TIFF: Emma Mackey is ‘Emily’
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 9:00AM 
Fans of Netflix’s beloved series Sex Education will surely be excited to learn that star Emma Mackey is playing the famed poet and "Wuthering Heights" author Emily Brontë, who died at age thirty after publishing an incredible work. Emily also marks the directorial debut of a terrific actress who does not appear in the film, Frances O’Connor (A.I., Mansfield Park). She has a fantastic TV series of her own worth checking out, The End, which is streaming on Showtime in the United States. It turns out that O’Connor has been a lifelong devotee of Brontë, and her passion for the subject shows in this finished product…
It’s difficult to create a biopic centered on only one Brontë sister when Charlotte, who would go on to write "Jane Eyre", among other classics, is right there but this film addresses that early. Emily and Charlotte are close, but they do see the world differently, and it’s Charlotte’s departure that allows Emily to come into her own and focus on her writing. She clings instead to her rebellious brother Branwell (Fionn Whitehead), frequently joining him at night to peer through other people’s windows; that's what passed for delinquent activity in that era. But what truly motivates her is the relationship she forms with her deeply religious French tutor, Mr. Weightman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), which begins as contentious and soon turns extremely passionate.
At the center of this story is Mackey’s fully tapped-in performance. Her face does so much of the acting. Her reactions to preachy sermons and other stuffy sentiments aren’t necessarily meant to be seen by her peers but exist for the audience’s enjoyment. She holds little back, and when she does, it’s marvelous to see the wheels still turning as she struggles not to physically respond to something she finds abhorrent or ridiculous. Her chemistry with Jackson-Cohen is also electric, buried under many layers of thick clothing but even more potent because of its forbidden nature.
As a filmmaker, O’Connor shows an enthusiasm for detail and an emphasis on character, channeling her admiration for Brontë and her signature work through a love letter to a woman misunderstood and underappreciated in her time. Mackey and other cast members have great comic timing, but, despite its frequent humorous moments, this is not a comedy. Instead, it’s a snapshot of a spark that fueled a woman born into a time that wasn’t ready to accept her as she was and who might have gone on to do even more remarkable things had her life not been cut short by illness. There is plenty stuffed into the 130-minute runtime, a fitting tribute to an author who has now, so many years after her death, finally earned the acclaim that should have been visited upon her during her life. B+
Emily is screening in the Platform category at TIFF and will be released next year by Bleecker Street.
Reader Comments (3)
Shoutout to Anne Brontë, the youngest sister, who was also an accomplished writer herself. I know Charlotte and Emily get all the attention, but THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL is a fascinating work, full of personal meaning in how it relates to the sisters' relationship with Branwell.
Between this comment and my Austenite ways, I assume the TFE readership now sees me as some kind of 19th-century literature nerf - they're not totally off base :P
Very excited about this, and glad to hear that it's far more than just a Mackey showcase, but comes with thoughtful attention to Bronte.
I have loved Emma Mackey on Sex Education, and glad that she has this role. I hope it breaks her out of the "looks like Margot Robbie" territory that she's in. I wish this was coming out this year.
Claudio, 100% total solidarity with you on both Austen and the Brontes - and Tenant of Wildfell Hall! Would love to see a movie version of that one. Though there is an excellent BBC miniseries adaptation from the '90s starring Tara Fitzgerald and - in a bit of a reversal of their usual casting - Rupert Graves as her asshole husband and Toby Stephens as the (sort of, comparatively, for a Bronte male character) good guy.
Anyway, looking forward to the U.S. release of Emily! (Strangely, I have never seen any of the movie versions of Wuthering Heights.)