A series of related tableau (some short and extremely witty) unfold the life of American poet Emily Dickinson.
The dialogue is quick fire passionate, the scenes stifling, claustrophobic and painterly with soft autumnal lighting, the performances arch with Cynthia Nixon masterly as the poet, ably supported by Jennifer Ehle as her sister.
But by its nature and subject (Dickinson rarely left the family home or, in later years, her rooms) A Quiet Passion is somewhat static. The glorious humour in the early part of the narrative peters out as an embittered Dickinson ages and her recognition as a poet fails to materialise. Writer/director Terence Davies focuses on her inner demons, resulting in an austere, repressed telling of the poet and her family life.
Rating: 68%
Director: Terence Davies (Sunset Song, The Deep Blue Sea)
Writer: Terence Davies (Sunset Song, The Deep Blue Sea)
Main cast: Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City, An Englishman in New York), Jennifer Ehle (Zero Dark Thirty, TV’s Pride & Prejudice), Keith Carradine (Nashville, Cowboys & Indians)
An Opinion or Two 