Terence Davies
As part of TIFF 2021, we took a look at The Power of the Dog, Benediction, After Blue, and Compartment No. 6.
We delve into two recent biopics about Emily Dickinson, A Quiet Passion and Wild Nights With Emily, examining which seems to show more truth about the legendary poet.
Terence Davies’ 1988 debut Distant Voices, Still Lives, newly rereleased by Arrow Academy, deserves to be treasured as one of the great British films.
A Quiet Passion shows us that there is much more to the mythos of Emily Dickinson than meets the eye, and with Davies’ ever-lyrical vision at hand, the end result is the most comprehensive picture of her that we may ever have.
A Quiet Passion is going to be a very interesting biopic on the life of Emily Dickinson (Cynthia Nixon) – one to look out for!
Writer/director Terence Davies has released only two narrative features since the turn of the millennium, The House of Mirth and The Deep Blue Sea. Both are acclaimed pieces about a woman trapped by circumstance, which makes his dogged fascination with the poor Scottish farm girl at the center of Sunset Song perfectly understandable. He pitched the film fifteen years ago but was unable to land financial backing, shelving the project after even an open letter in The Guardian didn’t bear fruit.
