O’Connor’s directorial perspective as a woman surely enhances the empathy and understanding with which Emily is portrayed in the film. [...]“Emily” breathes life into an artist, enriching the art itself with a fuller perspective on the human being who birthed said creation. It is a captivating and emotional film, one that allows you to temporarily inhabit the beauty and the pain of an unrealized genius. (Evan Fitch)
Despite O’Connor’s eye for detail and evident comfortability behind the camera, there are some rather odd choices in “Emily” that can take the viewer out of the moment, notably one scene in the first half of the film. In this scene, Emily (Mackey), her siblings Charlotte (Alexandra Dowling), Anne (Amelia Gething) and Branwell (Fionn Whitehead), and their father’s new curate, William Weightman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), play a game. They take turns putting a mask over their faces and pretending to be a well-known figure while the others guess who they are portraying. There are cuts to black used to show the passing of time as they laugh and play the game, although this feels unnecessary. Likely not more than 20 minutes passed in the world of the film between each cut to and from black, so it feels rather strange. It pauses the film in a way that suggests plenty of time passed when that was not the case. It does not even make sense stylistically as this type of cut is never used again in the film.Without giving away too much of the film’s intrigue, it must be said that the relevance of the mask to the film and its functionality as a symbol of strangeness is never quite utilized in a way that makes a whole lot of sense with the rest of the story. Is Emily really strange like people say, or was there just a societal distrust of intellectual women? This is a question that is toyed with by O’Connor. Emily’s occasional fixation on this mask suggests that she is truly strange in some manner. This would be fine and, in fact, rather interesting, if not for the fact that the scenes involving this mask are brief, confusing, and feel out of place in the narrative.The script is lacking in some areas and fails to depict how certain supporting characters get from one decision to the next or change their opinion of a person. Character development is apparently something reserved only for a select few, specifically Emily and Weightman, with whom Emily has an affair in the film (but not in real life). Although, where clear development exists, the film prevails.The central romance is by far the strongest part of the film. It is a beautiful and painful story of sexual repression and longing. Hope flickers, burns, then dies in Emily during the time that she knows and falls in love with Weightman. It is heart-wrenching to watch play out, but once their story begins, the film starts to soar.It must also be mentioned that Emily’s closeness with her brother Branwell is better understood as the film goes on. This is a particularly fascinating relationship that is explored well. The stirring score by Abel Korzeniowski exemplifies this bond between Emily and Branwell, particularly in the piece “Freedom in Thought,” named for a scene in which the two shout this phrase at the hilly plains in front of them. The score in general is a highlight of the film. It is memorable and has a clear place within the film apart from just being used to underscore dialogue.“Emily,” while not without its many faults, is a stunning portrait of a brilliant woman and the people around her. The story falters a bit at times, but comes back at full force when it truly needs to. (Lily Lipka)
Malgré cette grande liberté historique, Emily reste une ode intéressante à la sempiternelle – et classique, particulièrement au cinéma – dualité entre passion et raison. Frances O’Connor y laisse transparaître son admiration pour l’écrivaine. C’est à quinze ans, dans un bus, qu’elle découvre son œuvre. Elle est alors touchée par la liberté dont Emily Brontë fait preuve vis-à-vis de certains codes. Dans son film, la réalisatrice fait cependant le choix assumé de s’éloigner de la réalité historique. À travers la relation entre son héroïne et le pasteur, elle créé une nouvelle bataille à l’écrivaine. Néanmoins, elle ne prétend pas proposer un documentaire historique mais un regard singulier et résolument imaginatif sur celle avec qui elle entretient « une relation très personnelle ». S’en tenant à cela, ce long-métrage justement rythmé semble tenir ses promesses. (Aude Cuilhé) (Translation)
Porté par une Emma Mackey (Sex Education) au sommet de son art, le film vaut le détour pour son héroïne inspirante, sensible et fougueuse, que la réalisatrice met en scène dans le paysage tourmenté de la campagne anglaise. Certaines scènes du film dénotent par leur inventivité et leur audace, notamment lors de certains moments où, pour évoquer la question du deuil qui travaille l’héroïne, le film glisse légèrement vers le registre paranormal, tout en relevant d’une immense poésie. On vous le promet : ce mélange des genres ne vous laissera pas indemne. (Maya Boukella) (Translation)
As much as I loved and adored the unlikely romance between these two, Jane & Edward felt more like Jane’s story to me. I don’t mean that as a critique, though. Jane was such a great character who had dealt with so much and she just wanted to be happy. While her journey might not have been the easiest, watching how she handled everything and watching her become stronger as the book went on was incredible.Jane & Edward paid homage to the classic while still putting a modern twist on it which I loved along with seeing all of the references to the original story. However, if you haven’t read the source material, I don’t think you’ll be lost. The story will immediately suck you in and you won’t be able to stop reading.As far as critiques of the story, the only issue I had was that it felt like the romance came a little out of nowhere. While it’s true to the source material, I do think that romance could have had a larger role in the story. Regardless, I still enjoyed Jane & Edward. (Rebecca Mills)
