Do you want to see ‘Emma’?

Add to Netflix

Emma (1996)

tomatometer

All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.1/10
Reviews Counted: 44
Fresh: 37 | Rotten: 7

No consensus yet.

100

Average Rating: 7.5/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 11 | Rotten: 0

No consensus yet.

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 58,439

My Rating

Added to your Facebook Timeline. — undo

Movie Info

Based on the novel by Jane Austen (who in the '90s seemed to be in the running alongside William Shakespeare and Stephen King for the honors of most adapted author in Hollywood), this period romantic comedy stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma Woodhouse, a young woman who imagines herself an authority on matters of the heart. With the best of intentions, Emma plays matchmaker for her friends, most notably her friend Harriet (Toni Collette), who Emma links up with the Reverend Elton (Alan Cumming), and

PG, 1 hr. 51 min.

Comedy, Romance

Directed By: Douglas McGrath

Written By: Douglas McGrath

In Theaters: Aug 2, 1996 Wide

On DVD: Jan 15, 2002

Miramax Films

Emma Trailer & Photos

Cast

Gwyneth Paltrow
Emma Woodhouse
Jeremy Northam
Mr. Knightley
Toni Collette
Harriet Smith
Greta Scacchi
Mrs. Weston
Alan Cumming
Rev. Elton
Juliet Stevenson
Mrs. Elton
Kathleen Byron
Mrs. Goddard
John Franklyn-Robbins
Mr. Cole
Denys Hawthorne
Mr. Woodhouse
Phyllida Law
Mrs. Bates
Sophie Thompson
Miss Bates
Polly Walker
Jane Fairfax
Paul Williamson
Footman
James Cosmo
Mr. Weston
Karen Westwood
Isabella
Ewan McGregor
Frank Churchill
Angela Down
Mrs. Cole
Ruth Jones
Bates Maid
Edward Woodall
Robert Martin
Brian Capron
John Knightley
Rebecca Craig
Miss Martin
Brett Miley
Little Boy
Kate Beckinsale
Mark Strong
Samantha Morton
Raymond Coulthard
James Hazeldine
Bernard Hepton
Prunella Scales
Samantha Bond
Olivia Williams
Lucy Robinson
Dominic Rowan

Critic Reviews for Emma

All Critics (53) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (7) | DVD (8)

Gwyneth Paltrow makes a resplendent Emma, gliding through the film with an elegance and patrician wit that bring the young Katharine Hepburn to mind.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Janet Maslin

New York Times

Top Critic

It's not difficult to enjoy the genteel amusements Emma provides even while wishing its virtues were less wholly on the surface.

February 14, 2001 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times

| Comment

Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

Top Critic

Gwyneth Paltrow sparkles in the title role, as young Miss Woodhouse, who wants to play God in her own little patch of England.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Perfect for warmhearted family entertainment.

January 1, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Ellen MacKay

Common Sense Media

This Emma is light, airy and modern -- surely Austen's funniest work.

April 9, 2005 Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews

| Comment

Laura Clifford

Reeling Reviews

While Sense and Sensibility loves subtlety, silence, and space, and Persuasion loves realism, repression, and understatement, Emma loves its star Gwyneth Paltrow ...

December 6, 2004 Full Review Source: Looking Closer

| Comment

Jeffrey Overstreet

Looking Closer

McGrath pokes gentle fun at the over-refinements of privileged gentility, though not without enjoying its trappings and honoring its best aspirations.

May 31, 2004 Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide

| Comment

Steven D. Greydanus

Decent Films Guide

A good Jane Austen adaptation that can be watched over and over.

April 24, 2003 Comment

Mark Robison

Reno Gazette-Journal Source: Reno Gazette-Journal

Fun, but pales next to the previous year's Clueless.

April 21, 2003 Comment