Emma.

Jane Austen enjoyed quite the career as a rom-com screenwriter even before the form or the term existed, and even if you’ve not read this you’ve most probably seen some adaptation or other. Unusually, it is Clueless that is the most recent and highly regarded of them, although another straight adaptation starring Gwyneth Paltrow is probably the better comparison. In the modern age of movies about women being made by women, this version of the novel stays true to the setting (Highbury, which presumably is the same Islington Highbury before the football). It’s a straight costume drama with a slick, classic look and solid central performances.

Anya Taylor Joy is the title character: wealthy and seemingly immune to the pressure to wed, she is always sorting out other people’s romantic tragedy in a society where a tragic woman of a certain age (well actually youth) is a family problem. And when it comes to being set up financially, the poverty of a bad marital situation is equally unpalatable to society. This is pretty difficult to get behind but of course Austen put George Knightley (Johnny Flynn) in the way. He is not a usual suspect because they are sort-of related, and in this position he can and does rattle her.

A great starring role is that of Mia Goth, who plays Emma’s closest friend Harriet Smith. Emma’s attempt to set her up becomes the part of the story that ends Emma’s 21 years of life without anything to vex her. Harriet really looks up to Emma which is sweet in a way, but also socially required given the former’s uncertain pedigree. The second issue is the arrival of an accomplished rival: Jane Fairfax (Amber Anderson).  In a key scene Emma has demonstrated passable piano skills and then Jane comes in and does a Billy Joel song. Well, not exactly but she is a virtuoso. All this pressure on Emma leads to her to become less likeable.

If this has been lost in any other adaptation, it seems to lurk here: Emma’s absence from the romantic tangles that she orchestrates begins to look less likely to persist. This is a romance after-all. But she deals a massive blow to her own likability when she insults Miss Bates (Miranda Hart), who has always admired and liked Emma and is grievously insulting. This was such an unkind moment that it distracts, but of course by then it’s close to the end of the film and it’s clear what’s going to happen.

Taylor Joy is incredibly good, and I loved Mia Goth. And Bill Nighy (as Mr Woodhouse) brings most of the humour to the film, of which there is quite a bit. Nighy and Taylor Joy have great subtle chemistry, and the film is worth seeing but not particularly noteworthy.