If you’d asked this literature major (albeit one who avoided all poetry classes) to guess what an Emily Dickinson biopic would be like, I’d have said a dour period drama. There’d be some of the Romantic poet’s wit, of course, but it’d largely be a sad exploration of her isolated life, set in dimly lit rooms with Dickinson played by A Serious Actress™. But somehow amidst all my coursework, I missed the memo that Dickinson is no longer considered by all to be the isolated spinster she’s been cast as in high school English classrooms. Writer/director Madeleine Olnek, however, did not miss that news; with “Wild Nights with Emily,” the filmmaker has crafted a brightly lit, spryly funny portrait of the author, played by Molly Shannon, as a vibrant writer whose passions extended beyond the page–and into the arms of her sister-in-law.
Olnek tells Dickinson’s story across three separate tracks. The primary one takes place in 1860 and follows the famous writer in Amherst, Massachusetts, introducing her sharing gingerbread with delighted local children by passing it down to them through a basket on a rope and writing a poem on the back of that gingerbread recipe. She shares her work with her brother’s wife, Susan (Susan Ziegler), but it’s soon clear that they share more than just words as they embark on a gleeful makeout session. Rewind 20 years, and we see the beginnings of the illicit romance, set at a meeting of The Lady Shakespeare Society (naturally). Emily (Dana Melanie) is reading the part of Benedick in “Much Ado About Nothing,” and Susan (Sasha Frolova) is her Beatrice. They look like the younger, Glossier model versions of the older women we’ve just met and they glow with young love (or really good skincare).
The third storyline is shared by Mabel Loomis Todd (Amy Seimetz), who tells a different tale to a roomful of Dickinson devotees after the poet’s death. Here’s where Emily becomes the lonely old maid who avoided publication that most of us are familiar with, offered by Mabel who helped bring her to fame she never found in life by publishing her poetry. Soon Mabel’s motives for her false version of Emily’s life become clear to the movie’s audience, even if it’s not seen by her contemporaries.
Despite the besmirching of Dickinson’s reputation and its lingering effects on today’s readers, there’s little gloom in “Wild Nights with Emily.” Instead, Olnek’s film is suffused with joy and literal sunshine, with none of the stuffiness that standard biopics often suffer from. She made deliberate casting choices, not only with ‘SNL‘ alum Shannon as her lead in a wonderfully light-footed performance, but also bringing in other comic actors like Brett Gelman, who plays Atlantic Monthly editor Higginson. Dialogue and its delivery are less mannered than we’d expect, and it all works to create an impression of a woman who is made of flesh and blood rather than merely being a historical figure composed of paper and ink. Olnek has previously made a few tiny, irreverent indies that boast titles such as “The Foxy Merkins,” and “Wild Nights with Emily” carries on that loose, lo-fi sensibility. This approach breathes air into the narrative, but some shots and graphics could have used a bit more polish.
Even beyond its story of lesbian love, “Wild Nights with Emily” takes an unsurprisingly feminist approach to Dickinson and the times she lived in. Her lack of publication wasn’t due to a lack of effort; instead, it was thanks to the male editors and their ideas about female poets. The comedy also pokes fun at the indignities of the style of the day, and the awkwardness of the fashions in doing anything other than sitting and looking pretty.
“Wild Nights with Emily” feels at once revelatory and a total delight, a surprise for both for literature geeks and those who didn’t do their required reading in school. This might even inspire both groups to return to her writing, going beyond “Because I could not stop for Death.” With this comedy, Olnek has brought the beloved, if often misunderstood, genius to life. [B+]
