Carey Mulligan and Kate Beckinsale played roles in movie adaptations for Pride and Prejudice 2005 and Northanger Abbey 2007 (above); and Emma 1996 (below). Aren't they lovely?
Carey is promoting Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, and Kate is one of the Cannes Film Festival judges..jpg)
Costumes are one of the main reasons why I love period movies. They can make or break one's enjoyment of the film. Take Emma, for example. These two films were made in the same year - 1996. They followed the same Jane Austen story but took two different approaches to dressing the heroine. The clothes worn by the cast of Emma, starring Kate Beckinsale and written by Andrew Davie, were earth colored. The fabrics of velvet and satin looked heavy, but the costumes were well made and their details of pleats and sleeves breathtaking. But in my humble opinion, Kate wears some of the ugliest hats ever devised for a young heroine. (Please feel free to disagree.)
Gwynneth's Emma, while she looked lovely and elegant, seemed a tad too modern. Her gowns and hair reminds one more of the updo's and baby doll empire gowns popular in the 1960's. Gwynneth's Emma wore light pastel colored muslins and the details of her gowns were minimal at best. In fact I left the movie feeling that I could have made a few of those dresses myself. .jpg)
"I think Jane is echoed in all her heroines, in all her novels," Hawkins says. "If you look at them as a set of complete works, you can see a real woman growing up. Her wit is there, apparent through all her heroines, and that is very much at the core."
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
Mansfield Park
Posted by Laurel Ann, Austenprose
The real evils indeed of Emma's situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself; these were the disadvantages which threatened alloy to her many enjoyments. The danger, however, was at present so unperceived, that they did not by any means rank as misfortunes with her. The Narrator on Emma Woodhouse, Emma, Chapter 1
Ms. Beckinsale has had a very interesting career and has developed into skilled and accomplished actress. Born in 1973 in London, England, Kate is the daughter of the late comedic actor Richard Beckinsale, and actress Judy Loe. She admits to a troubled childhood, attributed to her popular father’s early death, and people tagging her as his tragic daughter, and not her own person.
Because of her acting roots, she was often asked as a young woman if she would pursue an acting career. It was a natural transition, and an outlet for her creative and troubled teenage years. After struggling in local theater, and losing plum roles such as Cathy in Wuthering Heights to Juliette Binoche, her career breakthrough came in 1992 with Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing. Succeeding with her character Hero was important to her. She did not want her to be the usual Shakespearean female wimp. "I don't want to play drippy women", she explained later "because I don't know any".
She continued to pursue new acting roles while studying languages at Oxford University, spending her junior year in Paris. But her acting career soon took over her studies when she won the role of Flora Poste, in the BBC adaptation of author Stella Gibbons' Cold Comfort Farm, which aired to praise in the UK in 1995, and in the US art cinemas in 1996, surprising its producers by garnering a healthy 5 million dollars in sales, prompting a theatrical release in the UK in 1997.
Continuing on her desire to play strong female heroines, her next role as the irrepressible match-maker Emma Woodhouse in the 1996 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Emma, was an easy transition from Flora in Cold Comfort Farm. Delighted to be offered the part, Beckinsale remarked, "You always identify with the character you play, but I got worried at the end when everyone was saying Emmy was so awful and I couldn't see it! I think she's a fantastic character and completely justified in everything she does given her background, living with her ill father and with no stimulation. No wonder she's interested in other people's sex lives!" Of the three adaptations of Jane Austen’s Emma, Ms. Beckinsale’s interpretation of Emma Woodhouse is considered by critics and fans as the truest to Jane Austen’s intensions.
In director Walt Stillman’s 1998 indie classic, The Last Days of Disco, Beckinsale stars as Charlotte Pingress, and continues along her path of strong heroines, who like Jane Austen’s Emma, think far too well of themselves, speak their minds without provocation, and dole out advice to friends like players in a card game. Along with a talented young ensemble cast including Chloe Sevigny, Chris Eigeman and Robert Sean Leonard, Beckinsale is part of a group of acerbic, smug, social climbing recent college grads who think that they are “adherents to the disco movement”. They dance the night away in New York clubs; - not for the enjoyment of dance, but to be seen and connect with the right crowd. I am particularly partial to director Walt Stillman, and adore his Metropolitan, which is based on Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park. Beckinsale’s performance as Charlotte placed her in my mind as an actress who could excel in anything she set her sights on.
