This is the last Emma version I’ll be reviewing for a long, long time. Kate Beckinsale plays a childish Emma in this Andrew Davies costume drama. Mark Strong (who usually plays Bad Guys) manages to animate the character of George Knightly. Olivia Williams captures the reticence of Jane Fairfax perfectly (and she sings very well, too!). While the four-hour Emma starring Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller is the Gold Standard for me (you can read my review here), this adaptation presents Jane Austen’s Emma in an entertaining compact version. Kate Beckinsale portrays a rich socialite and beautiful young woman who tries her hand at matchmaking. Of course, Emma’s efforts produce unforeseen consequences. Kate Beckinsale moved on to more exciting roles as a vampire in the Underworld series. Are you a fan of Kate Beckinsale…or Mark Strong? GRADE: B+
I’ve liked Strong in some things, like the first season of DEEP STATE (on Epix here). The second season really suffered from his absence. Kate Beckinsale, not so much.
Jeff, Mark Strong is also good in THE KINGSMEN series. I really liked Kate Beckinsale’s performance in LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP (you can read my review here: http://georgekelley.org/love-and-friendship/
We do want to see that. I didn’t care for the UNDERWORLD series.
Jeff, I liked the first couple movies in the UNDERWORLD series. Then things went downhill.
I’ve enjoyed what I remember Mark Strong being in. IIRC, wasn’t he in either Sherlock, the tv series or the Robt. Downey Jr. movies?? I’ve liked some of what Kate B. has been in. I liked the underworld series, but the last one was my least favorite. I’ll watch anything with Bill Nighy, ever since Lucky Break (I hope that’s the real title). It was a movie about a prisoner who uses a naïve social director to put on a play with the convicts as actors, etc. and uses it to make a break. Nighy had a small role, and one of the best lines I remember (something like ” so long term incarceration is not your goal”)
Saw that, Maggie, when it came out in 2001. James Nesbitt, Olivia Williams, Timothy Spall, Bill Nighy, Lennie James. The show they put on to cover their escape was NELSON: The Musical, about Lord Horatio Nelson. It was very entertaining.
Also, we saw Nighy in his first starring role in the West End, in David Hare’s SKYLIGHT, which he reprised on Broadway nearly 20 years later.
Jeff, you and Jackie always amaze me with all the performances you’ve attended!
Maggie, Bill Nighy was in a couple UNDERWORLD movies. Mark Strong was in the 2009 Sherlock Holmes.
I like Mark Strong. Recently rewatched a couple of movies he was in-Rockn’rolla and Kickass.
Steve, I’ve always liked Mark Strong’s performances, even when he’s a Bad Guy.
Jeff I’m jealous I thought Nighy was one of the best stories in love actually
and so naming all the actors in your review turns the comments into who likes which actor, not responses to the film in question…
Yesterday you said that Emma was the prettiest, but I think this one os prettier. As for Emma, I haven’t seen any of them, and probably won’t, in spite of sometimes liking historical costume dramas.
Rick, you’re missing out on some great historical costume dramas by ignoring these EMMAs. I’m not sure how many commentators have seen this version, but I know many are familiar with Kate Beckinsale and Mark Strong.
We’re recording Sanditon, which seems to be going on forever, and will watch 2 or 3 at a time when it’s done.
Rick, same here. Although SANDITON is an unfinished Jane Austen novel, I expect top-notch BBC treatment for the TV version.