MovieChat Forums > Emma (1996) Discussion > Toni is too BIG

Toni is too BIG

posted 18 years ago by rhoda-1
58 replies | jump to latest

What spoils for me an otherwise carefully cast movie is Toni Collette as Emma's protegee, Harriet Smith. Instead of the sweet, timid, not terribly bright, but very pretty and dainty girl of the book, we get Toni Collette as a big, bosomy, clumsy girl, whose confusion and awkwardness are broadly comic, and who is so capable looking and so much bigger than Gwyneth Paltrow that she looks ridiculous and unbelievable being so easily led. Also, it is absurd to think that Mr Knightley would ever be interested in her, or that Emma would think that he was--whereas it is just possible that he might have his head turned by someone very young and pretty whose mind was a blank slate he could fill to suit him. That, however, I think, points up why the right sort of actress was not cast--too many viewers might think a timid, pretty dumbbell more desirable than a girl who was pretty, confident, and clever. Alas, even two centuries after Jane Austen created Emma, female helplessness has not lost its charm or female spirit its terrors.

[–] parisel 14 years ago

Toni Collette is not only too heavy and coarse for the role, she is years and years too old. She easily could have played the role of Miss Bates believably.

The plump description in the book means just that, pleasingly plump, not obese and clumsy and plain.

Toni Collette is a very good actress when cast in a sensible role for her age and figure.

She was woefully miscast here and it truly affected the entire film.

I guess it's like looking at clouds. You see one thing and I see another. Peace.

[–] ppllkk 14 years ago

I have found this thread very helpful in trying to figure out why I react to this film the way that I do.

It has become clear that how Harriet is depicted is critical to the story and to how we see Emma.

If Harriet is a "very pretty" girl of 18, at the height of her youthful freshness, then Emma is not being unreasonable in believing that Harriet may be able to move up in the world through marriage because of her looks. This does happens. Even in those days, a man could become besotted by very pretty girl and marry her even though it is not the practical thing to do.

With a very pretty Harriet, Emma's mistake is in not recognizing that Elton is too concerned about money and social position to make a romantic choice. This is an understandable mistake; Emma does not have a lot of experience of the real world.

But if Harriet is gawky and not at all pretty, the whole situation changes dramatically. An Emma who thinks that the Harriet that we have in this movie could attract Elton, Churchill, or Knightley is a nut case who is ludicrously out of touch with reality.

It is only barely plausible that Robert Martin is desperately attracted to the Harriet we are shown.

By giving us a Harriet who is not pretty, not even attractive, this film turns Emma into a mindless twit who is downright dangerous.

I like the Emma of Jane Austen's novel, a lot, but I don't relate to the Emma of this film, and it does affect my enjoyment of it.

Note 1:

setanta- wrote:
The humour of the film is that Ms. Smith is an unlikely project that the oblivious Emma fails to see. You want to make Harriet a more appealing match for some eligible suitor and that is precisely what would make it less funny.

I don't find anything funny in Emma's creating expectations in Harriet that would never have occurred to her on her own and that have no possibility of being fulfilled.

Note 2: Toni Collette is an amazing actress. I particularly recommend her in Japanese Story if you want to see her as a very appealing and sexy woman. It would be interesting to know if Toni could have played a "very pretty" 18-year-old, but she is not given the chance. Douglas McGrath didn't even try to make her attractive. Rather the opposite.

Note 3: At the dance, Knightley says to Emma that Harriet has some first-rate qualities about her. Whether Knightley really means that or not, I don't know. I don't believe that we are shown Harriet's "first-rate qualities" in the movie.

[–] ppllkk 14 years ago

Emma By Jane Austen Chapter 03

...for Miss Smith was a girl of seventeen, whom Emma knew
very well by sight, and had long felt an interest in, on account of her
beauty.

She was a very pretty girl, and her beauty happened to be of a sort
which Emma particularly admired. She was short, plump, and fair, with
a fine bloom, blue eyes, light hair, regular features, and a look of
great sweetness...

