A Quiet Passion

Parental Rating: PG-13

Contains: Adult Content    

Jill's Review

Opens May 19, 2017

Runs 125 minutes

Cynthia Nixon portrays Emily Dickinson in this film about her life and poetry. Emily lived a quiet and seemingly lonely existence, returning to her parent's home after a year of formal secondary schooling at a women's seminary. She and her younger sister Lavinia (Jennifer Ehle) lived out their days together, never marrying. It seems that Emily once felt love for a married vicar but he never returned her "quiet passion" and soon moved away. As she aged, she grew more reclusive and bitter. Once, a suitor was forced to converse with her from the bottom of the stairs, never even seeing her face. He appreciated her wit but tired of her biting commentary. She wrote poems, few of which were ever published in her lifetime. She grew sick in her later years, suffering from Bright's disease. She died feeling embittered and unappreciated. 

I don't really know what to say about this film. I always like learning about historical characters so from that standpoint, this was an interesting film. But, it was soooo slow. Cynthia Nixon does a great job portraying an unlikeable woman. It just isn't very entertaining. Emily never leaves the house and barely leaves her room. We hear her poetry. And, not much else happens. She appears to have been a feminist ahead of her time. And, the movie shows what women's lives were like in the 1800's. (Emily lived from 1830 to 1886.) So, historically it is interesting. Unless you are the world's biggest Emily Dickinson fan, I would probably skip this one.

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