“Emma the movie, directed by Autumn de Wilde and based on the early-19th-century novel by Jane Austen, is so insanely pretty you might want to set up residence inside of it. Anya Taylor-Joy, whose curly smile and alert gaze misses nothing from beneath those bonnets, plays the title character, a well-off young woman whose comfortable life has contained ‘very little to distress or vex her.’ As all of us who have seen Clueless know, Emma turns her considerable free time to matchmaking — but eventually learns that before she can fix up others, she needs to fix herself. De Wilde, making her feature film debut (she’s known for music videos and fashion photography), surrounds Taylor-Joy with an assortment of actors with glorious faces (Johnny Flynn, Bill Nighy, Miranda Hart, among others); wraps her in a lush soundtrack ranging from opera to folk music; bedecks her in Alexandra Byrne’s lovingly crafted Regency costumes; and becoifs her in a froth of blond curls, like her head’s on a happy boil. All this adds up to a movie filled with that simple yet rare thing: pure pleasure. This film is both a loving homage to Austen and a celebration of fashion and decorative arts.” -Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times
Oscar-nominated for Best Costume Design, and Makeup and Hairstyling.
