Miss Emily and the silver screen …

… The Quietus | Film | Film Features | A Quiet Passion: The Problem Of Poetry On Film.  (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Fans of Emily Dickinson, however, whose life was hardly a rollercoaster of biopic-baiting events, will be delighted to discover that she has now been honoured with the big screen treatment courtesy of Terence Davies’ A Quiet Passion. The film works extraordinarily well as an exploration of her personality and the atmosphere of her poetry. Just like Paterson, it manages to keep your attention for two hours without pulling any gimcrack narrative tricks beyond the occasional (inevitable) wheeling out of Dickinson’s most famous verse for a little show pony action. It makes the psychology of sadness and isolation watchable in its own right. That’s quite an achievement, but even more so when you consider that films about wild and drunken poets can often do worse with greater riches of biographical excitement.