Directed by Frances O'Connor (first role as director; known as an actor in Mansfield Park (1999); Bedazzled (2000); A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001); The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)) and starring Emma Mackey (Death on the Nile (2022); Eiffel (2021); The Winter Lake (2020)), Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk (2017); The Children Act (2017); The Duke (2020)), Oliver Jackson-Cohen (The Lost Daughter (2021); The Invisible Man (2020)), Alexandra Dowling (The Musketeers (tv series, 2014-16)), Adrian Dunbar (Line of Duty (tv series, 2012-21); The Secret Scripture (2016); The Crying Game (1992)) and Amelia Gething (her first feature film).
Drama; 130 mins; 12+
Set in rural Yorkshire in the late 1840s, it follows one of the world’s most famous authors, Emily Brontë (Emma Mackey), who wrote Wuthering Heights before her untimely death aged just 30 years.
One of six siblings, we are also introduced to Charlotte Brontë (Alexandra Dowling), Anne Brontë (Amelia Gething) - both teachers with whom Emily gets along well - and Branwell Brontë (Fionn Whitehead); their father Patrick Brontë (Adrian Dunbar), a widower, is a strict pastor in the Church of England. Emily and Branwell get on well together at home and have a series of adventures, including spying on neighbours through their windows. Patrick is a believer in corporal punishment and Branwell, a bit of a maverick, suffers more than the others until he is sent away to work on the railways.
Meanwhile, William Weightman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), a dashing curate, comes to stay and upsets the balance in the household. He teaches Emily French and encourages her to write; they try to resist the inevitable forbidden love from the attraction between them.
The storyline includes a number of subplots as well as the main one which focuses on Emily searching for freedom and her voice, which she ultimately finds in her writing, incorporating much character development as Emily changes once William comes to stay.
A beautiful period drama, with plenty of atmospheric rain scenes and wonderful cinematography, which portrays the inspiration between the enigmatic woman, the writer and which depicts events which are mirrored in her novel.
Emily had its Avant-Premier during the British & Irish Film Festival Luxembourg (BIFFL) Spring edition and will soon go on general release in Luxembourg.
