Wild Nights with Emily 2018 Movie Review

『The Delightful Restoration of Hidden Love and Truth: Story of a 19th Century Female Poet』

🎥 Movie Overview

🎬 Title: Wild Nights with Emily (2018)
🌍 Country: 🇺🇸 United States
🎞️ Genre: Romantic Comedy / Historical Drama / Queer Female Narrative
🗓️ Production & Release: Independent Film, 2018
📢 Director: Madeleine Olnek
🖋️ Screenplay: Madeleine Olnek
📺 Platforms: Theatrical release and VOD services (Netflix, Amazon Prime, region-dependent)

👩‍💼 Cast: Molly Shannon – Emily Dickinson
Susan Ziegler – Adult Susan Gilbert "Sue"

🧩 Story Deep Dive (Spoilers)

🌙 Emily and Susan, Bound by Literature and Love

Madeleine Olnek's Wild Nights with Emily is a witty and provocative revisionist biographical comedy exploring the life of America's iconic poet, Emily Dickinson. The film directly challenges long-standing stereotypes of Dickinson as a "solitary spinster" and "socially clueless recluse", while employing extensive historical evidence to offer a queer reclamation of her life and art.

⚖️ Breaking Stereotypes and Queer Historical Restoration

The central theme of the film is restoring Dickinson's lifelong relationship with her partner, Susan Huntington Gilbert Dickinson ("Sue"). The film humorously yet seriously portrays how Dickinson sent Susan devoted love poems and letters throughout her life, and how the two lived as neighbors while maintaining a secret romantic relationship.

• Restoring Sue: The film dispels the myth that Dickinson lived in loneliness, showing instead that she drew inspiration from a deep, fulfilling relationship with Susan. Many of her poems, including the famous "Wild nights—Wild nights!", were dedicated to Susan. Molly Shannon’s portrayal of adult Emily depicts her as sensitive and intellectual, yet witty and passionate in her relationship with Susan (played by Susan Ziegler).

📝 Critique of Historical Erasure

The film contrasts Dickinson's posthumous history with the perspective of her first editor, Mabel Loomis Todd (Amy Seimetz), through a framing device. Mabel, who was the mistress of Dickinson’s brother Austin, deliberately erased Susan’s name from Dickinson’s poems and letters or replaced it with male names, presenting Dickinson as a "woman in love with men." The split-screen in the final scene, showing Mabel erasing Susan’s name and Susan tenderly caring for Emily’s body, vividly highlights this historical distortion and delivers a scathing critique of the erasure of queer history.

🦋 Emotional Resonance and Significance

🎭 Blend of Comedy and Truth

Wild Nights with Emily breaks away from the heavy, solemn conventions of traditional biopics, actively using deadpan comedy. This humorous approach serves not only to entertain but also to sharply satirize the rigid and male-centered literary establishment of the time.

• Satirical Humor: The ignorance of male literary critics who fail to understand Dickinson’s innovative poetry (notably Thomas Wentworth Higginson) and Mabel Todd’s absurd self-confidence are exaggerated comically. This effectively illustrates why Dickinson’s poetry was underappreciated in her time and who distorted her legacy.
• Molly Shannon’s Emily: Casting comedian Molly Shannon is a brilliant choice. She portrays Dickinson’s eccentric and sensitive nature alongside her quirky, intellectual, and passionate inner life, overturning the traditionally somber image of the poet.

🎨 Direction and Aesthetic Features

Produced on a low budget, the film emphasizes content and message over lavish visuals. The theatrical feel and documentary-like style, reminiscent of “Drunk History,” create distance from conventional “polished” period dramas and strengthen the film’s revisionist intent.

• Visual Elements: Dickinson’s poetry appears as onscreen text or is read aloud by characters, emphasizing her work as the story’s core and her authentic voice rather than mere background.
• Tone and Manner: While maintaining a dry, satirical tone overall, the private moments between Emily and Susan are filled with genuine affection and intimacy, poignantly conveying the depth of their love.

📚 A Joyful and Just Reassessment of Dickinson

Wild Nights with Emily goes beyond a typical biopic, offering insightful critique on how history has been distorted and erased through misogyny and heteronormativity. By restoring Dickinson’s true life, the film reclaims her as a queer woman passionate and witty in her art and love, rather than an oppressed, melancholic genius.

This film provides fresh shock to audiences familiar with conventional Dickinson narratives and offers historical identity restoration to queer viewers, making it a highly meaningful and delightful work.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★★★