To Walk Invisible

I was not excited to see it, because I have had no idea about whose biopic was this. I did not bother to know everything before giving it a try. One of the reason was, I usually enjoy most of the BBC films. I knew it was a period drama and about some famous writers. So, when I saw the very first scene, as kids running around with flames on their heads, I thought it would be some kind of a fantasy film. That was that, in the next minute, it became a different film. For a tale like this, it was a great opening scene. A perfect clue for the viewers what's coming in the latter part of the story.

Those four kids are the siblings and the story takes place in the mid 19th century England. Revolves around the Bronte family living in a small town, majorly focused on the three sisters in the span of three years, the most important years of their lives. Motherless children, grown to adulthood, they struggle to keep the family name honourly in the community. Their only hope is their brother who supposed to be a successful writer is now at worst as his doomed romance has taken him down with.

As I know those eras were, particularly the women, it's about marrying at the young age and settling down with the husband. I don't know the actual reason why those sisters remained unmarried, but I have a couple of perspective in my mind, that might be inappropriate to say out, yet the film kind of breaks the stereotype of women of those times. I blame their father, as well as their brother, but still these sisters are one of the greatest historic figures I've come to learn about.

It's the time the three sisters to make some quick decisions. At the beginning, it stumbles upon them, but very soon they overcome and takes the responsibility since they are very enthusiast in the literature work. At present, we're witnessing the rise of voice against the gender inequality in society all over the world in all the fields. Even the last week, Elizabeth Banks falsely accused the Steven Spielberg for the same reason. In this film, it was not exactly a fight or protest against such discrimination in society. Though their contribution, their achievement was the beginning of the new path for women of those eras and onwards.

They took paper and pen, and began to express the reality of the society in words rather to focus on the trend in literature subjects. Then came the publication. Even newbie men would struggle on that phase. It was one of the best juncture in this storytelling. Their struggle is not merely to turn their work into a book, but the family, especially their brother who was drifting away from everything posed a great challenge to them to look after him. And so their aging father.

When the film enters the third act, there are more twist and turns in the tale. Throughout, there were lots of ups and downs in the narration. Suddenly there comes an interesting scene and then for next 5-10 minutes falls back with a casual life event. Great screenplay and dialogues. The music was even better and suitable to the tale. The locations were beautiful, especially if you love chilly English weather and the countryside hilly views. One of the best depiction of the 19th century in a film. A special awards should be given to the set decoration. After watching the film, I browsed about that on the net and I stunned. The production quality was a genius, particularly for a television film.

Amazing casting. I should praise the director who also wrote for it. He's originally a writer who worked with some great television shows, and now this is his first film directional debut. One of the scenes about the original identity at close to the end of the film was really a goosebump part. It all depends how you yourself dissolve in the narration. I thought it was too short, even though it ran for two hours. That's why I wished it should have been a television series, to I stay with it for a little longer.

A perfect title, I loved everything about the film. The costumes were simple, but very good. And the film was very emotional at the end, to learn what happened to those three sisters. The filmmakers avoided that sentimental part, but I would have liked if they had covered them visually than the texts. Then it would have been one of the best tearjerker and then more family audiences would have jumped in to watch.

Sometimes, it's very satisfying to learn about how those masterpieces were made than reading and watching those masterpiece books and films respectively. Now it's in the line of 'Finding Nevreland', 'Saving Mr. Banks' and a few others that revealed the truth behind the great works. My only disappointment was, it should have been either a theatrical film or a television series. No offense, all the actors were so awesome in this film. Those three sisters stole the show. It was a powerful performance I've seen in the recent time. But a big screen film with popular stars would help reach the product widely.

This is now one of my favourite films of all time. We watch films often, but some people occasionally, even though we won't end up watching masterpiece all the time. It's a rare thing and this is one them. If you are interested in literature, biography, history or seeking an inspiration, this is the film to go for. Since I watched it, I could not take off the memories of the film and focus on other things. Really, it made my day and the whole week. So it's a two thumbs up high in the air from me. Highly recommended.

9.5/10

I must admit I was dubious at yet another film of the lives of the Brontes.I needn't have been,this was an excellent production. Great art/location and costume work. The acting was slow,subtle and not over the top or "chocolate boxy" (as is with some Bronte biogs) The actors were excellently and evenly cast.Too often the sisters are too pretty and therefore lose authenticity. The sisters were quite plain,but feisty,and their characters reacted well against each other. It showed us (more than is normal) the complexities of mid Victorian life and morals. The two hours passed very quickly.

