Emma
Promotional poster for Emma
Directed by	Douglas McGrath
Produced by	Patrick Cassavetti Steven Haft
Written by	Jane Austen (book) Douglas McGrath (screenplay)
Starring	Gwyneth Paltrow Alan Cumming Toni Collette James Cosmo Greta Scacchi Denys Hawthorne Sophie Thompson Jeremy Northam Juliet Stevenson
Music by	Rachel Portman
Cinematography	Ian Wilson
Editing by	Lesley Walker
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release date(s)	August 2, 1996
Running time	121 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Emma is a 1996 period film based on the similarly titled novel by Jane Austen. Directed by Douglas McGrath, it stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Northam, Toni Collette, and Ewan McGregor. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 410 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (517 × 755 pixel, file size: 58 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) // The publicly released theatrical poster for Emma (1996) impawards No free equivalent exists that would effectively identify the articles subject. ... 1873 engraving of Jane Austen, based on a portrait drawn by her sister Cassandra. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish actor best known for his film roles of Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United and on the stage with his Tony Award-winning performance as the Emcee in the highly successful revival of Cabaret. ... Toni Collette (born November 1, 1972) is an Academy Award-nominated Australian actress and musician. ... James Cosmo (born 1948 in Clydebank, Scotland) is a tough guy actor, with numerous credits in film and television. ... Greta Scacchi (born February 18, 1960 in Milan, Italy) is an Emmy Award-winning film actress. ... Sophie Thompson (b. ... Jeremy Philip Northam (born December 1, 1961 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England) is an English actor. ... Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson (born October 30, 1956) is an English actress. ... Rachel Portman (born December 11, 1960 in Haslemere, England) is a British composer, best known for her film work. ... Ian Wilson (born April 23, 1939 in London, UK) is a British cinematographer. ... Miramax Films is a film production and distribution brand that was a Big Ten film motion picture distribution and production company headquartered in New York City before being bought out by The Walt Disney Company. ... The year 1996 in film involved some significant events. ... For other uses, see Emma (disambiguation). ... 1873 engraving of Jane Austen, based on a portrait drawn by her sister Cassandra. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Jeremy Philip Northam (born December 1, 1961 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England) is an English actor. ... Toni Collette (born November 1, 1972) is an Academy Award-nominated Australian actress and musician. ... Ewan Gordon McGregor (born March 31, 1971) (IPA pronunciation: [1]) is a Scottish actor who has had significant success in mainstream, indie and art house films. ...

Synopsis

Emma Woodhouse (Gwyneth Paltrow) is a congenial young lady who delights in meddling in other people's affairs. When her governess is married and goes to live with her new husband, Emma is triumphant, saying that she made the match herself. Her old friend, Mr. Knightley (Northam), tries to discourage her from doing this again, but she does not listen to him. She immediately introduces the newly-arrived local minister to a local girl, Harriet Smith. Emma and Harriet become steadfast friends, but unhappily, while trying to get the minister and Harriet together, Emma herself becomes the person that the minister fancies. Harriet's heart is broken, but she tries to move onward. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

When Frank Churchill (Ewan McGregor) enters the picture, Emma thinks herself in love, but she soon realizes she is not. She then tries to match Frank and Harriet together, but her former governess tells her that he has been secretly engaged to an acquaintance of Emma's, Jane Fairfax. When Emma tells the news to Harriet, Harriet then informs her that she is not in love with Frank, she is in love with Mr. Knightley! Emma then realizes that she, herself, is in love with Knightley as well, and she does not know what to do. Mr. Knightley then returns from seeing his brother, and after they see each other again, he tells Emma that he is in love with her. She is overjoyed, and they become engaged. When Emma relays the message to Harriet, Harriet is once again heartbroken, but soon gets a proposal from an old friend of hers, and she accepts. Emma and Harriet both end up happily married, along with the Churchills.

Although in general staying close to the plot of the book, the screenplay by Douglas McGrath enlivens the banter between the staid Mr. Knightley and the vivacious Emma, making the basis of their attraction more apparent.

Casting

Gwyneth Paltrow won critical acclaim for her role as Emma, particularly her ability to disguise her American accent, though some were left rather bemused as to why an American and an Australian were cast in the leading roles (as Emma and Miss Smith) of this adaptation of a quintessentially English novel.^{[citation needed]} The characters of Mrs. Bates and Miss Bates were played by real-life mother and daughter Phyllida Law and Sophie Thompson. Scottish actor Alan Cumming and classical actress Juliet Stevenson stole most of the comic moments as Mr. and Mrs Elton. Phyllida Law (born 8 May 1932) is a Scottish actress. ... Sophie Thompson (b. ... Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish actor best known for his film roles of Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United and on the stage with his Tony Award-winning performance as the Emcee in the highly successful revival of Cabaret. ... Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson (born October 30, 1956) is an English actress. ...

External links

• Emma at the Internet Movie Database
• Emma review by Roger Ebert
• "Life Response" in Emma on Humanscience wikia