Emma (1996 theatrical film)

Emma
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Douglas McGrath
Produced by	Patrick Cassavetti Steven Haft
Screenplay by	Douglas McGrath
Based on	Emma by Jane Austen
Starring	Gwyneth Paltrow Toni Collette Alan Cumming Ewan McGregor Greta Scacchi Juliet Stevenson Polly Walker
Music by	Rachel Portman
Cinematography	Ian Wilson
Edited by	Lesley Walker
Production company	Matchmaker Films Haft Entertainment
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release date	August 2, 1996 (1996-08-02)
Running time	120 minutes
Country	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$7 million
Box office	$22.2 million

Emma is a 1996 period film based on the novel of the same name by Jane Austen. Scripted and directed by Douglas McGrath, the film stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Alan Cumming, Toni Collette, Ewan McGregor, and Jeremy Northam.

The film describes a year in the life of Emma Woodhouse (Gwyneth Paltrow), a congenial but naïve young woman who thinks of herself as a romantic matchmaker in her small community in early-19th-century England. When her governess, Miss Taylor (Greta Scacchi), gets married and goes to live with her new husband, Mr Weston (James Cosmo), Emma proudly takes the credit for having brought the couple together. Her father and their old family friend (and brother of Emma's sister's husband) George Knightley (Jeremy Northam) dispute her claim and disapprove of her trying to make more matches, but she ignores their warnings and sets her mind on setting up Mr Elton (Alan Cumming), the minister who performed the Westons' marriage ceremony, with Harriet Smith (Toni Collette), an unsophisticated young woman on the verges of society.

As a close friendship develops between Emma and Harriet, it becomes clear that Harriet is being courted by Robert Martin (Edward Woodall), a farmer who has known Harriet since she was a girl. When Mr Martin proposes to Harriet, she is inclined to accept, but she has come to rely heavily on Emma's advice, and Emma persuades her to reject the proposal. Meanwhile, Mr Elton has been expressing a desire for Emma by taking an interest in a picture she drew of Harriet and by giving her a riddle for a book of riddles being compiled by Harriet. Emma misinterprets this as interest in Harriet, but when Mr Elton and Emma are alone, he fervently declares his love for Emma herself, and she finally realizes her mistake. She harshly rejects his pleas, and he later marries another woman, who turns out to be a vain socialite who competes with Emma for status in the community.