I was obliged to study Jane Austen's book in high school, and found it boring. Now, many years later, I can appreciate the literary genius of the author. This film version of the novel is well done, with superb acting all around. It is worth watching the omitted scenes from the movie. The actress who plays Emma is a few years older than the 21-year-old heroine, but Charles Knightley is exactly the right age.

Emma can't be told properly in two hours, so any such attempt is doomed from the start. The high points are present so it is still Jane Austen, barely, but "Emma." is a farce. Seriously, that was its goal, achieved through out-of-place bumper music, bare bottoms, and nosebleeds.

I’m a huge Jane Austen fan and never thought I’d see a Jane Austen adaptation so cringe-worthy and awful! Don’t waste your time.

I was very disappointed in this movie version. I think Its the worst adaptation of Jane Austen I’ve ever seen. The sets were beautiful, and the cast could have been ok. But the screen play was dreadful, and the directing even worse.

Of the multiple versions of the Austen novel (including "Clueless"), this may be the best. Gwenyth Paltrow was way better as a head in a box in "Seven." I particularly like that this is a less stuffy, less well-behaved version, with slightly over the top performances, a irreverent sense of humor, and a striking look and design, courtesy of first time director Autumn de Wilde, who has worked as rock photographer. If you don't like this, maybe reconsider?

This interpretation is utterly charming. Some liberties are taken as is the case with most moves from book to film, but I found this to be so delightful. The locations, costumes, and cinematography are beautiful with just the right amount of whimsy. Many period pieces end up looking so dull and drab, so it's a nice change of pace. Indulgent in all the right places, conveying so many feelings and situations still relevant today, with the perfect amount of comedy.

Only my wife tried to watch this one and she got bored and did not finish it.

Bummer, over rated. Did lots of fast forward, could not hold my interest.

I confess, I have no idea why the director made the choices she did. If I did, maybe I would have enjoyed this interpretation of Emma. The overacting was grotesque. Ditto the gratuitous nose-bleed. I had been warned that it was nothing like the book--after all, Emma is selfish, has too much social power for her young age and consequently makes terrible mistakes with other people's lives, but she is endearing, nonetheless. This eye-rolling, snot-nosed--and, as others have noted, overaged!--version of Emma was distinctly unappealing. What's-his-face playing Knightly was just plain weird. Ditto the Beau Brummel-like dressing scene. There was indeed a unity to the weirdness and grotesquerie, but I don't understand why anyone would feel the need to flatten out the emotional complexity of the story. And, no, underpants hadn't been invented yet, but how many peep-show shots do we need to remind us that?

2.0* found this series slow and boring.