Wild Nights with Emily(2019)

Plot Summary

• Note: this film is presented out of chronological order in a nonlinear-time line.Set in the 19th century, in her teenage years, Emily Dickinson (Dana Melanie) befriends Susan Gilbert (Sasha Frolova) during a recitation of the Amherst's Shakespeare Society, and during a scene in which they play lovers, a romance blossoms. On a stroll afterward, they kiss. When Emily's parents leave town for a month long trip, Susan stays with Emily for the duration. They continue to spend time together, concealing the romantic aspect of their relationship from others.When Susan gets a teaching job out west, they write countless love letters to each other's while she is away. When Susan returns, Emily is surprised to learn that Susan has been betrothed to Emily's brother Austin (Josh Griswold), which Susan had kept secret from her. Susan apologizes to Emily and explains that it's all part of a greater scheme: Susan cannot financially support herself without getting married, and by marrying Austin they can build a house right next door to Emily and no one will suspect their romance.Twenty years later in the 1860s, Emily (Molly Shannon as an adult) and Susan (Susan Ziegler as an adult) live next door to each other, and Susan's two children, daughter Mattie and younger son Gilbert, deliver their countless notes back and forth between the two houses while continuing to keep their romance a secret from Emily's brother and Susan's husband Austin (Kevin Seal as an adult). Emily shows Susan the poems she has written, some of which are written on scraps of paper and in the margins of recipes, and many of which mention Susan by name. Emily also likes to garden and bake bread for the neighborhood children.During a period when Susan is too busy to speak to Emily, a recently widowed Kate Scott Turner (Allison Lane) travels to stay with Susan. But Kate turns out to be more interested in Emily, and ends up staying at her place instead. Kate leaves suddenly, and Emily tells Susan she wishes she'd had a chance to say goodbye and give Kate the pair of garters she sewed for her. Susan is jealous because Emily never made garters for her. (Note: it is never fully explained of Emily cheated on Susan with Kate.)Emily receives the company of Judge Otis Phillips Lords (Al Sutton), a senile old man who confuses the Brontë sisters (describing the book "Withering Jane"), falls asleep mid conversation, and calls Emily "plain". While on his way out he stumbles, and as the same moment Emily reaches out to help him, Susan walks in, catching them mid-embrace.A little later, Thomas Wentworth Higginson (Brett Gelman) also visits Emily after she writes about publishing her poems. During their three-hour long meeting, he corrects her on what the meaning of poetry is, describes how women's writing is different than men's writing, and even copy-edits one of her poems right in front of her. He tells her the poems are not ready for publication.Some time later in 1880, Mabel Todd (Amy Seimetz) first comes to Emily's house on an invitation to play the piano for Emily, but is surprised when the maid Maggie (Lisa Haas) tells her that she will play alone in the drawing room, and that Emily will remain upstairs to listen to the music while she writes. Mabel meets Austin after moving to Amherst, and they began an affair. They have little shame about it, and frequently appear in public together. They often go to Emily's house to make love, which Emily avoids by staying in her upstairs bedroom. Mabel suggests to Austin that they publish their love letters, but Austin finds that idea too scandalous and tells her to seek for a creative outlet elsewhere.In 1886, Emily suddenly becomes ill and passes away. Her sister Lavinia (Jackie Monahan) asks Susan to wash the body for burial. After her death, Mabel discovers a chest full of Emily's poems and letters, but she realizes that many of the best ones are addressed to Susan. She enlists the help of Austin to erase all the instances of "Susan" and replace them with men's names instead.Years later after Emily's work has become successful, Mabel gives a talk to a large group of society women. She tells them that because Emily was such an eccentric recluse, she only saw her face once: in the casket of her funeral. She explains that her poems must have been directed to Judge Otis, and that she added titles to all the poems so that audiences would know exactly what they were about. Emily's niece also gives a lecture about how her aunt and mother were secret lovers, but only three people attend.The film ends with titles explaining that recent technology has revealed Mabel's erasures and shown that the love letters were indeed written to Susan.

Storyline

• In the mid 19th century, Emily Dickinson was writing prolifically and in a passionate romantic relationship with her sister-in-law, yet she is still popularly believed to be a frigid recluse. Informed by Dickenson's private letters, this film is a light-hearted, humorous and bold take on the American poet who found herself facing male literacy gatekeepers too confused by her genius to take her work seriously, and instead attracts the attention of an ambitious female editor, named Mabel, who also sees Emily as a convenient cover for her bizarre love triangle.