By 2001, Ms. Beckinsale had reached super star status with the release of the mega-budget Pearl Harbor, co-staring Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett. She would again portray a strong female with Nurse Lt. Evelyn Johnson, caught in the crossfire of World War II and the affections of two dashing young officers. She was quite well suited for the 1940’s costuming and dialogue; -the perfect glamorous Hollywood image of a brave, beautiful and sexy heroine. A lovely combination of Kate Hepburn, Greer Garson and Ava Gardner.
Her diversity as an actress is revealed in her captivating performance as genteel Vampire hunter and Transylvanian Princess, Anna Valerious, in the 2004 film Van Helsing, co-starring Hugh Jackman. Her physical abilities in the heavy action scenes elevate her to super-hero status, both in character and as an actor, matching her male co-stars in every respect. Next she was back to sizzle and fume as Hollywood bombshell Ava Gardner in The Aviator, Martin Scorsese's long-awaited biopic of Howard Hughes. Attempting to play a famous icon like Gardner is tremendously risky for an actress. You either succeed brilliantly or fail miserably and are laughed at for years. Happily, Ms. Beckinsale’s transformation into Hollywood’s golden age siren is quite remarkable. Though she lacks the physical curves of Miss Gardner, she captured her sultry beauty and dynamic screen presence perfectly. One never doubts for a moment why Howard Hughes’ playboy status was accelerated by his association with her.
Handsome, clever and rich, Kate Beckinsale, like Emma Woodhouse is a woman of her own design; - irrepressible, out-spoken and always engaging.
Kate or Gwyneth as Emma? Mark or Jeremy as Mr. Knightley? Samantha or Toni as Harriet Smith? Olivia or Polly as Jane Fairfax? Which movie version of Emma do you prefer and which actors stand out in your mind? The loiterer asked this question a while back of four cinematic Emma versions, and placed a poll on his website. Here are the results. Kate's win over Gwyneth surprised me because of Jeremy Northam's votes. Click here to see the ballot page:
You can make your own decision about which movie version you like and rent Emmas 1972 and 1996 from Netflix, or watch Kate Beckinsale as Emma on PBS's Masterpiece Classic Sunday, March 23, at 9 p.m. To properly prepare for your viewing experience, click on the following links:
Highbury Online and Emma Movie Costumes from Donwell Abbey link to images and everything you ever wanted to learn about the theatrical version of Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam. Here's an Emma movie quiz from that movie. I didn't get them all right. (gasp!)
After a three week hiatus, Emma (1996), staring Kate Beckinsale will be the next installment of The Complete Jane Austen on Masterpiece Classic on Sunday, March 23rd, at 9:00 pm on PBS. As we patiently await the next adaptation to arrive, I was reminded of my thoughts on the film before it first aired in 1996.
By now my PBS Complete Jane Austen withdrawal symptoms are becoming serious indeed. The airing of Emma, directed by Diarmuid Lawrence and starring Kate Beckinsale is still a little over two weeks away. Until that happy event, we must "make do" and discuss various aspects about the movie instead.
As with Pride and Prejudice, Davies also takes some liberties with Emma's script. According to Screen Online, "In Davies' adaptation, Emma becomes not only a reformed person, but a reformed snob. He appends a new ending, which shows Emma welcoming Mr Martin as Harriet's fiancée and inviting the couple to visit her; this is in direct contrast to the novel, where her friendship with Harriet fades."
In another interesting aside, The Loiterer awards the best Country Dance Scene to the last dance in Emma, 1996, particularly mentioning Kate Beckinsale's and Mark Strong's moves. The "Hole in the Wall" dance scene (below) is not the one that The Loiterer referred to, but it is interesting to watch nevertheless.