‘Emily’ imagines the lonely life of Emily Brontë

Above: Emma Mackey stars as Emily Brontë in the film "Emily." (Photo/Bleeker Street Films)

History is full of people who were unappreciated, or at least underappreciated, in their lifetime.

Think of van Gogh, of Franz Kafka, of Emily Dickinson.

And, too, think of another Emily, she of the family Brontë. The British novelist Emily Brontë was just 30 years old when she died in 1848. And though she is well known today, her novel “Wuthering Heights” being a staple of English literature, she was virtually unknown at the time of her death.

“Wuthering Heights” wasn’t even published under Brontë’s own name until 1850, having been first credited to the pseudonymous Ellis Bell.

A version of Brontë’s life is told in the film “Emily,” written and directed by the actress-turned-filmmaker Frances O’Connor. The film is scheduled to open Friday at the Magic Lantern Theatre.

According to some sources, O’Connor’s version is highly imaginative.

Because so little is known about Brontë’s actual life, wrote Iona Rowan, “O'Connor's ‘Emily’ blurs the lines between real life and art in order to fill in the blanks about what might have served as inspiration for the author's writing.”

“Purists are not going to be pleased,” wrote critic Kate Taylor of the Globe and Mail. “But for the rest of us this fantasy does offer the satisfaction of witnessing the short-lived triumph of a fascinating character.”

And Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly wrote, “Without plunging into full anachronism, the film happily plays both fast and loose with history, its tone frequently wobbling between melodrama, magic realism, and the more traditional structures of classic period drama.”

It’s taken these long 176 years, but Brontë is finally getting the attention she deserves – even if that attention is a bit far from the truth.

The good news? It just might draw people back to her novel. And who can complain about that?