A QUIET PASSION

2016 | DIR. TERENCE DAVIES | REVIEW BY GLENN COCHRANE.

Emily Dickinson is regarded as one of America’s greatest poets, although the distinction wasn’t made until after her passing. Aside from a handful of poems published in newspapers – edited and without credit – her work was reserved for her personal collection, hidden in a chest amongst her belongings. Dickinson’s sister, who discovered her works after her death in 1886, eventually published the work in a three-volume collection of books. The rest, as they say, is history and Dickinson posthumously became one of the world’s most highly regarded writers.

Adapting her life for film might have seemed like an appealing idea if conjured in a spontaneous burst of inspiration, but when you explore beyond the legend, what’s left is an ordinary life bereft of romance. She was a modest woman who resided on her family’s property and lived a reclusive life. Considered to be free-spirited and emotionally temperamental, she struggled to comprehend the world around her, whereby notions beyond her perception were deflected with hostility and self- loathing. And so, with very little flexibility for a overarching narrative, director Terence Davies (The House Of Mirth) focuses his energy on the characters and has, in turn, created a performance-driven piece that is only as strong as its players… which is very strong in deed.

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