I got four new paragraphs written today. They were small, but they were paragraphs! And I got more planning done for the rest of the chapter.
Last night was the airing of part one of the new BBC adaptation of Emma. I sat down and wrote a review last night while it was fresh in my mind:
I do feel for those who write the scripts for adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels. Really, I do. For one thing, there have been so many adaptations already (this is the fourth adaptation of Emma made since 1971, besides one with a modern setting) that they must do something different or risk being accused of copying everyone else.
For another thing, Jane Austen fans tend to have memorized the books, and any slight deviation from the storyline is sure to be criticized. This leaves a writer very little room to do anything different if the previous adaptations were faithful to the book (and they have been, by and large).
The final difficulty is that while some parts of the novel are unarguable (the cast of characters, the events, the dialogue), a great many things are open to interpretation (characterizations, the tone of the novel, the motivations of characters, and so on). Some people see Emma as essentially a dark novel, with Frank Churchill being a sinister figure and Emma an almost irredeemable snob. Others see the novel as a light-hearted comedy with serious moments, and view Churchill as a bit selfish and immature, but not a bad chap in the long run, and Emma as a delightful but slightly delusional young woman with a good heart. Therefore, viewers who have read the book each have their own ideas of what the tone should be, what the characters’ motivations should be, and so forth. Many viewers therefore are bound to disagree with the choices made by the scriptwriter, director, and actors, no matter what the decisions are.
Like I said, I feel for the writers. That doesn’t mean I excuse them when they get it wrong, however.
So what choices have been made in the new Emma? From the outset, the tone of this version is quite dark. It begins with the backstory of the novel; indeed, it takes us about twenty minutes to get to the events which start Jane Austen’s book. The deaths of the parents of Emma, Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax are emphasized, and I think minor facts were trifled with in order to make the point that Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax were sent away from their natural homes. (Examples of minor facts trifled with: I don’t believe Jane Fairfax was a tiny girl when she left the Bates’, and I don’t think the Bateses repined so much about it.) These opening scenes set the tone of the adaptation as rather dark, and since I have never seen Emma as a dark novel, I disliked this innovation.
Mr. Woodhouse seems to be reduced to one attribute—the worry about health—but he is also given an explicit motivation: the early death of his wife. Now, it is not a farfetched motivation by any means, but since the book is silent about what motivates his fears of safety, it did seem to change his character to have so much attention paid to it. As far as I could see, the book’s explicit statement that Mr. Woodhouse doesn’t like change doesn’t come into the adaptation much as a motivator for him; if it was in there, it was certainly overshadowed by the other.
Since I’m talking about things I didn’t like, I might as well finish them off here: Miss Taylor/Mrs. Weston looks too young to me, Mr. Weston is too tragic, and I don’t like the Bateses at all. Miss Bates is talkative enough, but she’s not even slightly amusing, and the humility and heartfelt thankfulness which makes her so endearing in the book is just not there in this adaptation. She seems sad much of the time. Such a pity, as she’s one of my favourite characters.
BUT I love Mr. Knightley! So far, the characterization is perfect! He and Emma interact beautifully. He is neither too angry nor too conciliating, AND they kept just about all the dialogue in the scene where they argue about Harriet Smith rejecting Robert Martin. I don’t think any adaptation yet has done such a good job with that scene. Really, that scene changed my perception of the whole adaptation so far.
As for the character of Emma, I don’t know what to think yet. She is not being played as elegant and poised as I have always thought her or seen her portrayed. I think this actress may be my least favourite Emma so far, but there were moments in this first part that were quite good. Maybe my overall impression will change. I didn’t hate her, at least.
Elton…I don’t know. I’ll have to think more about him. At this point I don’t love him or hate him.
So far, this version of Emma isn’t very funny, which is a shame. One of the things I like most about Emma is the humour. It is hard to transfer the wit of the narrator to film, but in this adaptation they actually have a voice-over, so they could have tried a little harder. Bummer.
On the other hand, this will probably be my favourite portrayal of Mr. Knightley. And that is certainly worth something!
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Now, that is what I wrote last night. I re-watched it today and liked it better. At least, I decided that I may learn to overlook the things I don't like. And if Mr. Knightley stays good the whole way through, I will probably be happy to add it to my collection.