A Quiet Passion

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A Quiet Passion
A Quiet Passion.png
UK theatrical release poster
Directed by Terence Davies
Written byTerence Davies
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Florian Hoffmeister
Edited by Pia Di Ciaula
Production
companies
  • Hurricane Films
  • Gibson & MacLeod Indomitable Entertainment
  • WeatherVane Productions
  • Potemkino
Distributed by Soda Pictures
Release dates
  • 14 February 2016 (2016-02-14)(Berlin)
  • 7 April 2017 (2017-04-07)(United Kingdom)
Running time
125 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7.3 million [1]
Box office$4.1 million [2] [3]

A Quiet Passion is a 2016 British biographical film written and directed by Terence Davies about the life of American poet Emily Dickinson. The film stars Cynthia Nixon as the reclusive poet. It co-stars Emma Bell as young Dickinson, Jennifer Ehle, Duncan Duff, and Keith Carradine. The film premiered at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2016 and was released in the United Kingdom on 7 April 2017. It won the Grand Prix at Film Fest Gent.

Contents

Plot

The film follows American poet Emily Dickinson from her early years as a student to her later years.

Emily’s upbringing in Massachusetts’ Puritan/Congregational world is evident from the start, when she stands up to a Mount Holyoake Female Seminary school mistress (Miss Mary Lyon). Her family (Father, brother Austin, sister Vinnie) take her home to Amherst.

Subsequently, while she is enraptured at the opera, her father and aunt express displeasure at a woman singing anything other than hymns – a pious Aunt Elizabeth comes to regard Emily as insolent.

Emily convinces her father to ask his friend Dr Holland, editor of the Springfield Republican, to publish her poems. The editor deigns to publish one, noting that the rest are childish and that women cannot add much to literature.

Many years pass and we see the Dickinson family as older adults. Family friend Vryling Buffam strikes up a friendship with a retiring Emily, who admires Vryling’s acerbic commentary. Emily begins to assert her independence by not attending church, angering Father. Austin brings home his new bride, Susan, and the Dickinson sisters welcome her warmly, as does an evidently unwell Mrs Dickinson who makes a rare appearance downstairs. (Susan will later confide in Emily that she had strong reservations about marriage, not feeling the usual attraction.)

When the Civil War starts, Father decides that he will pay for Austin to avoid the draft, Austin’s heartfelt views on honor and conscience notwithstanding. There is a montage of civil war battles. Austin is offended by Emily’s observation that gender issues ought to be considered in a similar light to slavery.

Emily experiences a series of losses, which drive her reclusive nature. She develops an attachment to a married pastor, and is visibly angry on hearing he is moving away. Vryling is to marry; Emily refuses to attend and bids her “goodbye”. Emily views marriage as cutting ties with family to live with strangers. Father dies – we see Emily grieving her father from an upstairs window refusing to join the funeral procession.

Emily, now confided to her room, will not come downstairs. She upbraids the visiting newspaper editor for altering the punctuation of her poems, objecting to Dr Holland’s changes as “obviousness”. She refuses to come down meet a potential suitor who admires her poetry – fearing he is too beautiful. Later she prays for a suitor and has a mystical vision. Emily explains to Vinnie that for her love is permanent, unlike a man who loves and then cools.

Diagnosed with “Bright’s Disease”, a kidney ailment, her health deteriorates with back pain and grand mal seizures. Mother, long suffering from melancholy, has a stroke and passes. Subsequently, Emily discovers that Austin is having an affair with a singer (Mrs Todd). Emily, with sympathy for Susan, confronts her brother’s hypocrisy. With the strains growing, Vinnie points out to Emily her own intolerance of the failings of others.

Emily’s condition deteriorates. She dies with Austin and Vinnie visibly distraught by her side.

Cast

Production

On 10 September 2012, it was announced that Cynthia Nixon was set to play Emily Dickinson in a biopic directed by Terence Davies. [4] In May 2015, after a long time in development hell, A Quiet Passion finally began production in Belgium. [5] The film was shot at AED Studios in a replica of Dickinson's house. [6] Additional scenes were also filmed in Amherst and Pelham, Massachusetts. [7] Jennifer Ehle was cast in a key supporting role opposite Nixon. [8] [9]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91%, based on 152 reviews, and an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A Quiet Passion offers a finely detailed portrait of a life whose placid passage may not have been inherently cinematic, but is made more affecting by Cynthia Nixon's strong performance." [10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [11]