WHY? After the on screen credits,telling us how and when the sisters died.We went into the Parsonage front garden,and up the side path into the modern gift shop of the Parsonage Museum, and the camera panned around it for 5 minutes(showing you all the stock),quite why this was I cannot see.It succeeded in killing the atmosphere that had been achieved in the preceding 2 hours.

I've read all the Bronte novels, studied Emily's poetry in college, and been to Haworth several times. (Tip: if you ever visit, don't skip the hike to Top Withens-the place Emily based Wuthering Heights on. You won't get the true Bronte experience unless you hike on the moors.) I've sat next to Charlotte and Emily's graves and tried to imagine life in that place in the 19th century. This movie encapsulated and synthesized every emotion, thought, and feeling I experienced while in Haworth, at the parsonage museum, reading, and hiking on the moors. It positively reeks of authenticity. The sisters form the nucleus of the story while the ancillary characters orbit them at just the right distance. Their quiet strength and desperation depicts the plight of three women smarter than anyone around them in an age when their brains were considered by men to be more similar to monkeys than their own. Each sister is fully actuated and differentiated as a stand-alone character, individual in her own right. I finished the movie with a determination to visit their home again and re-read all of their work. How many movies inspire their viewers to travel several thousand miles, spend several thousand dollars, and invest scores of hours in reading? I loved that the movie required something from the viewer. You can't watch this film passively. It takes scrutiny, concentration, and contemplation; in other words, things most modern movies don't require in the least. That's why this movie stays with you days after viewing it. No wonder I forget almost everything about many movies I see hours after watching them; they demand nothing but sensational response, something that ebbs almost immediately after arousal. My one complaint is in the sound mixing. The background music swells with such amplitude in places that the dialogue is almost impossible to make out without closed captioning. I eventually put in my Bluetooth ear buds to help me discern the dialogue (admittedly, Yorkshire accents are tough for Americans to decipher in the first place, but as I mentioned earlier, the effort required helps galvanize the viewer into deeper concentration and engagement). Bravo PBS. You rarely disappoint.

This film feels to me like THE depiction of the Brontes for our age. It is compelling each time I watch it (3 times now). I found the approach to a "historical" period so refreshingly vibrant and earthy as well as being strikingly filmed it's almost like a hyper real rendition of the time rather than the chocolate box visions we are often given. I've noticed a theme in several reviews asking why the film is so focused on Bramwell, when it is supposed to w about the women? I HATE it when this male centric approach to EVERYTHING happens due to our still malecentric world. However in this film's case I think it was exactly right and was used as a tool to show how very dependent the women were on the men in their lives. The users were safe while their father was alive, but having no legal right to hold property or money of their own their lives were in peril due to the solipsistic self destructiveness of their brother. In stead of showing 3 insipid women relying on men as is usual it showed 3 strong intelligent women whose social status and wealth were manacled to Bramwell's with no recourse to their independence. So I think to say the film focused on him too much is to miss the point Sally Wainwright was making. A couple of American reviewers have said they could not understand the film and to them I would say: put the subtitles on. The film uses northern dialect/accent as would have been spoken (and still is). If the characters spoke received pronunciation it would have sounded ridiculous and lost some of its heart. To take a reverse example I loved "The Wire" but in the beginning found I could not understand half of what was said, subtitles allowed me to enjoy it without it being artificially "smoothed" for general viewing. So basically I think this film is excellent. I loved the very end sequence of transition too. It made me feel so close to the characters.

Absorbing and with authentic Yorkshire vernacular in parts.

Each sister was given their own character: Anne seemed to be the placid one,Charlotte was a feisty little firecracker while Emily was emotional and quick to temper. I admired all three characters.

I believe the rock outcrop on the moors where Emily stood in the film is Ponden Kirk near Haworth - this is a pre-Christian holy place and in Victorian times was where young couples would crawl through a hole in the base - this would mean they would be wed within a year. A fitting place to film on the moors which provided such inspiration to them.

A welcome and unique addition to dramas about the Bronte sisters who provided some of the finest writing in the English language.