Good Humour and High Spirits

A couple more of (quite positive) Emily reviews after its screening at the TIFF:

Emily is an Emotionally Impactful, Breathtaking Interpretation of Brontë’s Life.

Emily, the directorial debut for Mansfield Park and A.I.: Artificial Intelligence star Frances O’Connor, is one of the more remarkably assured first efforts in recent memory. Shot with breathtaking beauty and acted with extraordinary emotion and grace, this exploration of the life and development of Emily Brontë is tremendously enveloping. Emily looks deep into Brontë’s life story for evidence of what that really means. While it is unclear how much of the film is historically accurate and how much is conjecture, O’Connor’s account of the author of Wuthering Heights feels respectful and well-reasoned. (...)

It is better to swim in O’Connor’s confident vision than to drown in its verisimilitude. 

It will undoubtedly prove interesting to hear from Brontë scholars. For a general audience, though, there is no question Emily will prove emotionally impactful. Beautifully shot by Nanu Segal and featuring a wildly innovative score by Abel Korzeniowski, Emily is a noteworthy achievement for all concerned. In particular do Mackey and O’Connor stand tall. Mackey brings one of literature’s most iconic figures to life as deeply passionate and racked with uncertainty; her Emily Brontë is genuinely unpredictable but always believable. A star-making performance, to be sure.  (Christopher Schobert In The Film Stage)

“Emily” is packed with elements that can feel like homework – period drama, literary biopic, etc., etc. – but it’s neither stuffy nor drab. In fact, for much of its running time, it’s a film of good humor and high spirits. The cinematography is striking but not flashy, and cinematographer Nanu Segal moves the camera with patience and precision. Yet the snazzy compositions, shock edits, bursts of handheld camera, and furious violins are like something out of a psychological thriller; this is a film that pulses and breathes and feels lived in (the clothing looks worn, the dishes look used, the homes look like homes).
O’Connor uses an intuitive, impressionistic visual approach to craft distinctive style, nimbly positioned between classical storytelling and contemporary aesthetics (for this reason, and not just the obvious one, “Emily” would make a good double feature with Andrea Arnold’s 2011 take on “Wuthering Heights”). The sound design is dazzling, particularly when removing dialogue entirely at key points to bring up the music, sound effects, or silence and allow Mackey to express her pain in her expressions and physicality. And yet it’s very funny, naturally and off-handedly, though watch how deftly O’Connor slips, in one scene, from drunken revelry to raw emotion and wound-opening.
There are occasional missteps, a semi-cringe scene here or there, closing notes that feel a bit too pat and easy. But this is niggling. With “Emily,” Frances O’Connor has crafted a first film that feels like the work of an accomplished master. (Jason Bailey in The Playlist)

Deadline interviews Emma Mackey:

To play Emily Brontë, Mackey studied biographies of the writer that were suggested to her by O’Connor. 

“I like the academic side of reading the biographies that Frances sent to me and the poetry and trying to feed that side of my brain. And then the reality is that when you’re filming, and the script is your bible, that’s what informs us and what makes us do the thing. So, that becomes then the centerpiece. And then you focus on that and hopefully the two intertwine quite nicely.” (Joe Utichi)

New York Daily News presents the upcoming performances in New York of the Wise Children's Wuthering Heights production:

Emma Rice’s acclaimed adaptation of Emily Brontë's masterpiece arrives in America after wowing audiences across Europe. Lucy McCormick and Liam Tamnet star in the revenge tragedy involving two doomed lovers from different worlds and the chain of events that take place when they are forced apart. The acclaimed British theatermaker uses music by Ian Ross and dance by Etta Murfitt to bring a new life to the beloved 19th century novel. Performances begin Oct. 14 at St. Ann’s Warehouse (45 Water St. in Brooklyn). (Karu F. Daniels)

Of Storytellers in Greater Kashmir (India):

The orphan child Heathcliff of Emily Brontë‘s ‘Wuthering Heights’ is a character who is apparently full of vengeance and sinister designs, but deep inside harbors heroic virtues as well. The duality of his persona and transformation from clumsy poor to a rich gentleman leaves the readers baffled. He is an embodiment of paradox, like many of us in this world whose repulsive layers of contradictions are wrapped by a wonderful facade. (Syeda Afshana)

Fanpage (Italy) talks about Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear... and Why  by Jude Ellison Sady Doyle;

Succede spesso, succede da sempre, da Charlotte Brontë a Miley Cyrus, da Mary Wollstonecraft a Taylor Swift, da Britney Spears a Hillary Clinton, Spezzate racconta la storia di donne che hanno cercato di rompere le catene che le tenevano legate alla società patriarcale e per questo ne hanno pagato le conseguenze, diventando "pazze", "drogate", "ubriacone". (Francesco Raiola) (Translation)

Wired (Italy) recommends Alan Bennett's The Uncommon Reader for obvious reasons:

Uno dei libri più avvincenti e inaspettati su Elisabetta II è sicuramente questo romanzo breve del famoso drammaturgo britannico Alan Bennett (The History Boys, The Lady in the Van), che prende spunto da qualche stralcio di attualità per immaginare una regina che, dopo l'incontro fortuito con una libreria mobile, scopre la passione per i libri. Da Jean Genet (che consiglia al presidente della Repubblica francese) alle sorelle Brontë, da Thackeray a Alice Munron, questa storia mostra un lato inedito di questa donna di Stato e ribadisce il potere contagioso della lettura. (Translation)

L'Express (France) talks about new translations of classics:

Orwell, Kafka, Hemingway, Calvino, Dante, Stevenson... Tous les grands auteurs ont connu ces dernières années des liftings. Et sont annoncées, ces jours-ci, de nouvelles traductions d'Agatha Christie, de Charlotte Brontë, de Steinbeck, et même du discours de Martin Luther King. (Marianne Payat) (Translation)

Il Manifesto (Italy) reviews Turning Blue by Benjamin Myers:

Sebbene Myers dipinga sempre lo Yorkshire con maestria da stilista, la cupa storia di morte, depravazione e degrado narrata in Blu come te rende il paesaggio alquanto allarmante, riportando alla mente, piùche la dorata brughiera di All’orizzonte, i tenebrosi tormenti di Heathcliff e Catherine in Cime tempestose e, ancora di più la macabra quadrilogia di David Peace, Red Riding Quartet, sugli efferati delitti dello Squartatore dello Yorkshire. (Silvia Albertazzi) (Translation)