Admirable film.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

It's interesting that as of April 2017, IMDb fans rate this 2009 BBC TV mini-series an average of 8.2 – the highest of all the "Emma" stories ever made for the silver screen or TV. Yet it's the least of the lot of the films generally available. This late rendition comes nowhere near the 1972 BBC mini-series. And, compared to the best of the "Emma" films (1996, Gwyneth Paltrow), this one is no better than fair. The critics of the day saw the inferiority of the script and the weak casting. Most of the performances just weren't that good. This series has three glaring shortcomings. One is the more serious overtones of the script, which tend to diminish the humor in those scenes when it should be paramount. Another is the modern touch to the culture of 19th century England in the manners of Emma and others. The last is the casting. Romola Garai is fair as Emma, but no better than just fair. And, most of the casting after that misfires. Mr. Knightly is supposed to be 17 years older than Emma, but Jonny Lee Miller looks close to her age. Most of the young characters in this series appear to be very young – barely out of their teens. Michael Gambon is a fine actor, but his Mr. Woodhouse isn't nearly as genuine as is that played by Donald Eccles in the 1972 series. Again, it likely is due to a script rendition that seems to steer to a plot that is both more serious, modern and then silly in its humor. This contention gives the story a feeling of uneasiness. Whereas the earlier series and the 1996 film with Gwyneth Paltrow move along smoothly between the serious notes and the humor, with the humor dominating them, as most scholars, students and fans of Austen think she intended.One suspects that many who saw this late rendition of Austen's wonderful comedy of manners, probably had not seen other productions. Many probably were young and just being introduced to a broadcast or film of Austen's novel. Those who rated it so highly surely would enjoy the other productions. And, after viewing the 1972 TV miniseries and the 1996 Paltrow film, viewers would be able to make fair comparisons. At the very least, I recommend the 1996 movie, which is readily available on DVD. That film is sure to delight anyone who enjoyed this just fair 2009 production. It's the best "Emma" made to date, and one that will be hard to top in the future. This is one that the BBC had best not attempt to outdo – even though it's not a BBC product.

Overall this series got most things right. I do have some criticisms though, which is why I can't give it a 10. Firstly, let me just say the movie adaption, where Emma is played by Gwenyth Paltrow was not very good. This series is ten times better by far. However, if they take a few of the actors from the movie and put them into this series, it would have been perfect. Take for example Jeremy Northam. He played a brilliant Mr Knightly in the movie adaption and he would have been perfect in this series. I LOVE Jonny Lee Miller as an actor (his character as Edmund in Mansfield Park was wonderful) but I don't feel he played Mr Knightly well. Overall a great job and I love this series a lot but I wish the casting was a little better. Still, the story does not disappoint and overall the acting was good.

This is my favorite adaption of Emma (and trust me, I've seen them all)! I love the soundtrack, the scenery, and the characters.This miniseries is also family friendly (which is nice), so don't hesitate to watch it with your kids if they're interested. I watched it again with my thirteen year old sister (who claims she hates period dramas) and she sat through the whole thing and awkwardly admitted she liked it at the end. I found this adaption stayed true enough to Jane Austen's book to satisfy. There might have been a few minor tweaks, but nothing major that could ruin it.Mr. Woodhouse is hilarious without trying to be, and just like Mrs. Bennet from the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice, I don't think anyone could out do his performance.Emma is meddlesome, spoiled, rich, and pretty. But the strange thing is, you can't help but love her! I found this Emma to be more spirited than the (what I thought) dull Gwyneth Paltrov. She laughs, smiles, and is a believable twenty-one year old girl. She's a matchmaker out of habit, and gets in all sorts of trouble because of it.Now onto Mr. Knightley! He's extremely sweet, and I love him for it. He is supposed to be sixteen years older than Emma, and in all fairness the actor doesn't look much older than she does; But I thought his manner was very mature in contrast to hers, so I thought it worked out really well.Overall I loved this miniseries, and I'm always up to rewatching it! If you like period dramas, Jane Austen, or happy endings, definitely give Emma a go! You won't regret it. :)

