Kate Moore

This film is a brilliant distillation of the novel focused on Emma's two primary relationships--with Harriet Smith and George Knightley. The novel's subplots are cleverly reduced to bright threads in the main tapestry. Emma's humbling reaches deeply into every part of her way of being in the world, and the visual symbolism of her letting go first of Miss Taylor and ultimately of Harriet Smith perfectly conveys how her heart has been liberated from its snobbish artificial constraints. Loved it.