Wild Nights with Emily Dickinson

Wild Nights with Emily (2018) was written and directed by Madeleine Olnek.

It stars Molly Shannon as Emily Dickinson and Susan Ziegler as her sister-in-law, Susan Gilbert Dickinson.

The story comes to us in flashback, as narrated by Mabel Todd, portrayed by Amy Seimetz. Mabel lectures to women's groups, discussing Emily's poems and suggesting to them that Dickinson had a lesbian relationship with Susan.

It's clear that Mabel is a scheming opportunist. However, it's considered highly possible--in the movie and in real life--that Todd is correct.

The plot of the movie revolves almost entirely around the relationship of Emily and Susan. The film works because the actors are so good at presenting us with women in whom you can believe. It's wonderful to see two extremely talented actors bring their characters to life. (In her supporting role, Amy Seimetz does an excellent acting job as well.)

We saw this movie as in the Little Theatre as part of Rochester's ImageOut, the LGBT Film Festival. It will work well on the small screen.

The movie has a fairly weak IMDb rating of 7.0. However, it has been rated by less than 100 people, so it could still climb to a better position. I liked the film and highly recommend it.