending a lot of his time obsessing about draughts in the family home.

The arrival of Amber Anderson's Jane Fairfax, the niece of Miranda Hart's Miss Bates, throws a cat among the pigeons, with Emma resenting her appearance.

At the same time, she develops a bit of an obsession with Callum Turner's confident, moneyed Frank Churchill.

But will she go with the heart or her pocket?

de Wilde and Catton bring a screwball comedic sensibility to Austen's story, injecting pace and a lot of colour into the events depicted onscreen.

Not surprisingly, given de Wilde's strong sense of the visual, the production looks great.

Alexandra Byrne's vibrant costumes, Kave Quinn's ornate production design, Stella Fox's bright set decoration and Andrea Matheson's art direction give cinematographer Christopher Blauvet a striking canvass and palette to work from.

And there is no doubt de Wilde's film rivals 'The Personal History of David Copperfield' for vivacious imagery.

The director also elicits exuberant performances from her cast.

Anya Taylor Joy is in sparkling form as the misguided heroine who learns the realities of love and the error of her ways the hard way. 

While a lot of the film's success rides on her shoulders and she passes the test comfortably, Johnny Flynn cuts a dashing figure as George.

Mia Goth is terrific as the naive Harriet.

Bill Nighy and Miranda Hart inject themselves into their roles, as they often do, and amuse.

Josh O'Connor is wonderfully unctuous as the creepy Vicar and Tanya Reynolds gels effectively with him as the sharp tongued Mrs Elton.

Rupert Graves and Gemma Whelan are charming as the Westons, Amber Anderson accentuates Jane Fairfax's fragility while Callum Turner's Frank Churchill is every inch the cad you expect his character to be.

You know de Wilde's adaptation is working when you feel the sting of Emma's rash quip to Miss Bates during the picnic scene.

And with a well judged score by Isabel Waller-Bridge and David Schweitzer, 'Emma' is one of the most enjoyable period dramas of recent times.

As directorial debuts go, it is one hell of a start by de Wilde.

Let'ss hope we don't have too long to wait for her next project.

('Emma' was released in UK and Irish cinemas on February 14, 2020 and was made available on DVD and streaming services on June 22, 2020)