Emily Brontë was a writer from the 1800’s known for Wuthering Heights, but her life remains shrouded in mystery. Emily is a fictionalized account of her life which seeks to fill in some blanks of the events leading up to her writing of the mentioned masterpiece. Though it may be a period piece, it also works to subvert many of the classic tropes of the genre.

Emily does not waste time, quickly establishing its version of Emily Brontë (Mackey) as a bit of a daydreamer and a bit of an oddity in contrast to her contemporaries. Little did she know, her fortunes would change once a handsome young curate named William Weightman (Jackson-Cohen) moved into the local parish and from that point on, the usual male-female drama ensued as expected. It started with longing glances from across the room soon followed and it continued with sharp comments and sexual tension began to fill the screen. All things considered, the film was really a true showcase of writing as from there, the film started to elevate itself over more standard fare period pieces. Meanwhile, Emily’s relationship with her floundering brother Branwell (Whitehead), one who was also mischief and alcoholism prone, was one of the film’s many highlights. However, as far as they were concerned, as Emily and William’s love blossoms over the course of the film, there’s no mistaking that some rough waters were up ahead and will soon rock this love boat.

On a technical level, the film should be applauded as the direction from Frances O’Connor was impressive as she creates a very tonally drab and gloomy watch over most of its 2+ hour running time. Using a fair share of overcast and rain to create a sense of foreboding, one can’t help but get the impression that not everything is going to work out in the end. As mentioned, her script follows suit, featuring plenty of banter and heavy-handed dialog with an air of cynicism and bitterness permeating throughout, especially when it came to the realm of relationships and love. It is clear how the film positions itself early as a sort of anti Pride and Prejudice and as it continues to build momentum, it absolutely steamrolls over all the typical genre tropes, so much so that the running time is barely felt.

While the film is cinematic and its score is delightful, neither of them are unlikely to end up among the best of the year. The costume design is likewise wonderful but a bit more subdued than other period pieces. In the end, while Mackey certainly fits the role well, her performance is truly something special as the mysterious but sexy, odd woman out. She and Jackson-Cohen have tremendous chemistry together as they share quite a few steamy scenes.

At the end of the day, Emily is a brilliant addition to the period genre and also one that deserves some attention from audiences.

(original review)

still courtesy of Sphere Films

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Russell Miller

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