Emily
From English countryside hills to governesses and clergymen, to the lives of high-class society, to sexual tension so present you can cut it with a knife, Frances O’Connor’s 2022 movie, Emily showcases the life of esteemed author, Emily Bronte and what inspired her to write Wuthering Heights.
The movie begins as Emily Bronte lies in deathbed beside her is her sister Charlotte. From there, a flashback to the past sets the movie in biopic mode. The flashback depicts one of Charlotte’s visits from school. Now nearly graduated, Charlotte begins to prepare her life as a teacher. The beginning of the movie establishes the closeness the two sisters have and once had. Emily (played by Emma Mackey) and Charlotte (played by Alexandra Dowling) both share a love for storytelling however, Charlotte wishes to put that aspect of her life away and focus on pleasing her father and being a governess. There is a lot of back and forth between the two sisters. They both love storytelling or at least it seems like it. Charlotte constantly wants Emily to let go of the stories and grow up, but Emily doesn’t want to. She eventually goes to school with Charlotte to learn to be a teacher but her fear of new people triumphs. She returns home much to her father’s dismay. Admittedly, Dowling does an excellent job balancing a loving nature towards Emily but also be antagonistic when needed. Which works well in a movie with no central villain or direct conflict. Dowling walks the fine line between concern and wanting the best for Emily and caving into what others think to the point that she constantly belittles her sister for her strangeness. She comes off as empathetic and impatient at the same time which implies this has been an internal conflict for some time.
Other siblings include Anne (played by Amelia Gething) and brother Branwell (played by Fionn Whitehead). Anne is a lot more neutral than Charlotte. She does have a soft spot for Emily and her wild imagination and stories but eventually she reveals that she only does so to entertain the idea but would personally rather grow up and leave those infantile things behind. She feels bad for Emily and what people in town say about her but never really stands up for her. Branwell is a large source of inspiration for Emily, both siblings lost in life, they increasingly spend more and more time together. They bond over writing and spend lots of time playing outdoors until he and Emily are separated.
Throughout the movie, William Weightman (played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen), a curate, arrives to town. He is a source of enamor for Emily’s sisters and other young women in town however, Emily is extremely dismissive of him, and he distant with her. Very reminiscent of an Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy situation. Emily’s father has Weightman teach Emily French and throughout their lessons, they begin to grow close. They develop a romantic and sexual relationship to no one’s surprise. They have a believable romance that feels heavily influenced by lust. As they get to know each other, there is a commonality between their love for writing and storytelling. They are both academics and share a deep admiration for nature. The sound of rain becomes more than just that as they begin a love affair.
Cinematographer Nanu Segal does an excellent job with far and wide shots of the natural world. The environment and outdoors are equally influential as a setting and a character itself. There is a longing sense for the outdoors. The characters and their interactions with nature go hand in hand with composer Abel Korzeniowski’s score for the movie. The vastness of the land is expertly mingled with the music. The music makes the world feel alive and helps demonstrate how the characters interact with their surrounding environment. Additionally, the costumes were very intricate with a lot of detail. They are resembling attire from 19th century Yorkshire, England for both the men and women. The costume design says a lot about the characters as well. For example, in a scene where all the three sisters are out with friends, Emily is the only sister depicted in darker colors. This could be to highlight her nature as the ‘odd one’ nonetheless, it creates another segmentation between Emily and her sisters.
Emma Mackey’s performance as Emily elevates the movie. Truly it does. She has this suffocated nature that yearns to be free. She doesn’t know her story, but she wishes to take control of her story. Despite the inaccuracies and the fictionalized parts of the biopic, Mackey is able to hone in on Emily’s ‘weirdness’ and repression. Especially towards the second half of the movie. She evolves from being reserved and mousy to being a lot sterner and more volatile. Her romance with Weightman feels fleshed out and in large part because of the early mannerisms and expressions Emily demonstrates from his initial arrival that imply she likes him.
Oliver Jackson-Cohen as William worked in large part because of the chemistry between he and Mackey shared. His performance reflects a deep desire for Emily while making his break-up with her even more believable than that. At his core, he is a religious man, and he struggles between his inherent nature and how he wants to live his life.
Emily felt like another regurgitation of classic literature like Pride and Prejudice, (I love Joe Wright’s 2005 Pride and Prejudice btw) but certain elements took a unique approach regarding the subject matter. Considering how little is known about Emily Brontë, it was an interesting and effective way of depicting her life. Certain parts feel embellished and are fictionalized but work well to depict the life of the Wuthering Heights author. The movie made me care about her romance with William as she got lonelier and lonelier. It infuriated me to see him trip about their affair and attempt to end it over her ungodliness, but I relished in seeing how finding out that she no longer writes affected him. I loved seeing a stoned Emma Mackey arrive with a cake in hand ready to confront Weightman for essentially ghosting her. I think it was outlandish scenes like that that made this movie feel different. It wasn’t trying to be some posh and put together biopic. It wasn’t trying to be a regal adaption of some classic literature. It embraced the weirdness of its period and its titular character. The world felt romantically gothic, and the music and the camerawork open it up to the characters within.