Emily is a British biopic film about Emily Brontë. Released in 2022, it is the directorial debut of Frances O'Connor and stars Emma Mackey in the title role. Emily is the most solitary and reclusive of the Brontës and the historical record contains little about her internal and personal lives; the film posits events that could have led to the creation of her provocative seminal novel, Wuthering Heights.
It is 1840s England. Emily is the imaginitive and introverted "strange" middle Brontë sister, upset at how her sisters Charlotte (Alexandra Dowling) and Anne (Amelia Gething) are beginning to leave their childhood games behind. She is dismissive of William Weightman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) and how the other ladies fawn over him, and finds solace in her similarly misfit brother Branwell (Fionn Whitehead). But as Emily comes of age, events eventually pave the way towards the writing of her novel and eventual death.
Co-starring Adrian Dunbar and Gemma Jones, the film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2022 ahead of a theatrical release in October of the same year.
Tropes:
- Artistic License – History:
- Historians indeed speculate about a romantic connection between William Weightman and one of the Brontë sisters — but with Anne, not Emily, as this film portrays.
- The film implies that Charlotte did not begin writing in earnest until Wuthering Heights becomes a smash hit and Emily passes away. In reality, Jane Eyre was published a couple of months before Wuthering Heights to acclaim.
- Emily was extremely asocial, probably asexual, and most likely died a virgin.
- Black Sheep: Emily is unlike her ladylike sisters Charlotte and Anne and is openly considered "the strange one" by the villagers because of her difficulty socializing and moodiness. Her brother Branwell has it worse though; he continues to fail at what he puts his mind to and their father considers him a disgrace. Accordingly, Emily is closest to Branwell of her siblings, though everyone else considers him a bad influence.
- Burn Baby Burn: At Emily's request, Charlotte and Anne tearfully burn Emily's correspondence with Weighton after the former's death.
- Caught in the Rain: Emily and the new local curate take refuge in an abandoned cottage during a rainstorm. Though they don't consummate their relationship until a few scenes later—in the same place—this is where they finally admit to their burgeoning feelings for each other.
- The Charmer: Weightman is a handsome man of the church and knowingly a favorite of the village ladies. Emily compares him to a little girl in a ribbon shop, picking and choosing to his heart's desire.
- Happy Rain:
- When their planned picnic is ruined by a sudden rainfall, the Brontë sisters joyously dash through the rain (complete with triumphant music and slow motion) — which is immediately cut short by Charlotte lashing out at Emily for being "strange".
- Emily keeps it together as her novel is toasted by friends and family, but later runs happily through the rain.
- Incest Subtext: Branwell and Emily are very close, and he is also incredibly jealous of Weightman.
- In Medias Res: The film begins with Emily close to death. Charlotte asks her how she managed to write Wuthering Heights, and the film flashes back to the period leading up to her writing it.
- Mononymous Biopic Title: A biopic of Emily Brontë titled merely Emily, distinguishing her from her similarly notable sisters.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Emily and her favorite sibling Branwell have an argument after she insults his fiction. He accuses her of being unable to "bleed" like everyone else; she declares that she will never be like him, an irresponsible hedonist.Branwell: You are me.
- Sexy Priest: The ladies swoon over the handsome, charming and eloquent new curate, William Weightman.
- Scenery Porn: Fitting for a biopic about a Gothic writer, the film contains many sweeping shots of the English countryside, sunny hills and dreary moors all. At one point Emily and Branwell get high on opium and wander dazedly through the moors, basking in the surrounding nature.
- Secret Relationship: Although Branwell advises against this relationship, Emily and William begin hooking up on the downlow, especially scandalous as he is the curate at the church at which her father works and she is a young lady in Victorian England. After Charlotte returns he abruptly ends their relationship and she falls in despair.
- So Proud of You: After her novel is published to acclaim, Emily's father Patrick finally tells her that he is proud of her, and that he now sees that she is a lot like her mother.
- The Unfavorite: Emily is aware that her moods and reclusive nature make her her father's least favorite daughter, especially compared to Proper Lady Charlotte.
- Voiceover Letter:
- Variation, when characters read Emily's writing, a voiceover reads out the excerpts.
- Weightman's final love letter to Emily, which she reads after his death, is also said in his voice.
- White Mask of Doom: The Brontës have a parlor game in which one person puts on a plain white mask and acts out a character; the others then have to guess who it is. When it's weirdo middle sister Emily's turn, however, she claims to be possessed by the spirit of their deceased mother — and the way she is framed, alone in the shot surrounded by the dark, adds to the creepiness of this choice. The mask is buried shortly afterward.
