Sex Education discovery Emma Mackey makes a sensational big screen debut as Emily Brontë in this imaginative biopic from writer-director Frances O’Connor (best known for acting in Mansfield Park and Spielberg’s A.I.). Readers have always been fascinated by how the shy, demure Yorkshire preacher’s daughter could have created something as wildly, dangerously romantic as Wuthering Heights. It’s an open question because most of the relatively little that we know about the writer comes filtered through what her sister Charlotte considered appropriate to share.
O’Connor suggests a sibling rivalry at work, and conceives of a secret liaison with a curate, Weightman, in the employ of the sisters’ father, and even a semblance of a love triangle with Emily’s brother, Branwell. That may sound scurrilous, but this serious, well-directed movie doesn’t lack for nuance or sensitivity; it has smart things to say about how a mixture of conviction, self-belief and mortification can feed creativity, and how Emily’s horizons weren’t curtailed by her remote, rural homestead. In fact, these things may have liberated her.
Emma Mackey, Fionn Whitehead, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Alexandra Dowling, Adrian Dunbar, Amelia Gething, Gemma Jones
UK/USA
2022
English
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Holy Days
After his mom passes, Brian (Elijah Tamati) is comforted by Sisters Agnes, Luke and Mary Clare (Judy Davis, Miriam Margolyes and Jacki Weaver, respectively). The quirky quartet hit the road to save their convent from being sold to a property developer.
Two Pianos
Once promising concert pianist Mathias (François Civil) returns to his native Lyon after a long absence. He's here to pay homage to his mentor, Elena (Charlotte Rampling). But a chance encounter with an old flame sends him spiraling.
The Golden Spurtle
Each year the sleepy highland village of Carrbridge awakens with excitement as locals and competitors from around the globe vie for the honour of winning The Golden Spurtle in the World Porridge Making Championships.
Best Boy
Sibling rivalry is the name of the game in Jesse Noah Klein's pitch black comedy. Eli, Lawrence and Phillip (who's a woman) reunite after the passing of their father and, in accordance with his last wishes, compete for the prized title of "Best Boy".
Lucid
Art student Mia is struggling with a make-or-break assignment, a self-portrait. It's only when grandma lets slip that her mom used to hypnotize her as a child to blank out the bad bits that she realizes the severity of the challenge...
Credits
Executive Producer
Robert Patterson, Jo Bamford, Abel Korzeniowski, Tim Haslam, Hugo Grumbar, Peter Touche, Jamie Jessop, Andrea Scarso, Michael Reuter, Sebastian Barker, Oliver Parker
Producer
Piers Tempest, Robert Connolly, David Barron
Screenwriter
Frances O’Connor
Cinematography
Nanu Segal
Editor
Sam Sneade
Production Design
Steve Summersgill
Original Music
Abel Korzeniowski
Director
Frances O'Connor
Frances O’Connor is an Australian-English actress living in London, best known for her roles in the films Mansfield Park and The Importance of Being Earnest, and the TV series Madame Bovary and The Missing, with the latter two earning her Best Actress nominations at the Golden Globes. Her other film credits include Thank God He Met Lizzie, Bedazzled, and the leading role of Monica Swinton in Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence. O’Connor will be next seen in Sky Drama’s ten-part series, The End. Emily is her directorial feature debut.