Jeremy Northam 90%

Despite the Tailors' well-known aversion to Gwyneth Paltrow (stemming from that period a couple of years ago when it seemed you couldn't go to the cinema without being forced to watch Gwynnie as a cockney sparrer or Welsh miner or anything other than an American), this fine film is a reminder of just how good an actress she is. Paltrow plays the beautiful and spoilt but good-hearted Emma Woodhouse as elegant and charming, but always manages to convey just how young and inexperienced she is underneath the surface glamour.

As everybody knows, Emma is the story of the rich and lovely Emma, who decides to matchmake her friends, without realising that she herself is the one person who needs help. Meddling in her friends' affairs, she causes more harm than good, and eventually finds that she has got herself into more trouble than she can handle.

Jeremy Northam as Mr. Knightley undoubtedly suffers from comparison with Colin Firth's all-conquering Darcy in the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice, which seems unfair but inevitable. Although he doesn't dive into any lakes, there's more than enough britches and boots in the costume department to keep the most fervent P&P-er happy. In the less showy role of Mr. Knightley, Northam shows a genuine respect, liking and affection for Emma, which leaves the viewer feeling sure of happiness ahead.

All in all, this is a beautiful and romantic film, with moments of high comedy and occasionally uncomfortably close to the bone about the way people interact. Not bad for a movie in which, as a friend of mine once said, the whole plot turns on someone being slightly rude to someone else at a picnic. Rent it when you're in need of feeling warm and fuzzy.

• Bonuses: Ewan MacGregor as Frank Churchill; spot-on supporting turns from big names such as Toni Collette, Alan Cumming and a wicked Juliet Stephenson; beautiful scenery
• Weaknesses: Ewan MacGregor's wig. He has bad, bad hair - you have been warned