Emily Review

Emily Brontë is one of the most famous British novelists which is a remarkable feat because she only wrote one novel in her short life. Her story is explored in Frances O’Connor’s directional debut.

Emily Jane Brontë (Emma Mackey) is one of four siblings who lived in rural Yorkshire. She’s a shy young woman who struggled when meeting new people. During her life Emily shows a talent for writing, got close to the new curate, William Weightman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), and gets led astray by her substance-addicted brother, Branwell (Fionn Whitehead).

Wuthering Heights is considered one of the greatest novels from the 19^th Century. Even people who haven’t read the novel know some of the basics, particularly the turbulent relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine. It was a work that ensured Emily Brontë’s cultural immortality.

Emily had to play triple duty. It had to be a film that showed the influences of Wuthering Heights and be a character study for readers and non-readers of the famous novel. I have never read Wuthering Heights or know much about Emily Brontë’s life, but I enjoyed Emily as a gothic period drama. It was similar to the film Colette because I didn’t know anything about Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette or her work, but it was a wonderful film about the art of writing and Collette’s toxic relationship with her husband.

The works of the Brontës were known for gritty, raw tales that were controversial when they were published. Emily wanted to capture that feeling. It was set in the beautiful yet remote Yorkshire Moors and that life in the early 19^th century was challenging, even for the Brontës who lived a more comfortable life than others during this period. The cold and dark were felt in the nighttime scenes and there was a gothic feeling throughout the film. Some characters experimented with drink and drugs and when Emily used opium the shots of her eyes dilating felt a lot like Requiem for a Dream.

Emily was also a story about passion in an age of restraint. The Victorian period was known for being a time of social conservatism and modesty which was held up as a virtue. Anyone who had loose values, especially women, was ostracised. An extra complication for Emily and William was religion. Emily’s father (Adrian Dunbar) was the local priest, and William was the curate, Mr. Brontë’s trainee. William tried to resist his attraction to Emily but failed and the pair acted differently in private than in public.

The other aspect of Emily was looking at her character. She was shown to be a shy and awkward woman with a big imagination. The writing and Mackay’s performance implied that Emily had autism or Asperger’s. Emily stated she didn’t like meeting new people and she acted inappropriately. There were a couple of powerful scenes that showed this. One was when Emily was sent to school and she was so overwhelmed that she hid in a cupboard. The other was when the Brontë siblings and William were playing with a death mask and Emily pretended to be her deceased mother which caused her sisters distress

Emma Mackey is best known for her role in Sex Education but she needs to prepare for life after the Netflix show. Emily puts Mackey in good standing because she did give an excellent performance as this brilliant yet troubled young woman who didn’t know how to interact with the world around her. She was wonderful to watch.

Emily was a film about the men in Emily Brontë’s life. There were three strong male actors who surrounded Emily. Whitehead as Branwell was the wayward son who led Emily astray with drink and drugs, yet also helped Emily share her work. One of my favourite scenes in the film was when Branwell was sent away and had to say goodbye to his sister. It was a tender moment. Oliver Jackson-Cohen was a handsome man torn between his religious belief and his attraction to Emily. Adrian Dunbar as Emily’s father was memorable because his performance felt a lot like his role in Line of Duty. He was a figure of authority who spoke with a Northern Irish accent.

Frances O’Connor had predominately worked as an actress, having an extensive career in the US, UK, and Australia. She has made a great transition to directing. O’Connor made a film with a hypnotic quality because of the visuals and music. O’Connor was blessed with the natural beauty of Yorkshire and she was able to make a film that was a gritty character drama.

Emily was an ambitious film with its attempt to tackle so many themes, its approach to characters, and being a film that was beautiful and grim in equal measure.