Gwyneth vs. Kate

vs.





Okay, so I'm 10 years behind (Gwyneth's Emma was released in '96 and Kate's was aired in '97) but I just saw the Kate Beckinsale version of Emma on Masterpiece and I'm interested to know what you think about the two movies. I read a few reviews on Amazon and it seemed that a lot of people preferred Gwyneth to Kate's Emma. I haven't seen Gwyneth's Emma for a long time so I am probably not a very good judge. Just having read the book, though, and from what I remember of it, Kate's Emma is so much truer to the book. Some reviewers said how they liked Gwyneth's light-heartedness and fun version of Emma and I can definitely understand that. I perceived Emma much more as Kate portrayed her however and so I preferred that version.

Mr. Knightley, of course, is another matter. Gwyneth's Knightley was much more handsome than Kate's which is always nice. :) However, there is a 16 year(?) difference between Mr. Knightley and Emma and I don't think that is very evident in Gwyneth's Emma. Kate's Knightley looks the part better and even though he wasn't really good-looking (though I think he would have looked much more handsome with a decent hair-cut), I think he grows on you more and more throughout the movie, at least he did for me.

So, for me, Kate wins this one even though I did really like Gwyneth too. Just as a side note, my husband HATES the movie Emma with Gwyneth. He thinks it is the most boring movie he's ever seen and says that it's two hours of his life that he'll never get back. Honey, would you be willing to watch the other version and see how it compares??

Emma by Jane Austen

Rating: 1.1.1

Recommended audience: Teens to adults

Category: Romance, classic

I have tried to read Emma a few times before but never could get past the first few chapters. This time I was determined to finish and I'm glad I did. I liked it in the end but it is definitely not on par with Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion to me. (I can't comment on any other of Austen's books because it's been too long since I've read them.) For the first several chapters Emma drove me crazy. Her inept attempts at matching-making made me want to shake some sense into her. She was so blind to everything that seemed so plain. She did grow on me though and I could see her character improve so that by the end I really liked her. There are so many characters that are just ridiculous: Mr. Woodhouse, Miss Bates, and the Eltons, for example. There is so much humour in the conversations and goings-on between all the characters but it is dry and subtle and you have to read carefully to catch it. When I hear people say they don't get Jane Austen's popularity, I hope they continue to give it a chance because I think it does take some time and effort to understand. But once you catch it, you'll love it forever. This book is very wordy with not a lot of anything going on but in the end, definitely worth the read.