The film was highly praised by the British newspapers The Guardian and The Independent, which described the film as a 'Masterpiece of Mood'. Richard Brody of The New Yorker called it a "masterwork" and stated that the film would "take its place as one of [Davies'] finest creations". [12] Had the film been given a limited release in the United States before 2017, Brody would have placed it first in his list of best films of 2016. [13] Internationally, The New York Times stated: "This Emily Dickinson biopic possesses a poetic sensibility perfectly suited to its subject and a deep, idiosyncratic intuition about what might have made her tick." The Washington Post wrote: "Davies is a master of the slow build, lyrically evoking both the dreaminess and gravity of his subject and her verse".

Awards

The film received the Grand Prix for Best Film at Film Fest Gent in 2016.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Dickinson</span> American poet (1830–1886)

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, into a prominent family with strong ties to its community. After studying at the Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she briefly attended the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's home in Amherst. Evidence suggests that Dickinson lived much of her life in isolation. Considered an eccentric by locals, she developed a penchant for white clothing and was known for her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, even to leave her bedroom. Dickinson never married, and most of her friendships were based entirely upon correspondence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynthia Nixon</span> American actress and politician (born 1966)

Cynthia Ellen Nixon is an American actress, activist, and theater director. For her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series Sex and the City (1998–2004), she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and reprised the role in the films Sex and the City (2008) and Sex and the City 2 (2010), as well as the television show And Just Like That... (2021–present).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Carradine</span> American actor (born 1949)

Keith Ian Carradine is an American actor who has had success on stage, film, and television. He is known for his roles as Tom Frank in Robert Altman's film Nashville, E. J. Bellocq in Louis Malle's Pretty Baby, Mickey in Alan Rudolph's Choose Me, Wild Bill Hickok in the HBO series Deadwood, FBI agent Frank Lundy in Dexter, Lou Solverson in the first season of Fargo, and U.S. president Conrad Dalton in Madam Secretary. He also had a recurring role as Penny's father Wyatt in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. He is a member of the Carradine family of actors that began with his father, John Carradine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Ehle</span> American-British actress (born 1969)

Jennifer Anne Ehle is a British-American actress. She gained recognition and acclaim for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in the BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice (1995), for which she received the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress. Known for her roles on Broadway and the West End she had won two Tony Awards as well as a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award.

Terence Davies was a British screenwriter, film director, and novelist. He is best known as the writer and director of autobiographical films, including Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988), The Long Day Closes (1992) and the collage film Of Time and the City (2008), as well as the literary adaptations The Neon Bible (1995), The House of Mirth (2000), The Deep Blue Sea (2011), and Sunset Song (2015). His final two feature films were centered around influential literary figures, Emily Dickinson in A Quiet Passion (2016) and Siegfried Sassoon in Benediction (2021). Davies was considered by some critics as one of the great British directors of his period.

Roy Boulter was the English drummer in the Liverpool-based pop group The Farm. He joined the band in 1987, enjoying success with the number one album, Spartacus, and hits such as "Groovy Train" and "All Together Now". The Farm re-formed, occasionally touring and playing festivals. In 2011 the band provided the nucleus of The Justice Tonight Band, joined by Mick Jones, Pete Wylie and Andrew Davitt. The band was formed to raise awareness about the injustice surrounding the Hillsborough disaster - Boulter and Farm lead-singer Peter Hooton were both present at the tragedy. The Justice Tonight Band toured the UK and Europe spreading the message about Hillsborough and the twenty-three years of injustice endured by the families and victims of the tragedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Dickinson Museum</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Emily Dickinson Museum is a historic house museum consisting of two houses: the Dickinson Homestead and the Evergreens. The Dickinson Homestead was the birthplace and home from 1855 to 1886 of 19th-century American poet Emily Dickinson (1830–1886), whose poems were discovered in her bedroom there after her death. The house next door, called the Evergreens, was built by the poet's father, Edward Dickinson, in 1856 as a wedding present for her brother Austin. Located in Amherst, Massachusetts, the houses are preserved as a single museum and are open to the public on guided tours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mabel Loomis Todd</span> American novelist (1858–1932)

Mabel Loomis Todd or Mabel Loomis was an American editor and writer. She is remembered as the editor of posthumously published editions of Emily Dickinson's poetry and letters and also wrote several novels and books about her travels with her husband, astronomer David Peck Todd, as well as co-authoring a textbook on astronomy.

