I always loved the way Romola delivered the line "Men don't like girls who argue!" I feel like it really showed her own insecurities. They were sooo good together! Best Emma adaptation by far...
Knightley's frustration with Emma in this scene is nothing short of adorable. He obviously enjoys arguing with her, even though doesn't realize it at this point.
@@mariac2343 I shouldn't have put quotes around it because it wasn't a quote from the video, but she at 2:59 she says "men don't like girls who argue!" and the joke is that maybe he wanted to tell her that he liked her to prove her wrong. There's no proof he was going to do that but I like to headcannon he was :)
They both have good points except that Harriet really liked Mr Martin, and mostly on that basis, because also it was a prudent match, she would have been very happy accepting him.
I laugh at 1:40 when Mr. Knightly looks to either side of himself when Emma assumes "there could scarcely be any doubt" that Harriet's father was a respectable gentleman. Ha!
Maria C : Knightley admits it to Emma at the ball shortly before their first dance. He tells Emma “You would have chosen better for him (Mr. Elton) than he chose for himself (referring to Augusta Elton).”
That’s where all the chemistry should be in Emma. Emma and Knightley spend 90% of the book arguing and yet they still fall in love. So if they have chemistry in their fight scenes then they have chemistry 😂
I'm not a huge fan of this adaptation, but I do feel Romola Garai gives a great characterisation in this scene. I love how her Emma is not in the slightest ruffled by MR K's criticism. This Emma is no longer a schoolgirl or Mr K's baby sister, and she wont be told off or given advice by a brother-in-law who, she thinks, doesn't want to acknowledge her superior psychological perception. Mr Knightly is exasperated that lecturing her like a big brother isn't working anymore, he is making no headway with his arguments, and we can see he doesnt quite know how to get Emma to take him seriously. Emma is being both serious and having fun with him at the same time, we can see exactly how she will later end up teasing Miss Bates at Box Hill. Her ignoring his viewpoint frustrates him even more because it is just another way she ignores his potential as a lover; Johnny L Miller conveys the inner tension of his position very well. And because there is no genuine intent to wound between them in this scene (unlike some other versions) we can believe very easily throughout the squabble that Mr K and Emma will soon be friends again.
Emma is an egotistical, selfish, arrogant person who bullies and manipulates other people. Mr. Knightly is her conscience whom she refuses to listen. That's the point of the novel. The outer romantic trappings are just the narrative framework.
This Knightly is much better than the 2020 version in my opinion. Its most apparent in this scene. 2020 Knightly is just serious, blunt, and angry. This Knightly while is also blunt and angry he still is very witty and charming and also much more expressive. His facial expressions just make me laugh. He awesome
Emma. 2020 was hillarious. Most Emma adaptions actually forget that the novel is a satire in the first place, not a romance novel. On the other hand. Bill Nighly was horrible as Mr Woodhouse considering historical facts. A Regency era gentleman would have never yelled at his servants or hopped like a bunny from stairs to stairs. I think that Michael Gambon would have been the BEST Mr Woodhouse, were he a bit younger.
Goodness, what if Mr Knightley is Harriet's natural father and that is why he had such an interest in Harriet and Mr Martin marrying, and Harriet being settled for life?