Anya Taylor-Joy did not yet have big star status when she filmed Emma. He had a large legion of followers, fans of horror films, after releasing films such as The Witch o The Secret of Marrowbonebut the best was yet to come. Emma Woodhouse It was her first big role and her performance received excellent reviews. It was not easy to do a role previously played by other actresses, including Gwyneth Paltrowbut she perfectly portrayed the beautiful, intelligent and wealthy young woman that Jane Austen portrayed so well in her novel, published in 1815. And she had her doubts.“I’m the first ugly actress to play Emma,” she said to everyone’s surprise.“I’ve never considered myself beautiful, nor do I think I ever will be. It sounds pathetic, yes, and my boyfriend tells me that people are going to think I’m an idiot for saying these things and thinking that I look weird,” she said, surprising everyone.
The protagonist is the queen bee of a hive of gossip and love affairs that make the small town she lives in less boring. If Austen uses an apparent frivolity to talk about the desire to find a love that suits her and be happy, Director Autumn de Wilde writes a satire on the differences between social classes while portraying the difficult vital task of leaving adolescence behind and facing life as an adult.
Autumn de Wilde’s film debut
Autumn de Wilde was a famous photographer when she launched into directingWith his camera he had captured a hundred artists from the world of entertainment and his photographs were used for the covers of records and CDs and illustrated the covers of such important publications as Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly y The New York TimesHe was comfortable with the camera, but he wanted to try his hand at video and began filming music videos for groups such as Florence and the Machine o Spoonand making documentaries about live concerts by groups like Spoon and Arcade Fire. He has even flirted with fashion and worked with Kate and Laura Mulleavy, creative directors of Rodarte.The jump to cinema was logical and inevitable, and she was very satisfied with the result.
-Various members of the main cast of Autumn de Wilde’s ‘Emma’
When the producers released the first poster of the film, The director immediately rejected it, saying it was not up to the film’s standards.. That first poster showed all the main characters and finally a beautiful photograph of Emma was chosen, which could be on the cover of Vogue. De Wilde was not the first choice of the producers to direct the film, since it was previously offered to Juho Kuosmanen. The Finn had to reject the offer because he was fully involved in his long-awaited second film, Compartment No. 6.
A cast of British actors
The director was always clear that she wanted Anya Taylor-Joy for her Emma and completed the main cast with a list of excellent actors, all British: Johnny Flynn for the role of George Knightley; Josh O’Connor as Reverend Elton; Mia Goth in the role of Harriet Smith; Miranda Hart playing Miss Bates; Callum Turner (famous for Fantastic Beasts) in the role of Frank Churchill and Bill Nighy as Mr. Woodhouse. In addition, we see Amber Anderson as Jane Fairfax and Rupert Graves being Mr. Weston. Anya Taylor-Joy and Mia Goth worked together in The Secret of Marrowbone and Josh O’Connor and Angus Imrie (who plays the servant Bartholomew) were Princes Charles and Edward in the series The Crown.
The costumes for the film ‘Emma’ are designed by Alexandra Byrne
The closets of Emma
To revisit Jane Austen and make it convincing, the director relied on a powerful technical and artistic team. The work of the art direction, makeup and hairdressing and, above all, the costumes stand out. Alexandra Byrne was in charge of filling the protagonists’ closets. and he did so well that he received an Oscar nomination: it was the sixth time he was nominated for the statuette, an award he won for his work in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The makeup and hair team, consisting of Marese Langan, Laura Allen and Claudia Stolzealso earned an Oscar nomination. Emma It did not go unnoticed in Spain and the Film Academy nominated it for Best European Film, an award that finally went to The father, the film starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman.
Rolling in the history of England
The entire film was shot on British soil. The exteriors of Emma’s house correspond to Firle Place, Sussexbut the interior is decorated. In the film we also see such well-known places as Lower Slaughte, in Gloucestershire, which in fiction is the town of Highbury, where Emma lives. Other places that are recognized are Kingston Bagpuize Housein Oxfordshire (which we also see in the series Los Bridgerton, Downton Abbey and the movie Tortoise in Love), Wilton Housefamous for its art collection, and Chavenage House, where a classic film was filmed, Barry Lindon.
Actors Josh O’Connor and Anya Taylor-Joy in a scene from ‘Emma’
The most curious thing
In the dance scene we see that Emma and Mr. Knightley are the only ones not wearing gloves.a piece that was imposed by protocol. The director wanted them to have bare hands because it increased the sensual charge between them and, in response to criticism, she said that the reason was that the characters had just finished dinner and had taken them off. All the Actors performing musical numbers did not need professional artists or experts that they were dubbed, and that played in favor of the film.
Anya Taylor-Joy and Johnny Flynn, stars of ‘Emma’
To Emma’s playlist
Classical music by Haydn, Beethoven and Mozart It runs through the film and is part of the script in some scenes, such as the one in which Jane Fairfax, played by Amber Anderson, eclipses Emma by playing the third movement of the Piano Sonata No. 12 Mozart. The actress, a piano virtuoso, had to study again because she had to adapt to the fortepiano, the type of piano of the time.
In the soundtrack we also hear many popular themes, rooted in English history and traditionas Country Life, performed by The Watersons, the How firm a foundation y Hark! Hark What News’ both performed by Maddy Prior & The Carnival Band. In addition, Oh Waly Walyque interpreta The Cambridge singers.
Emma is now part of the RTVE Play film catalogue, which includes titles such as Bad seasons, AloneThe Bélier family, Between life and death, Unconscious, The weakness of the Bolshevik.
