The Insanely Gorgeous New "Emma" Movie Is Being Released for Rental This Weekend
Yesterday, buried in the never-ending catastrophe that is our current news cycle, there was a small glimmer of hope: Universal Pictures announced that, instead of keeping new movies in theaters exclusively for 90 days (the norm for Hollywood studios), it would make its current theatrical slate available for rent on streaming platforms. Which means that Emma, the most divinely gorgeous, interiors-inspiration-filled film in recent memory, can be yours to watch at home as of this weekend.
In case you're unfamiliar, Emma is the latest adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 novel (my favorite of hers, not that I'm biased), directed by veteran music photographer Autumn de Wilde and starring actress Anya Taylor-Joy in the titular role.
While certainly not the first very good take on Emma to hit the big screen (see: Gwyneth Paltrow's diaphanous dresses; Cher Horowitz's generation-defining sense of self), as far as sheer visual delight goes, de Wilde's version is truly next level. From the costumes to the interiors to the sweeping vistas of the English countryside, everything is so breathtakingly stunning that it hurts. (In a good way, of course.)
De Wilde enlisted production designer Kave Quinn (who also recently worked on Judy) to help create film's overall aesthetic. Drawing inspiration from Georgian dollhouses, movies like Marie Antoinette and The Grand Budapest Hotel, and even a visit to Sir John Soane’s Museum in London with a historical color expert, Quinn said in an interview with the movie's production company, the team came up with a palette that might best be described as country aristocracy dipped in a candy-colored coating.
As a stand-in for Hartfield, the Woodhouse family estate in the novel, de Wilde and Quinn used Firle Place, a Tudor manor in East Sussex. Still privately owned, its owners gave Quinn (relatively) free rein to redecorate, which included wallpapering the dining room in a truly drool-worthy pink-and-green archival print, repainting rooms in more intense colors (the bright blue hallway is to die for) and building a conservatory out back for Emma to flit through as she checks on her orchids while doing a bit of light scheming.
And, in case you're someone who finds solace in shopping therapy, we've rounded up some of our favorite Emma-inspired items.
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