Emma (Paltrow)

This 1996 film version of Jane Austen’s novel stars Gwyneth Paltrow as the clever, rich “heroine” of the film who thinks a little too highly of herself, and entertains herself by meddling in the affairs of others. The destructive potential of Emma’s fantasies is best shown in her treatment of her protegee Harriet Smith (Toni Collette). At the start of the film, a match is all but made between Harriet and farmer Robert Martin. Emma, however teaches her to aspire to better things, arranging a match between Harriet and Mr.Elton (Alan Cumming). When this fails (because he is in love with Emma), she urges Harriet to look elsewhere. And when Harriet announces that she has fallen in love with another man, Emma imagines the man to be Frank Churchill (Ewan McGregor). The self-destructiveness of her imaginings is only apparent to her when she finally realises that the man in question is Mr.Knightley (Jeremy Northam), with whom she realises no one can be with but herself! In describing the mischievous schemes and eventual humbling of Emma, the film loses no opportunity to poke ironic fun at the society and social mores of the day.