Emily

Writing becomes a vessel for free expression in Emily, which chronicles a young 19th century author’s struggle with mental illness, social awkwardness, and the constraints of a patriarchal society.

This speculative biopic about the formative years of British novelist Emily Bronte — leading to the publication of her seminal coming-of-age book Wuthering Heights — is a bleak yet powerfully compassionate portrait of artistic inspiration.

Growing up in 1830s Yorkshire, Emily (Emma Mackey) is a black sheep within her own home, ridiculed by her gossipy, social-climbing siblings and eventually ostracized by her minister father (Adrian Dunbar).

That leads her to become reclusive and withdrawn as she commits herself to her poetry while older sister Charlotte (Alexandra Dowling) seeks the spotlight.

Eventually, Emily is coaxed out of her shell by a charismatic preacher (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) who understands and believes in her, willing to meet her on her own outspoken terms while teaching her French, and eventually succumbing to passionate temptation.

As she distances herself from her family — despite maintaining a bond with her troubled brother (Fionn Whitehead) — Emily’s experiences begin to shape her writing. Direct connections will be more evident to those familiar with Wuthering Heights, which caused a stir at the time.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Emily’s book yields a critique from Charlotte rooted in jealousy and scorn: “It’s ugly, full of selfish people who only care for themselves.”

As influential as her only major work might be, in real life Bronte died young and biographical details are sketchy, making a revisionist approach perhaps inevitable.

As such, the richly textured screenplay by actress Frances O’Connor (Mansfield Park), who makes her directorial debut, views Emily’s legacy through a more empowered contemporary lens, for example saluting her rebellious courage in condemning organized religion as an obstacle of independent thought.

A deeply committed performance by Mackey (Eiffel) projects both strength and vulnerability as the film explores Emily’s creative ingenuity as a product of her active imagination and her oppressive circumstances.

The film lacks broader context and depth among the periphery characters. Plus, it feels too conventional in stretches to fully capture its artist’s provocative spirit.

Still, as an introspective character study and a handsomely mounted period piece, Emily generates hard-earned sympathy for its subject by finding its own nonconformist voice.

Rated R, 131 minutes.