1996 brought us a bright and fun feature film adaptation of "Emma" starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam which appealed to the romance-centered Austen-fan. In Frebruary of 1997 a more sober and text accurate adaptation with Kate Beckinsale and Mark Strong appeared. Scripted by Andrew Davies (Of Pride and Prejudice 1995 Fame) it calmed the Austen- purists who burst into flames of rage at the Hollywood Travesty which they dared to christen "Emma".Frankly, I don't care for either of those adaptations. Even though much of the dialogue in both version was ripped straight from the page, Northam was to easy-going, Strong was too harsh, and neither Paltrow, or Beckinsale were able to make Emma likable. This is because her character was pulled from the page and never given any spirit.Then, in 2009, ITV gave us this version. ITV's adaptations of Austen novels have not, in the past, been received well by Janeites. And neither was Emma. Which I think is a shame. Romola Garai was a fantastic Emma. She succeeded where Paltrow and Beckinsale both failed in my opinion. She made Emma spirited and likable, in spite of her numerous faults. She was the "picture of health" as Mrs. Weston describes Emma in the book. As for Jonny Lee Miller, he is the only Knightley for me. He portrayed an ideal balance of Mr. Knightley's qualities. Knightly is one of my favorite Austen heroes (second only to Col. Brandon) because Miller's performance is exactly what I imagined as I was reading the book. And for those of you who complain about how Jonny Lee Miller looked too young for Knightley, I would remind you that Knightley is but seven or eight-and-thirty: the same age as Miller when he played the part in 2009.Laura Pyper might not be as fair skinned as some other Jane Fairfaxes, but I found her to be the only one of the three actresses I've seen in the role who really made me believe that Jane was exhausted from the emotional strain of keeping her engagement a secret. Rupert Evans played a most agreeable Frank Churchill - he had a charisma that drew me, as a viewer, in.I liked Michael Gambon as Mr. Woodhouse, Emma's charming (if ridiculous) hypochondriac father. Let me just clarify - I NEVER, but NEVER like Gambon in ANYTHING. Yet by some miracle, which I can only assume is the character transcending the actor, I find him the least annoying of the Mr. Woodhouse portrayals I've seen. Tamsin Grieg was an amazing Miss Bates, displaying a different visual model that Prunella Scales or Sophie Thompson, but still wittering on without a thought. And words do not describe what an amazing Weston Double-Team Robert Bathurst and Jhodi May were. Bathurst wasn't too old and he didn't over-act the part like other actors have done; and Jhodi was far more likable than Samantha Bond or Greta Scacchi ever could be.On the other hand, I do NOT care for how Blake Ritson played Mr. Elton - he was neither agreeable or pleasant. As soon as he slunk onto the screen, his true character was apparent. This detracted from his sub-plot with Harriet Smith. Harriet, in a truly great casting choice, was played by Louise Dylan who, though extremely pale in the part, was quite well suited to it. As for Mrs. Augusta Elton, I can only say that though I disapprove of too much editing, I count the removal of the Maple Grove references to be a blessing. I'm fine with reading it, but hearing that over and over again makes other versions vexing to watch. It works better on the page than it does on the screen; it didn't detract from the essence of the character - to say that would be over-reacting. Christina Cole was superb in the part. She was just as presumptuous in interfering with Jane Fairfax's affairs as she was in the book, and she was certainly as self-centered, desiring to be the focus of attention in any scene in which she appeared.I will not say that this adaptation gets EVERYTHING right. I do not smile upon reassignment of lines or breaches in historical accuracy (such as characters kissing in public or Frank resting his head in Emma's lap). I also do not approve of simplifying dialogue (but that is a wide subject, which this review has not the space for).I find this series to be the most accurate to the book, in tone if not in text. It has a depth of emotion that the other versions lack. Emma's loneliness upon Miss Taylor's leaving was shown in good detail - as it should be, since Austen devoted so much description to it in the novel - and yet that was barely shown in the 1997 Kate Beckinsale version. In the 2009 adaptation, Emma is shown imploring Harriet to exert herself and move on from Mr. Elton after he returns, married, to Highbury. (this was also deemed to trivial to include in the 97 version.) Another excellent example of acting on Garai's part is Emma's very affected reaction to Knightley's rebuking of her conduct on Box Hill. Whatever other's may say about the "egregious" kiss in the last episode, this proposal scene is one of my favorites in this series, and possibly in Period Drama history. Miller and Garai's performances are so much more comfortable than Strong and Beckinsale's because it's not so clichéd. Miller's delivery of the lines "You know I can't make speeches; If i loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more" was infinitely superior than Mark Strong's.I find this adaptation to be Most Agreeable. It has some first rate qualities and I therefore award it 87 points out of 100.