Masterpiece Classic’s Emma by Jane Austen

I’ve been enjoying the latest adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Emma on PBS’ Masterpiece Classic. If you’re an Austen fan, you can catch up by watching the previous episode on PBS’s website, then watch the new episodes this week and next.

I think the young actor who plays Emma is excellent. Her Emma is unabashedly young and playful – in my opinion, a better Emma than Gwyneth Paltrow’s in the 1996 film. But as with any adaptation, there are imperfections. The portrayals of Mr. Knightley and of Mrs. Weston in the PBS version are subpar – a little over-the-top for my taste. In one scene, Mr. Knightley is played as shrill (sacrilege) and the ever-discreet Mrs. Weston is constantly smirking knowingly at Emma (ridiculous). More restraint would have been more respectful of the material and its audience.

For me, capturing the spirit and tone of the original novel is what makes a successful Austen adaptation (far more than authentic period costumes, sets, dialogue, or strict adherence to plot detail). That’s why, even though I’ve enjoyed many Austen adaptations on the large and small screen over the years, my all-time favorite Austen adaptation is the teenage movie Clueless. For me it’s the adaptation that offers us the most pitch-perfect portrayal, across the board, of the Austen characters we know and love. Emma is a lovable pain in the rear, Knightley is upright and a little stodgy, Harriet is an even bigger dimwit than Emma, and Elton is a sneering elitist you just want to smack across the face. The casting of Frank Churchill as a sweet-natured, gay hipster is particularly inspired. Whenever you laugh out loud at Clueless, it’s with affection – a hard trick to pull off when you’re dealing with a character as silly and superficial as Emma often is. I’ve never seen any other adaptation succeed as well at capturing Austen’s light, sparkling storytelling voice. Most adaptations seem to err on the side of playing the characters as older or more somber than they truly are – sometimes even taking a slow, self-important pace completely at odds with Austen’s.

A close-second favorite Austen adaptation for me is the Emma Thompson film version of Sense and Sensibility. In that case, not only did Emma Thompson do a wonderful job of portraying Elinor Dashwood, but I believe she wrote the screenplay as well – cutting certain scenes and highlighting or expanding others to surface darker themes in the story that are often overlooked.

I’m only 1/3 of the way through Masterpiece Classic’s Emma, but it is inspiring me to review earlier adaptations and see how well they hold up to further scrutiny. So many of my friends love the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice (which I found a little lackluster the first time I saw it; Jennifer Ehle never quite won me over with her performance) that I feel I need to give it another chance. Which Austen adaptations are on your list of favorites?