Review of A Quiet Passion (2016) by Kevin D — 07 May 2017

THE NIXON LIBRARY IS OPEN - My Review of A QUIET PASSION (5 QUALIFIED STARS).

Writer/director Terence Davies is known and revered for his quiet approach to filmmaking. Visually stunning yet formalized, often with minimal dialogue, his films, such as DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES and THE LONG DAY CLOSES evoke deep wells of feeling despite a slow-as-molasses pace. In other words, he's an acquired taste, but what great taste he has. Despite the wordiness of his latest film, A QUIET PASSION, he's a perfect match for telling the story of the reclusive 19th century American poet, Emily Dickinson.

Cynthia Nixon, in the performance of her career, plays Emily (along with a stellar Emma Bell as her younger self) as a forthright, intense woman who longed for deep connections with people, never settling for anything less. Mostly recognized only after her death at the age of 55, Dickinson only published less than a dozen poems during her lifetime, yet remains one of the most important American poets to this day. Although the film spans most of her life, it doesn't have the feel of a biopic. Instead, it's a film about connections and control.

Typically, I don't go for the corsets and tea genre of film. The tut-tutting and "problems" of the rich never interested me. I don't know where Abbey lives, but is it Downtown? Gosford can stay in his park and Merchant rarely tickled my Ivories, but Davies and Nixon manage to cut to the heart of what made Dickinson tick, producing a film so vital and timely, so dedicated to its time and place, yet feeling so urgent. In its depiction of the subjugation of women and its effects, it would make a great companion piece to Hulu's THE HANDMAID'S TALE.

Growing up in Amherst, Massachusetts in the mid-1800s, Dickinson lived with her father (Keith Carradine), mother (Joanna Bacon), sister Vinnie (Jennifer Ehle), and brother Austin (Duncan Duff) in a family which allowed for conversations that were freer than the Christian majority norm. Emily rejected religion despite her father's urgings, yet they discussed their differences like adults. She STILL was a woman in the 1800s, thus she couldn't escape her gender trappings completely. Developing a fondness for poetry, Emily would write in the middle of the night, eventually publishing her first poem anonymously. It's clear from Nixon's performance that she longed for human connection, the real kind filled with witty banter. She met her match in her dear friend, Varying Buffam (a scene-stealing Catherine Bailey), who typified the type of independent thinker Emily would cherish. She also had a warm, honest relationship with her sister, and Ehle's patience and ability to love her sister despite the many challenges, burns through this film with the quiet passion of its title. I loved their complex relationship.

Of course, such as life goes, Emily would grow disappointed when the people she loved would go away. Even independent women would marry, parents die, and relationships sour. What's special about this film is how it t shows how Emily wanted to be a free thinker, but doesn't shy away from her judgment of others. Nixon walks that tightrope so beautifully, giving us many reasons to love her, yet allowing her hard edges to poke through. What's surprising is how drawn Emily is to humor. Nixon gives Dickinson a wry glint in her eyes when fully engaged, especially when she and Buffam are amused by pretentious, silly people. You truly feel Emily aching for human connection, and when life inevitably disappoints her, she retreats to her room where nobody can hurt her. It's like that saying, "You'll find love when you stop looking", except for Emily, and so many suffering souls in this world, it didn't work out that way.

Davies has a presentational style of directing film. Concise framing, gorgeous lighting, and attention to a languid pacing fully sell this world to us. His cinematographer, Florian Hoffmeister, presents one gorgeous visual after another. One 360-degree shot shows the entire Dickinson family individually doing their own things in their candlelit living room. Beginning and ending on Emily, it reveals the control and the stifling nature of their lives with such beautiful economy, and Nixon's expression at the end of it caps the whole story perfectly. Hers is a silent, primal scream against the injustices perpetuated on women.

Mind you, this film is not for everybody. It's why I qualify my 5 star rating. It's measured pace (some would call deathly slow) and hyper-stylized dialogue may turn viewers off, but I felt so drawn in by every moment. The world didn't give back to Emily what she put out, and you can feel her heart break. It's a thrilling connection to a character, so full of kindness, rage, doubt, and surprising beauty. When she says to her sister that the world has gotten so cruel, it's difficult not to cry and reflect on the current state of things. Nixon, who has won an Emmy, Grammy and Tony before just needs the Oscar for a full EGOT. I can't imagine a more accomplished performance this year, so let's wrap it up for her, ok?

Davies, at 71 years of age, directs like his life depends on it. You feel his burning intensity to say something that matters. Nixon provides Dickinson's rich poetry in voiceover throughout, but it's Davies who has given voice to a hushed life. It's a film for those who have never gotten the recognition they deserved in their lifetime. Dickinson joins Van Gogh, Keats, Poe, Kafka, Thoreau, and the many others in that category, but A QUIET PASSION gives her the glory, warts and all, she deserved.