Review: Emily

Directed by: Frances O’Connor

Written by: Frances O’Connor

Starring: Emma Mackey, Fionn Whitehead, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Alexandra Dowling, Amelia Gething

Rating: [3.5/5]

Getting at what has inspired famous tales has led to quite the rise in films about famous authors, displaying how the little things in one’s life assist in influencing the creation of something perhaps fictional, but impactful all the same. Taking quite the approach in doing so, Emily tells the story of the famed author of “Wuthering Heights” and while she lived a short life, it did not come without moments that deserved a film of its own. 

With her sister returning from school, Emily Brontë (Emma Mackey) seeks to find where she will blaze her path in this world. Navigating between the real-world benefits of being a teacher like Charlotte (Alexandra Dowling) or pursuing her talents in writing. This all hangs in the balance as things get complicated when a new curate arrives in town. 

Only living to 30-years-old, Emily Brontë undoubtedly accomplished plenty in her short life in delivering one of my favorite novels in “Wuthering Heights.” As we navigate the tale of her youth, we get plenty of moments where we see the influences play out in pivotal scenes not only in her life but also the characters within her famous story but what sticks out the most undoubtedly proves to be the sex she depicts. As one can ascertain, women of this era did not have the luxury to gain any experience of sexual gratification other than within marriage, and even then no guarantees existed. Given how sex scenes transpire in the novel, this film explains exactly where she learned this. 

If anything, this film displays how Emily certainly was the more adventurous and fun sister as compared to Charlotte, who felt beholden to follow the distinct and proper steps. Emily, on the other hand, goes through these different life experiences that allow her to choose a path that best works for her, which certainly helps when living a life of immense privilege as she does with the resources provided. Emily, as a character, stands out from everyone else and this energy she carries serves as the fixation of Frances O’Connor’s telling of this story. 

The gothic mood within this film ultimately allows it to stand out amongst other films focusing on authors of this era. This general mood combines well with the cinematography that generally has this darker approach. This only further gets accentuated in scenes like the one where the siblings and the curate play a game of wearing a mask and doing impersonations. A scene that may begin to raise questions of whether this film lies solely in truthful retelling or will some mystical magic plays its way into it as well. Emily, as a feature, walks along this line and delves into various elements of the forbidden through its narrative that continually builds the intrigue of this person as a whole. 

Rising quickly into stardom, this feature served as yet another showcase for Emma Mackey and how she displays quite the range as a young actor. Simply gauging by her character in Barbie and what she does here shows quite the range and with what gets asked of her she does a splendid job as the titular character. She adds into the mystery and intrigue of this character as someone not afraid to color outside of the lines in her own story despite all the different ways she finds herself pulled towards and where she eventually lands in writing, as we know. Mackey stands out amongst a good supporting cast flanking her in building out this situation and how the titular character must navigate it to get what she ultimately wants in life. 

Emily has so much going for it in the way it engrossed us in this atmosphere and with these characters. We go through this journey with the help of Emma Mackey’s splendid performance and a steady hand at directing with Frances O’Connor, who in her directorial debut impresses mightily with her vision. We can certainly look forward to what she has next on her docket as something to look out for. Even with the film running far too long with quite a bloated runtime, the film laid out exactly what one would want from this story and delves into even more in presenting a biopic in quite the unique manner.