Please note: This was screened in Dec 2023
An elegant, spirited and refreshingly funny biopic of 19th-century American poet Emily Dickinson, played with sensitivity and rebellious spirit by Cynthia Nixon.
Dickinson's life was indeed a quiet one of great interiority: she was born and died in Amherst, Massachusetts, never married and lived a reclusive existence while writing some of the most piercingly beautiful, directly emotional and innovative verse ever published. Davies shows her as a passionate and conflicted figure who continually questioned the patriarchal society in which she lived. Featuring a finely curated selection of her poems in voiceover, it beautifully captures her wit and linguistic command; her melancholy, and her poetry’s transcendent ability to connect with other people in ways she herself cannot.
Exploring her interaction with her family and the wider community, Davies once again proved himself to be sensitive to the dreams and disappointments of women. A Quiet Passion's appeal will extend far beyond existing lovers of her poetry (although we challenge you not to be a fan by the end) - this is a look at a woman's life told with insight, intellect and great imagination.