'Wild Nights With Emily', 2019

This weekend, I went to see ‘Wild Nights With Emily’ (2019) at my local theater, located in Amherst, Massachusetts - where the movie takes place! The poet Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst and spent almost her entire life in this town. The movie depicts the relationship between Emily and her sister-in-law Susan, as well as Emily’s struggles to have her poetry published. The movie begins after Emily’s death, at a publishing event hosted by Mabel Todd, an acquaintance of Emily’s brother and the first person to publish a book of Emily’s poems. However, Mabel heavily edited much of Emily’s work, and thus, her story. The movie’s present-day scenes are interspersed with flashbacks that depict the true experiences in Emily’s life.

Some things I liked: The romance between Emily and Susan is tender and starts from the beginning, when they meet as young schoolgirls at Amherst Academy. Though living in the mid-1800s imposes some constraints on their relationship (they must keep it a secret), the marriage of Susan to Emily’s brother Austin actually creates for a pretty convenient living situation (next-door neighbors!) for the two women. And one of the best aspects of the film is that it portrays Emily as Susan might have seen her: as an audacious, sharp, and sweet young poet (and not the spooky recluse that some narratives have made her out to be).

Some things I didn’t like: Though I appreciated the way in which the director (Madeleine Olnek) tried to tell this story, the constant switching between several different time periods made it more than a little confusing. But to me, that was the only downside to this movie.

The five words I would use to describe this film: quirky, illustrative, silly, smart, invigorating

My queer take: Perhaps the most important part of this movie is that it restores truth to Emily’s poetry, her personality, and her life experiences. The credits of the movie are filmed over actual letters from Emily, where Susan’s name had been erased by Mabel after Emily’s death. Though this erasure has resulted in years of misinterpreting Emily’s life experiences, Olnek has done her best to rewrite this (heterosexual) narrative. Both viewers and critics on Rotten Tomatoes have given it positive reviews, so go see the movie while it’s still in theaters! (And if you live in or near Amherst, Massachusetts, you can go see Emily’s house, which has since been converted to a museum).

Fun fact: Director Madeleine Olnek Olnek has credited Drunk History as an inspiration for the tone of the film. She thought it was important to include comedy because she has noticed that "some people don't like to be lectured about feminism.”