Anyone who has a passing knowledge of classic literature has heard of the Brontë sisters, specifically Charlotte and Emily. Wuthering Heights pushed boundaries when it was first published in 1847 and has remained a staple in English and literature classes around the world, but both the author, Emily Brontë, and her life remain shrouded in mystery to this day. In her writing and directorial debut film, Emily, Frances O’Connor (Mansfield Park) imagines the period of the author’s life before she wrote her only and much beloved novel. The film isn’t meant to be strictly biographical but does use known details of the author’s life to build the foundation of the story; it is a love letter to Brontë and her work.
The same gothic and romantic storytelling elements that all of the Brontë siblings used in their separate works are infused within the film’s aesthetic and structure creating a vibrant and riveting cinematic experience. The love and care that was taken in crafting each shot to allow the audience to become fully engrossed in the film is plainly evident. Much credit goes to not only the film’s gorgeous score and cinematography but the sound design as well. The howling winds of Emily’s cherished moors are practically a tertiary character. It all works together so beautifully on screen.
The film’s emotional heft and weight is carried easily by Emma Mackey in the titular role of Emily. She absolutely shines, and the audience feels every emotion pouring out of her expressive eyes. A quote by the author Eva Hope described Emily Brontë’s personality as “a peculiar mixture of timidity and Spartan-like courage.” Mackey completely captures that in every scene, particularly the moments she is acting opposite Oliver Jackson-Cohen, playing William Weightman, and Alexandra Dowling, playing Charlotte Brontë. She effortlessly oscillates from fiery indignation to heartbreaking vulnerability throughout the film.
Much of what is known of the real Emily Brontë is that she was very introverted and adored nature, her home, animals, and her siblings. Something that practically every introvert can relate to is having your introversion be misinterpreted and classified as something strange and antisocial. It’s easy to become other people’s punching bag or doormat. This specific hardship and the difficulty of relating to others while having a rich inner life is a throughline in Emily.
Everyone in town, including her sister Charlotte, calls her “the strange one.” The film is not only a love letter to Emily and her character but could also be seen as one to introverts and creatives alike. O’Connor seems to grasp the freedom and safety that people like Emily feel in their own worlds–be it in writing, painting, reading, nature, etc. Emily is able to have her own cinematic moments like in a scene where she spies someone walking over a hill towards her to meet her in a cottage. With Emily’s vantage point, we feel her excitement as it radiates off the screen, and we’re able to observe how she savors and creates a climatic moment for herself that is surely similar to scenes she has read in books at the time.
There have been plenty of film adaptations of the novel Wuthering Heights but not as many about the author herself. Some hardcore fans of Emily Brontë may balk at the idea of a semi-biographical film of her life, particularly the insertion of a romantic interest. The author had no known romantic partners in her real life. Of course, it is irritating and disappointing to see a woman’s only role portrayed on screen to be an object of love, lust, and nothing else, but this isn’t really what Emily was going for at all. By creating and imagining this time of Brontë’s life that is largely unknown, O’Connor allows her to be the heroine of the kind of story she adored so much. Her purpose and value in life isn’t defined by a man’s affection and approval, but rather she is able to explore a more elusive facet of her inner world through her experiences with him.
“There is something ungodly in your writing.” The new curate in town, William Weightman, says this after his voiceover reads a poem that Emily accidentally dropped earlier in the film. We already see the pent up passion within Emily while hearing this. It had been boiling and simmering just beneath the surface long before any sort of romantic relationship took place. This poem is a fantasy of her own creation and imagination. She is constantly observing others throughout the film and reads plenty of books, so O’Connor rightly sets up the idea that the brilliance of Wuthering Heights didn’t necessarily have to come from a romantic entanglement with a man. This “something ungodly” that disturbs Weightman was sex, passion, and human curiosity that, naturally, rolls around inside everyone’s mind and shows up in the poems she wrote before her novel. The film’s romantic interest doesn’t take precedence over Emily’s interests and the relationships with the different members of her family, but O’Connor also gently allows Emily to explore her fantasies and curiosity on her own terms as the story unfolds.
Frances O’Connor also pays tribute to the other Bronte’s sisters’ writing. Emily adores the stories she writes with Charlotte and Anne (Amelia Gething). It is almost a kind of magic these women have like they were born with these tales already inside them. An emphasis on the importance these stories have in all of their lives, but especially in Emily’s, shows up repeatedly. The creation of other worlds were not only these young women’s means of survival after dealing with the loss of their mother, but it is hinted that this pastime may have been something they shared with their mother as well. Emily begins writing her novel after suffering even more pain later in the film. Wuthering Heights was likely borne out of the conflicted feelings of anger, passion, frustration, and pain that Emily felt throughout her entire life.
A more heartwarming aspect of the narrative is Emily’s relationship with her brother, Branwell, played by Fionn Whitehead. Her real life admiration for him is often overshadowed by her relationship with Anne, but in this film, Anne has already left to take Emily’s spot at the school where Charlotte teaches, so she is away for much of the runtime. Branwell is left more in focus. His struggle with alcohol takes its toll on his closeness with Emily, but the moments before the spiral downward are sweet.
Branwell is fiery, passionate, and free-spirited; he encourages Emily’s writing and the more thorny parts of her personality. He also never belittles her and respects her talent, which is very refreshing considering how difficult things were for women at the time. In fact, the majority of the men she interacts with on screen encourage her to write like they possibly recognize it as the lifeline it actually is for her. Emily watches Branwell do all kinds of things that she is not able to do because she is a woman, and when they are spending time together, Branwell never makes her feel like she is wrong for wanting to do what he does or wanting more out of her life than stereotypical gender roles. It is easy to see where a lot of the influence on her writing came from–at least in this story.
Frances O’Connor has crafted a beautiful and spellbinding film with Emily that takes into account both the known facets of Emily Brontë’s personality and the unknown ones that were likely present because she was human–something easy to forget with the passage of so much time. O’Connor makes Emily a real person again and allows her to have her moment in the sun when maybe she didn’t otherwise have that opportunity in her own life. Because it is not a traditional biopic, there is a freshness brought to the film that gives it a modern edge that will resonate well with audiences. It is an affectionate and encouraging story that will no doubt empower many, especially introverts and women. Instead of writing something that society deemed “proper” for women, Emily writes her unfiltered feelings and something true to herself. By doing so, she gains confidence and realizes the importance and power of her own voice and desires.
Emily is currently playing in select theaters in NY and LA courtesy of Bleecker Street. The film will expand nationwide on February 24th, 2023.
Frances O’Connor has crafted a beautiful and spellbinding film with Emily that takes into account both the known facets of Emily Brontë’s personality and the unknown ones.
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GVN Rating 8.5
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When I’m not busy daydreaming or having an existential crisis, I can usually be found watching a movie or TV, listening to music or a podcast, or with my nose in a book.