Faris Adi

200302110019
History of English Literature E
Work Review

EMMA FILM (2020)

Adaptasi dari novel karya Jane Austen

Synopsis
Emma is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Jane Austen which was first
published in 1815. Set in England in the 1800s, this film tells the life of Emma Woodhouse
(Anya Taylor-Joy), a beautiful and intelligent woman. Her presence is always a concern for
those around her, unfortunately she is known to be arrogant. Oftentimes Emma feels she
knows best, she also likes to meddle in the love affairs of the people closest to her. Although
Emma claims to be a matchmaker, she has not actually found her happiness.

Her nature that always knows makes her blind to what she really wants. As a result, Emma
had to undergo various complicated love relationships that ended in failure. Wrapped in
comedy and satire against social class, Emma's story is perfect for those of you who want to
enjoy romantic stories but with bunch of messages.
Review
Emma is so good because it is funny, sad, fantasy-like, and realistic all rolled into one. I
found it a much livelier than I had been expecting. it is romantic fluff to a certain extent, but
at the same time it parodies those same conventions, and provides some very astute
insights into human behavior at the same time. That impressed me most about Emma - the
characters are all very believable and three dimensional, and each of them possessed the
capacity to endear as well as annoy.

The story interests are as timeless as the perpetual thing between man and woman, but its
sensibilities stand in contrast to those of today. Everything that happens in Emma is
believable, in that it is easy to picture this happening to yourself, or anyone. Anyone can
easily misinterpret people's feelings, anyone is capable of completely ignoring the pleas of
their own heart as a unconcscious sacrifice to the happiness and love of other people.

Beside that, I think Emma is not just the simple story it seems like on the surface. There are
many levels besides the one of the main character gaining self knowledge. There is a class
structure, the woman in society in that period of history, and a psychological dimension.
She's snobby, she's ignorant, she's naive, and she leads Harriet astray to no end. If Mr.
Knightley wasn't there to counteract her nature, and criticise her once in a while, she might
have been insufferable. But she can admit she's wrong, in the end, and that's one of her
redeeming factors.

Though I love it in many ways, the realest sparkle of the story lies in the fact that the film or
novel is a smart practical joke. It's played on us as viewers and on Emma herself , we
assuming superior insight because we have the power of the characterization, because
she's always right. In reality, however, we, and Emma, often follow the wrong clues.
References

https://youtu.be/jiQVZTA__EE

https://deebacalah.blogspot.com/2014/11/review-novel-emma-karya-jane-austen.html

https://patricktreardon.com/book-review-emma-by-jane-austen/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/
jul/21/emma-jane-austen-review