Those soft blue eyes, and all those
natural graces, should not be wasted on the inferior society of
Highbury and its connexions. [Emphasis added.]

This isn't the Harriet from the film. The better looking Harriet is, the more realistic Emma's hopes for her are. The opposite is also true.

[–] howtragic 13 years ago

Yeah, I think Toni Collette was miscast here too. Don't get me wrong, Toni Collette is a very good actress, she is just not right for this part. First of all, I don't know if Toni is lying about her age, or if she just looks old for her age, but she does not look like a teenager in this movie at all. She actually really looks older than Emma. So in the movie it looks like a 20 year old giving relationship advice to a woman in her late 20s. It just throws off the entire story. I do not think it is Toni's physical size that makes it seem like she cannot be led, but the fact that Toni just comes across as a totally ADULT woman. Harriet was only 18, and a very immature and naive 18 at that. Heck these days I would cast a 16 year old for the part, but never, EVER a 24 year old who looks about 5 years older. Let's put it another way: Toni Collette plays the roles of struggling single moms to perfection - the antithesis of Harriet.

The perfect Harriet to me was the one in the 2009 mini-series. She was small, blonde, pretty (but not stunning), simple and looked to be around the same age as Emma or younger. She really did seem like someone Emma could dominate. It was simply a much better casting choice.

I think Toni Collette in Emma shows how crucial it is to not just find a great actress but one who really fits the part. Whoever cast Toni saw that she has a lot of acting talent (this was before the Sixth Sense). I will give them that, but the role of Harriet is NOT that hard to play. They needed to think not just of acting talent, but also of who would be a good fit for the part.

[–] Redart27 11 years ago

Agree with above - love Toni, but not here. It reminded me of an awkward high school play casting. I don't think it is about plump v thin. It's more her age. I imagined Harriet to be young, naive country girl. The book says she is pretty, and that is why the superficial Emma takes her under her wing as if she were a doll.

[–] rizdek 11 years ago

I too wondered at that casting decision. Not at all, as you say, delicate.

[–] Rafael_In_UK 10 years ago

It took me 7 years to notice this thread and let me tell you, it is the most stupid comment I had seen in a while. If all women were all the same (including men) life would be the most boring place ever. Do yourself a favour; read, educate and expand your mind and end that shallow line of thinking. Diversity is the spice of life.

[–] TheChamCham 10 years ago

Agreed. I worry that Toni Collette made the mistake of visiting this board and that is why she has been so painfully thin and unrecognizable since this film.
I loved her in "Muriel's Wedding" and "Emma" and I am sorry that she seems to have bowed to convention. I openly love natural,curvy -bordering- on plump, women !

"I say ! Open this door at once! We're British !"

[–] ppllkk 10 years ago

Rafael_In_UK wrote:

If all women were all the same (including men) life would be the most boring place ever.

But not all women can play a particular role based on a book. This thread is about questionable casting, not about Toni Collette as an actress or a person.Perhaps you missed which is really pretty stupid.

[–] fatalframe80 10 years ago

I had no real quibble with Toni Collette but no, I did not like the way Harriet was portrayed at all. As you said, she was portrayed as a big, lumbering farm girl type which, realistically, Emma would not have found appealing. I particularly loathe the cottage scene. It pretty much sets Emma up as a saint and Harriet as a big oaf. I highly doubt Emma would be spoon-feeding anybody.

[–] Tomatish 10 years ago

I see the OP's point, and I too think she was miscast. But I don't think it's a matter of plumpness. It's a matter of bone structure. A woman (or man) can be plump yet still have a petit bone structure, which I believe is the case for Harriet Smith (how I imagine the character) but not for Toni Collette. Her performance was also a little off. She doesn't do clueless very well. Both other actors I saw in the role gave much better performances than hers, and I usually LOVE her performances.