Review of Emma. (2020) by Chrismizerak — 15 Aug 2020

“Emma.” is every bit as scatterbrained and distracted as its titular protagonist, played by Anya Taylor-Joy. So caught up in controlling the lives of others to her will that she loses sight of not only what her friends want to begin with, but also what she truly wants for herself.

It’s fitting and reflective that the main plot behind “Emma.” coincidentally is also summative of the experience this picture provides in a nutshell. The film succeeds all too well at getting itself wrapped up in its own coils that folks such as myself don’t know what to do with the final results, let alone what we think about it.

In terms of conveying the overwhelming manipulation that Emma exerts with every visitor she comes across, some who know her well and others who are unsuccessful in trying to make a move on her, the film is effective at echoing the layers of confusion and zaniness that our titular heroine is responsible for initiating.

Yet ironically, that distinction proves to be its own undoing. The narrative itself gets so tied up in Emma’s interactions within her community that one is bound to be uncertain over what the central focus of this film is intended to be.

In theory, this is something of a historical rom com, based on a novel by Jane Austen, poking fun at the social norms and rules during England circa the early 19th century as well as the overly sensitive nature of women’s fluctuating emotions and feelings.

When someone such as myself is watching it and keeping that intention in mind, “Emma.” becomes something of a convoluted mess to sort out. There are some films, especially comedies, that can get away with an improvisational type of feel to their narratives.

Films from the Marx brothers and the Monty Python troupe quickly spring to mind when naming examples of films in said category. Then there are works such as this where it’s really difficult to get engaged in what’s happening on screen, because we’re not given any good entry point to get ourselves invested in this story.

We’re just thrown into this period piece without being given much in the way of necessary context or guidance of what we’re supposed to expect going forward. Because of this, an involuntary disconnect is present throughout most of the experience because we’re lost in terms of how we’re supposed to react or feel.

And even with the content on offer here, there’s inconsistency on the quality of the cast we’re supposed to engage with. Some supporting roles, such as Johnny Flynn playing Mr. Knightley, add some much-needed value and clarity that we desperately need in this experience.

Others, such as Bill Nighy as Emma’s father, don’t seem to be given all that much to work with the more I think about it. And a few others still, specifically Miranda Hart as Ms. Bates, long wear out their welcome with their repetitive habits.

The performances are fine, mind you, but I’m not getting much in the way of investment with this cast of characters. This is more of a writing and directing problem rather than a casting issue. For me personally, I had a difficult time trying to get engaged into “Emma.

” It eventually got to the point that I was close to falling asleep due to being so exhausted, even though I was watching this during the day. “Emma.” is another middle of the road experience in a year that is seemingly chock full of them.

Had the film narrowed down its focus on what characters our titular protagonist interacts with to make the story less overwhelming to experience, maybe I’d be able to better appreciate the content. If the storytelling felt less jumbled and had a focused story structure that gets us from point A to point B more smoothly, I might be better able to see potential in the narrative more clearly.

But as it is right now in its current state, I don’t see this having a strong shelf life anytime soon. It’s just too sidetracked and clumsy.