It's an imaginative biopic of the poet and novelist Emily Brontë set in Haworth, West Yorkshire, England. It tells Brontë's story from about age 17 to her death at age 30 in 1848 within the context of her surviving family members and a fictional relationship with a young curate.
Emily Brontë (Emma Mackey) has an older sister, Charlotte (Alexandra Dowling), a younger sister, Anne (Amelia Gething), and an older brother, Branwell (Fionn Whitehead), who is somewhat erratic and carefree in his behavior. Their mother has been dead for many years; their father, Patrick (Adrain Dunbar), is a stiff, domineering, but largely absent clergyman.
All of the four surviving Brontë children are creative and close-knit. However, Emily is exceptionally shy and thinks outside the box, questioning orthodox Christian thought. She is particularly close to Anne and Branwell. A young curate, William Weightman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), assists Patrick in his parish. After Emily returns home after failing at teaching because of her reclusiveness, Patrick hires William to tutor Emily in French. Much of the movie follows the developing relationship between Emily and William.
After Weightman's death from cholera, Emily writes "Wuthering Heights." The film's conclusion suggests that Charlotte began serious writing after Emily's too-early death from tuberculosis.
"Emily" is engaging but quite unhistorical. The close but sometimes competitive relationships of the siblings are well shown. Emily's reclusive nature but vivid imagination is also excellently portrayed. The relationship with William Weightman is pure fiction but dominates the film. Emily's relationship with her father is unexplored. In some ways, "Emily" is a traditional tragic romance movie superimposed on a fascinating historical figure. The acting is high quality.
Emily Brontë (Emma Mackey) has an older sister, Charlotte (Alexandra Dowling), a younger sister, Anne (Amelia Gething), and an older brother, Branwell (Fionn Whitehead), who is somewhat erratic and carefree in his behavior. Their mother has been dead for many years; their father, Patrick (Adrain Dunbar), is a stiff, domineering, but largely absent clergyman.
All of the four surviving Brontë children are creative and close-knit. However, Emily is exceptionally shy and thinks outside the box, questioning orthodox Christian thought. She is particularly close to Anne and Branwell. A young curate, William Weightman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), assists Patrick in his parish. After Emily returns home after failing at teaching because of her reclusiveness, Patrick hires William to tutor Emily in French. Much of the movie follows the developing relationship between Emily and William.
After Weightman's death from cholera, Emily writes "Wuthering Heights." The film's conclusion suggests that Charlotte began serious writing after Emily's too-early death from tuberculosis.
"Emily" is engaging but quite unhistorical. The close but sometimes competitive relationships of the siblings are well shown. Emily's reclusive nature but vivid imagination is also excellently portrayed. The relationship with William Weightman is pure fiction but dominates the film. Emily's relationship with her father is unexplored. In some ways, "Emily" is a traditional tragic romance movie superimposed on a fascinating historical figure. The acting is high quality.