Written and directed by Douglas McGrath, and produced by Patrick Cassavetti and Steven Haft, the film stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Alan Cumming, Toni Collette, Ewan McGregor, and Jeremy Northam.

The film follows a young 19th-century English woman named Emma Woodhouse who, while matchmaking for friends and neighbours, nearly misses her chance at love.

After her governess, Miss Taylor, marries Mr. Weston, Emma proudly takes credit for bringing the couple together and now considers herself a matchmaker within her small community.

Her father and an old family friend, George Knightley, whose brother is married to Emma's sister, dispute her claim and discourage any further matchmaking attempts.

Ignoring their warnings, she schemes to match Mr. Elton, the village clergyman, with her new friend, Harriet Smith, a rather unsophisticated young woman on the verges of society.

Meanwhile, Mr. Elton has shown a desire for Emma by excessively admiring her watercolour portrait of Harriet, and otherwise engaging with her to secure favour.

When Mr Knightley returns, he and Emma meet and have a conversation that begins awkwardly but ends with him proposing and her gladly accepting.

[4] McGrath had initially wanted to write a modern version of the novel, set on the Upper East Side of New York City.

[4] McGrath decided to bring in American actress Gwyneth Paltrow to audition for Emma Woodhouse, after a suggestion from his agent and after seeing her performance in Flesh and Bone.

[5] Of his decision to bring Paltrow in for the part, McGrath revealed "The thing that actually sold me on her playing a young English girl was that she did a perfect Texas accent.

[8] Collette also struggled to get into the Austen books when she was younger, but after reading Emma, which she deemed "warm and witty and clever", she began to appreciate them more.

[10] McGrath initially believed Thompson to be too young to play Miss Bates, but he changed his mind after seeing her wearing glasses with her hair down.

[11] Cumming wrote on his official website that the friendship that developed between himself and McGrath was one of the most memorable things about his time working on the film.

[12] Juliet Stevenson portrayed the "ghastly" Mrs Elton, while Polly Walker and Greta Scacchi starred as Jane Fairfax and Anne Taylor respectively.

"[19] Myers told Barbara De Witt from the Los Angeles Daily News that using pastel-coloured clothing to get the watercolour effect was one of her major challenges during the production.

I wanted a look that would work not only for the period but also one that would compliment [sic] Gwyneth Paltrow's youth, swan neck, and incredible beauty.

[21] Although in general staying close to the plot of the book, the screenplay by Douglas McGrath enlivens the banter between the staid Mr Knightley and the vivacious Emma, making the basis of their attraction more apparent.

In an essay from Jane Austen in Hollywood, Nora Nachumi writes that, due partly to Paltrow's star status, Emma appears less humbled by the end of this film than she does in the novel.

The consensus writes: "Emma marks an auspicious debut for writer-director Douglas McGrath, making the most of its Jane Austen source material – and a charming performance from Gwyneth Paltrow.

[25] Ken Eisner, writing for Variety, proclaimed "Gwyneth Paltrow shines brightly as Jane Austen's most endearing character, the disastrously self-assured matchmaker Emma Woodhouse.