We do not see Emily in the process of composition but listen to herpoems read aloud in voice-over. British director Terence Davies both wrote and directed this thuddingly overlong and sleep inducing 'biography' of one of the greatest poets of the 19th century — the inimitable Emily Dickinson. One of the worst movies I have seen in a long time. Expect nothing more or less from Davies than more of the same, of course. Not only does it indulge in the stupidest clichés religion bad; 19th century repressive etc etc ; its basic understanding of the relation between art and personality is lower than your average undergraduate's. Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two recurring topics in letters to her friends.
He is helped in this by his brilliant cast. She did not leave any commentaries to interpret her work, but left themfor us to understand and explain. It's nice to seeher in a role that's the complete opposite from the career lawyerMiranda in 'Sex and the City'. I've never been so excited in a movie to see a main character start exhibiting symptoms of a mysterious disease, because I knew then that it wouldn't be long before she died and the movie would be over. The actor simply say their lines with little or no emotion, and there is really no point, they just walk around the garden or the camera pans the room while nobody talks. The description of the film states it is the story of American poet Emily Dickinson from her early days as a young schoolgirl to her later years as a reclusive, unrecognized artist.
A moment in whichportraits of the younger Dickinsons morph into their older selves isexquisite and there's another nice one at the end. Cynthia Nixon sustains the role of Dickinson quite impressively, but Jennifer Ehle seems to me to have more charm as her sister Lavinia 'Vinny'. You know that friend who has the ability to suck the fun out of absolutely any situation? Nixon reads some of the verse invoice-over but the early efforts, celebrating Nature, are not in WaltWhitman's league and only the later poems anticipating almostinviting Death have any real resonance. I didn't like them enough to stay, homepage and I strongly encourage casual moviegoers to stay away from this film. The actors are bad, the dialogue worse, and the direction captures all the life and emotions of a carefully posed Daguerrotype. They are the highlight of the film, butthere are not enough of them and too much time is spent on Emily's sadphysical deterioration as she confronts the debilitating Bright'sdisease. Dickinson was a troubled woman, preoccupied with death and no doubtsuffered from depression which worsened over the years.
Though there aren't many, they do include 'This World is Not Conclusion', which distils her profound sense of the mystery of existence. Some may bemore familiar with the old Julie Harris vehicle about Dickenson, TheBelle of Amherst, which she performed on stage. As a young woman, Dickinson attended a female seminary but ultimatelyreturned home to her family. British director Terence Davies shows Dickinson as a person who refusedto stick to the strict rules of life in the Victorian era. A young man who courtsher later in the movie has to talk to her unseen at the top of thestairs.
This is a film for aficionados but anyone willing to embrace itsmultitudinous charms will be amply rewarded. With a bad script, poor acting, poor Casting. This has to be one of the dreariest most pretentious movies I have ever seen. Another strength lies in the poems that are read in voice-over. From what I saw, it looks like the Wikipedia page would be more accurate, too. It's not even the fun type of bad that many low-budget films are, it seems to take itself quite seriously, and it seriously fails to deliver.
Dickinson's life lacks the stuff that might make a substantial movie. If you are acquainted with Emily Dickinson's work, this film gives aninteresting insight into her life and her poetry. Personally, I think it's a masterpiece. The only things I liked about A Quiet Passion were the sets, the cinematography, and the color. She became more and more reclusiveand later on refused to leave her bedroom. If you're not, thisfilm is a great introduction to it. The film is funereally paced, and consists of one monotonous scene after another in which Dickinson gets her knickers in a twist about one thing or another and yells at whoever happens to be in the room with her.
For a more detailed biography we may turn to Wikipedia — 'Emily Elizabeth Dickinson December 10, 1830 — May 15, 1886 was an American poet. It is for these that EmilyDickinson is mostly remembered. All I can say is thank God for the lovely Jennifer Ehle, who plays Dickinson's sister as a human being you might want to actually have a conversation with without wanting to stab her or yourself in the eye with the butter knife. There it resembles Bergman too: the self chastising, the self examination, accusation and reproach; the moral duty to become better, and while this may recreate the anxieties of the people involved, it is not accomplished writing. This time his subject is the poet EmilyDickinson and this is easily one of the greatest of all period films. She stayed with her family all of her life, living through births,marriages, and deaths but always setting aside the early morning hoursin her study to compose. In one comic scene, she scolds the local newspaper editor for changing her punctuation.
Davies sketches Dickinson's life in a series of brush strokes from rebellious youth to painful death in early middle-age through a series of short, sharp conversation scenes, mostly with members of her own family together with readings from her poetry and the detail he packs into these scenes is extraordinary. She'd be the girl who would join a group of friends if she had any at a football game and then spend the entire time complaining about the pointlessness of football. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. This is the worst film I have ever seen. Perhaps this has something to do with his sexuality, perhaps not; perhaps his being a gay man has nothing to do with anything, though one only has to look to Cukor to see a connection. I'm not ever sure the actors were at fault, since the script was so completely unconvincing, but I didn't believe there was an ounce of genuine emotion displayed in the 20 minutes of the film I could bear to watch. Some are raving about Cynthia Nixon's portrayal of Emily, but for this viewer it seems monochromatic and predictable.
This time his subject is the poet Emily Dickinson and this is easily one of the greatest of all period films. He is also a remarkably fine writer with a perfect 'ear' for dialogue regardless of the period in which his films are set. While Dickinson was a prolific private poet, fewer than a dozen of her nearly 1,800 poems were published during her lifetime. So many scenes run through a few set pieces with these rhetorical plays which are intended to amuse but repeat themselves and without any forward motion. Sadly, though, I think the film's dialogue lets it down. Clearly, sheused her talent not only to write poetry, but also to engage inspirited conversation. Even quoting Emily Dickinson does not save this movie or make this watchable.
The film is a calm and quietaffair, which is good because Dickinson's life itself was calm andquiet. Bright and outgoing as a young woman, Emily isportrayed as becoming more isolated, and bitter as she grows older. Personally, I think it's amasterpiece. Expressing this in the film, homepage she displays an unorthodox view of religion which scandalises her family. There are a number of epigrams which sound like a pastiche of Oscar Wilde, e. Emily's personal life was portrayed in such a choppy fashion that I had to read later about her life to make sense of it. It's like Terence Davies sets out to make movies that will challenge you to stay awake through them.
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