‘Emily’: Alone before the stormy peak

The multiple mysteries that exist on the complete biography of the Brontë sisters have allowed for adaptations to be made both their works and their biographies in a very free way, allowing filmmakers to explore their lives and writings in very different ways, from Curtis Bernhardt in 1946 with ‘Predilection (The Lives of the Brontë Sisters)’ to André Téchiné in 1979 in ‘The Brontë Sisters’; going through the multiple adaptations of ‘Wuthering Heights’, ‘Jane Eyre’ or ‘Agnes Grey’.

British actress Frances O’Connor makes her directorial debut with ‘Emily’, in which she transforms the French-British Emma Mackey into the famous author of ‘Wuthering Heights’narrating his life months before the publication of his work and in the last moments before his premature death, which occurred on December 19, 1848, at the age of 30, a victim of tuberculosis. Given the lack of information and the aura of myth that exists around, encouraged by Charlotte Brontëthe last of the sisters to die, the interpretation of the biographies of the authors allows us to propose feature films with a critical eye.

It is what appears to be the debut of O’Connor, who has been preparing his leap into production for some time. The actress uses her experience in period productions such as ‘Madame Bovary’ and ‘Mansfield Park’ to configure a different profile from what one can guess of Emily Brontë. To begin with, O’Connor, who also penned the script, creates a feature film with an exquisite technical section. He knows how to create a period atmosphere, bringing the romantic and gothic spirit of the historical moment, with a certain Lord Byron touch. very accurate, as it was one of the main literary references of the Brontë family.

He doesn’t shy away from linking Emily Brontë’s biography to how she created ‘Wuthering Heights’. It’s more, the writing of the novel and its uncomfortable plot will end up being a key part of the filmin which a young woman with a rebellious and passionate spirit is shown, who lives an impossible love (here O’Connor takes great creative license, given that the sentimental relationship with Reverend Weightman was not with Emily, but is believed to have been with her sister Anne) and how he influenced her when she embarked on writing her novel.

Debut with a character who offers another perspective on the life of the author of ‘Wuthering Heights’

O’Connor also shows the complicated relationship between the three sisters, with Charlotte as the haughtiest and also with a certain envy towards the talent of the middle sister and with Anne transformed into a symbol of candid maturity. Both serve as a counterpoint to a heroine battling adversity alone and with whom O’Connor tries to blend with a style that evokes that of Jane Campion in “Bright Star” or that of Terence Davies in “History of a Passion”. Mention to the figure of the only brother of the Brontës, Branwell, which O’Connor portrays faithfully to his true biography.

With a typical style of the already mentioned Campion or Davies, O’Connor shows aesthetic taste and good technical care, with music by Abel Korzeniowski, who knows how to intensify that romantic atmosphere., with a melancholy tone and which evokes that desire for independence of its protagonist. Mention also for her cast. Especially noteworthy is Emma Mackeyinternationally recognized for the ‘Sex Education’ series or her participation in ‘Death on the Nile’ and full-fledged star of French cinema for ‘Eiffel’, who knows how to give character to one of her most daring roles in her recent filmography . Applause also for Fionn Whitehead, Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Alexandra Dowlingthat give shape to that universe conceived by O’Connor for the Brontë clan.

O’Connor proves to have a pulse as a director and a special sensitivity for the time’Emily’ wants to be another portrait of the life of the author of ‘Wuthering Heights’ which demonstrates once again the timeless fascination for one of the most important figures in British literature and one of the essential female references for contemporary culture.

Note: 7

The best: His sense of timing, Emma Mackey’s performance, his music.

Worse: It takes too much licence when it comes to the love inspiration for ‘Wuthering Heights’. The final part of her dulls the initial sensations.