Cynthia Nixon gives a career-best, tour-de-force performance as the legendary 19th Century poet Emily Dickinson in Terence Davies' A QUIET PASSION.
Born into privilege in 1830, Dickinson spent most of her life on her parents’ estate in Armherst, Massachusetts. In her youth, the introverted Emily is depicted as a fiercely intelligent young woman who exchanges forthright opinions on life, art and patriarchal society. She becomes more reclusive as the years pass, consumed by poetry, but the lack of recognition and respect for her work stokes ever more vociferous dissention.
Living up to The Guardian's assertion that he is ‘Britain’s greatest living director’m Terence Davies creates a stunning portrait with A QUIET PASSION, a film which may just be the perfect match of filmmaker, actress and subject.
Critic Reviews:
- “From the opinionated and deliberate young Emily Dickinson to her eventual decision to live as a real-life "madwoman in the attic,” it's a haunting portrait of one of America's most celebrated voices." – Women's Voices for Change
- “Nixon delivers a masterful performance, giving us a heroine who can't cease digging herself into ever deeper holes. She's never out of step with the film's graceful pace and narrative development.” – Minneapolis Star Tribune
- “It's not easy to do justice to such a beloved, enigmatic artist, but "A Quiet Passion” was well worth the wait." – Washington Post