Hmmm. I'm not really an huge Jane Austen fan - and "Emma" is one of her least engaging stories, I find. Gwyneth Paltrow takes on the mantle of the title character, a rather thoughtless young woman who spends way too much time interfering in the lives of others - and not always with the best of intentions - frequently leaving a trail of emotional mayhem in her wake. It is only Jeremy Northam ("Mr. Knightley)" who dares to call a spade a spade with her, and to encourage her to mend her meddling ways, and to take up the opportunity of the love that is staring her in the face - before it is too late. Paltrow is fine as the adaptation is less wordy than in the original tome: Northam has a charm and sense of fairness that endears him to the audience (though, frankly, what he sees in "Emma" - aside from physical beauty - is anyone's guess) and there are a couple of nice supporting efforts from Alan Cummings, Juliet Stevenson and a really rather delightful performance from the put-upon "Mrs. Bates" (Phyllida Law). Rachel Portman provides a melodic and gentle score to accompany this very good looking drama, but it was all just a bit too Merchant Ivory for me, without the charm or the finesse of these colourful iterations.