There’s a moment in your novel where Jane is invited to join Jonesy’s world tour. It would be great for her career, but it would also force her to give up any sense of independence for seven months — and the sense of existential dread she’s feeling about making that commitment really comes across.Oh yeah, I’ve actually felt that — I toured a lot with the band, and I definitely used those feelings for the scene — but I also based that scene on Jane Eyre, which was such a great tool in crafting the structure of the book. In Jane Eyre, she’s asked to make this decision whether to spend her life as a missionary’s wife — she would have to go with him on a trek to India for seven years, I think — or does she follow her heart and find Mr. Rochester again? And I identified with Jane, and I identified with that feeling of repetition; somewhere inside of her, she knows that if she just keeps repeating the one thing she’s known for, and is never able to break away from that mold of how she’s been stereotyped, it will become who she is. I don’t want to give too much away to your readers, but it’s really cool that you pointed out that moment, because it was really emotional for me to write it. Like, tears were streaming down my face as I was writing it. [laughs]Setting the story in England — was that a nod to Jane Eyre as well?Yeah — I loved the whole idea of a gothic setting in a modern novel, like Manderley, the giant mansion in Rebecca. And Oxford, where Jane’s love interest lives, provides a great setting for this fish out of water story, because it’s so different from Los Angeles, where she’s from. So the gothic element in the story is city of Oxford, and even England to some extent. There was a whole version of the book where she kind of limps back home to LA, and it was kind of cool. But at the end of the day, I wanted to keep her in Europe and then I wanted to have her go to the south of France — that was just fun because I always think of Keith Richards and all those great Rolling Stones pictures at Nellcôte. (Dan Epstein)
Henrietta Mann, a Cheyenne woman and academic whose work has focused on building Native American education, and whose extremely enjoyable master’s thesis was on bird imagery in Jane Eyre. (“The fact that the tree will no longer serve as a retreat for birds is a foreshadowing of burned Thornfield Hall, which will no longer shelter Jane and Rochester, whose love flourishes there.”) (Janet Manley)
Gothic steampunk in particular is marked by a feeling of eeriness. Think Jane Eyre wandering the foggy moors, only this time, she has a mechanical eye and the fog is made of steam. Since the beginning, steampunk has featured supernatural elements. Gothic steampunk kicks it up a notch with magic, alchemy, and monsters. Classic gothic themes of morality and beauty fill the pages. (Courtney Rodgers)
Edmund Dulac was a French British illustrator and stamp designer. He was born in 1882 and grew up in Toulouse. Studying law originally, he decided to pursue an art education instead. He attended Ecole des Beaux-Arts before moving to London, where he received a significant commission to illustrate Jane Eyre at only 22 years old. That was the first of nine Brontë sisters’ works he illustrated. (Susanna Andrews)
Plans to transform a historic building with Brontë links into a luxury holiday home and wedding venue have been approved.Kirklees Council, which owns the former Red House museum in Gomersal, has got the green light to go ahead with its proposals for the site.The scheme includes a major £600,000 refurbishment of currently-vacant Red House to bring it back into use, and celebrate its Brontë connections.Dating back to 1660, the Grade II* listed property and its grounds are considered an important heritage asset.They are associated with Luddite activities and the Taylor family, particularly Mary, a radical feminist and friend of Charlotte Brontë.Charlotte was a regular guest at the property in the 1830s and gave it a starring role as Briarmains in her novel, Shirley.Red House operated as a museum from 1970, but falling visitor numbers and rising costs led to its closure in 2016.The future of the building has since sparked heated debate.A decision to allow the property to be marketed for private sale prompted a petition from Red House Heritage Group in 2019, which resulted in the council’s cabinet agreeing to explore alternative uses for the site which could maintain it in public hands.And when the luxury holiday home venture was first mooted, it drew opposition from some Brontë enthusiasts, with one claiming it would "tarnish the purity of the building".The approved plans include changing the use of the main house and a detached single-storey former cart shed into short-term holiday stays, and the council wants to license the main reception hall for small weddings.The main building would offer five bedrooms and would be let to one party at a time, and the cart shed would be split into four one-bedroom flats for holiday let.A report by planning officers, who approved the change of use and listed building consent under delegated powers, states that the council’s own conservation and design department believes the plans will provide a sustainable use for the heritage asset."The building has been vacant for several years," it adds."The proposed change would provide a sustainable use, helping to secure funding for its future upkeep and preservation. The same goes for the associated cart shed which is to be developed."Last month, plans were approved for a blue plaque to be installed on the building.Spen Valley Civic Society had applied for the plaque to honour Mary Taylor. (Alistair Shand)
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