I too was a bit surprised at the glowing reviews some had for this version. Not that it's really bad, but it's pretty bland, and often off key. Doran Godwin is a rather plain Emma who stuck me as having little real charm, wit or animation, and John Carson is about 10 years too old for Mr. Knightley. There seemed no real chemistry between them, and really, considering his avuncular manner and her drabness, why should there be? Robert East, as Frank Churchill, seemed ill fitted at 40 to the part of the dashing young rake, and Ania Marson, while pleasant enough looking, hardly presented the figure of the highly accomplished Jane Fairfax with her poor voice set against poorer piano playing. If that was meant as a snide commentary on what was considered accomplishment in Austen's time, it fell flat.
The whole production just seemed lacking in wit, humor and zest. It's not helped either by what seems now to be a very 1970's style in dress and makeup. I can't judge how accurate the costumes might have been, but they were almost all unremittingly ugly. For the most part, this whole production could have been a stage reading without missing much in the way of performance, with a small number of exceptions. Fiona Walker's Mrs. Elton was suitably insufferable and pushy, Debbie Bowen's dithering Harriet Smith was all right, Donald Eccles also did all right as Mr. Woodhouse, and Constance Chapman's Miss Bates was decent. I'll give the production a star for each of them. I don't think any of them surpass the performances in other versions, but they at least stand up to the comparison.
I suppose for an Austen fan, any Emma is better than none, but of the four I've seen (Beckinsale, Paltrow and Garai being the other Emmas), I'd rank this one a pretty distant fourth.
The whole production just seemed lacking in wit, humor and zest. It's not helped either by what seems now to be a very 1970's style in dress and makeup. I can't judge how accurate the costumes might have been, but they were almost all unremittingly ugly. For the most part, this whole production could have been a stage reading without missing much in the way of performance, with a small number of exceptions. Fiona Walker's Mrs. Elton was suitably insufferable and pushy, Debbie Bowen's dithering Harriet Smith was all right, Donald Eccles also did all right as Mr. Woodhouse, and Constance Chapman's Miss Bates was decent. I'll give the production a star for each of them. I don't think any of them surpass the performances in other versions, but they at least stand up to the comparison.
I suppose for an Austen fan, any Emma is better than none, but of the four I've seen (Beckinsale, Paltrow and Garai being the other Emmas), I'd rank this one a pretty distant fourth.