Duncan Duff is a British stage, television and film actor who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London 1985 - 1987. He is best known for His role in Not Going out as Pete and for A Quiet Passion (2016), Wild Target (2010), Big Kids (2000), and Hamish Macbeth (1997).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Austin Dickinson</span> American lawyer

William Austin Dickinson was an American lawyer who lived and worked in Amherst, Massachusetts. Known to family and friends as "Austin", he was, notably, the older brother of poet Emily Dickinson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lavinia Norcross Dickinson</span> Younger sister of American poet Emily Dickinson

Lavinia "Vinnie" Norcross Dickinson was the younger sister of American poet Emily Dickinson.

Pia Di Ciaula ACE, CCE is a BAFTA winning international film editor best known for editing 'A Very English Scandal', 'The Crown' and 'Tyrannosaur'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music Box Films</span>

Music Box Films is a distributor of foreign and independent film in theatrical, DVD/Blu-ray, and video-on-demand markets in the United States. Based in Chicago, Music Box Films is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation, which also owns and operates the Music Box Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Bell</span> American actress

Emma Jean Bell is an American actress, best known for her role as Parker O'Neal in the films Frozen and Hatchet II, as Molly Harper in Final Destination 5 (2011), and for playing Amy in the first and third season of the AMC post apocalyptic series The Walking Dead, and Emma Judith Ryland Brown on the TNT drama series Dallas (2013–2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Films</span>

Hurricane Films is a film production company based in Liverpool, England. It has produced both documentaries and fiction films at both short and feature length. It is best known for Terence Davies' feature-length documentary Of Time and the City (2008).

Margaret Maher was an Irish-American long-term domestic worker in the household of American poet Emily Dickinson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Huntington Gilbert Dickinson</span> American writer, poet, traveler, and editor

Susan Huntington Gilbert Dickinson was an American writer, poet, traveler, and editor. She was the sister-in-law of poet Emily Dickinson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Scott Turner</span> American poet (1831–1917)

Kate Scott Turner was an American poet and a friend of poet Emily Dickinson. She was also known as Kate Anthon.

<i>Wild Nights with Emily</i> 2018 American film

Wild Nights with Emily is a 2018 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Madeleine Olnek. It stars Molly Shannon as Emily Dickinson, as well as Amy Seimetz, Susan Ziegler, Brett Gelman, Jackie Monahan, Kevin Seal, Dana Melanie, Sasha Frolova, Lisa Haas and Stella Chesnut. The film is based on the actual events of Emily Dickinson's life, including her process as a writer, her attempts to get published, and her lifelong romantic relationship with another woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Norcross Dickinson</span>

Emily Norcross Dickinson was a member of the Dickinson family of Amherst, Massachusetts, and the mother of American poet Emily Dickinson.

References

  1. Campbell, Christopher (11 December 2017). "The Disaster Artist' and 'I, Tonya' make their mark in an otherwise poor year for biographical movies". Film School Rejects . Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  2. "A Quiet Passion (2016)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  3. "A Quiet Passion (2016)". The Numbers . Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  4. Scott Roxborough (10 September 2012). "Toronto 2012: Cynthia Nixon to Play Poet Emily Dickinson (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  5. Ryan Lattanzio (5 May 2015). "Terence Davies' Long-Awaited Emily Dickinson Biopic Is Re - Thompson on Hollywood". Thompson on Hollywood. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  6. Lederman, Diane (12 June 2015). "Filming of Emily Dickinson story 'The Quiet Passion' brings attention to poet, Amherst". MassLive.com . Advance Publications . Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  7. Merzbach, Scott (10 June 2015). "Filming planned in Amherst, Pelham for Emily Dickinson biopic 'A Quiet Passion' starring Cynthia Nixon, Keith Carradine". Daily Hampshire Gazette . Newspapers of New England . Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  8. Dave McNary (5 May 2015). "'A Quiet Passion': Jennifer Ehle Joins Emily Dickinson Biopic - Variety". Variety. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  9. Ben Beaumont-Thomas (6 May 2015). "Cynthia Nixon and Jennifer Ehle set for Terence Davies' Emily Dickinson biopic". the Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  10. "A Quiet Passion (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  11. "A Quiet Passion Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  12. "A Masterly Emily Dickinson Movie". The New Yorker. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  13. Brody, Richard (9 December 2016). "The Best Movies of 2016". The New Yorker . Condé Nast . Retrieved 22 December 2016.