Emily

What a wicked, wicked film this is and the depths to which non-academics misunderstand Wuthering Heights reeks throughout this lush and engaging period drama.

Emily Bronte never had an affair, she never married, and she is quoted in an earlier biopic from 1979 in her preference for friendship over the fleeting illusion of romance, in her preference for holly over wild dog's roses.

Wuthering Heights is many things but it has never been a silly romance novel. The first thirty pages or so are hilarious pitch black comedy, making a mockery of middle class manners in the rudeness and brutal company of "the inmates of Wuthering Heights."

As the story of Heathcliff and Cathy unfolds, it becomes readily apparent that Heathcliff is a full blown sociopath and Cathy is criticized for throwing her life away on him. The last 200 pages of the book feature a psychopathically evil Heathcliff, a dead Cathy, and a rather obvious derision of their unholy union in favor of other characters like Nelly Dean and Cathy's daughter Catherine.

Someone who doesn't have the background in literature to understand the novel should definitely not be making a movie about Emily Bronte's life, but it's a fun film if you can get over the horror of the blatant lies.

This is is well-directed and well acted with beautiful photography. It is loosely based on Emily Bronte's life and depicts events which are mirrored in Wuthering Heights. It is not hard to find factual errors eg.it was Anne who had the relationship with William Weightman, but if you just treat as a story in its own right, it is a great piece of film-making. I was reminded that the films: Becoming Jane and Shakespeare in Love, were also about famous authors used failed romances as the impetus to write. I noticed that the first edition of her book had her own name inside the cover. Like her sisters she wrote under a pseudonym: Ellis Bell.

Emily is a real shame as it is a film that had some great promise but failed to engage me.

This is largely because I felt like I was never actually let behind the curtain, and was kept at a frustrating distance from the characters. I never got under the skin of Emily, or any of the Bronte's really, and left the film with far more questions than answers. For a biopic, even a highly embellished one, this is unforgivable.

Given what the film was trying to achieve and the angle it took, I was surprised by how little emotion was stirred in me. I wanted to feel more watching this film but just never felt like I was part of it.

This lack of connection and emotion wasn't helped by the fact that the colour palette (whilst appropriate) was very bleak, the runtime was quite unforgiving, and the acting was rarely noteworthy.

Unfortunately all this adds up to create an unremarkable film about a remarkable woman. Which in itself is an impressive feat I suppose.

Over-long, plotless and pointless with a highly improbable, corny drawn out story line. If I had been on my own I would have left an hour and a half earlier!! Overall the acting was mostly wooden with fluctuating accents from main characters. There was far too much atmospheric thunder and heay rain (its not like that in Yorkshire!) in outdoor and some indoor sequences. Predicatble story. Filled with groan inducing cinematic cliches too numerous to list and discuss here. The six star rating is for the authentic looking interior sets and excellent lighting . I sure that I will soon forget it. But some might like it.

Emily is a great period drama that announces writer/director Frances O'Connor as someone with clear talent and one to watch and further proves lead actress Emma Mackey's burgeoning stardom with a story that's funny, tragic and full of natural beauty.

Emma Mackey gives a true tour de force performance, earnestly portraying Emily's shy nature and vivid imagination whilst also having an infectious rapport with Fionn Whitehead (great) and some truly fiery chemistry with Oliver Jackson-Cohen (also great).

Frances O'Connor's direction is excellent, utilising handheld camera work to great effect with some very stylish framing but it does overuse cutting to black. The music by Abel Korzeniowski is amazing, beautifully balancing moments of whimsy with a more classical score.