Walk Invisible: The Bronte Sisters, written and directed by Sally Wainwright - 9.4 out of 10

Walk Invisible: The Bronte Sisters, written and directed by Sally Wainwright

9.4 out of 10

It is hard to figure out the reason for the obscurity in which this remarkable motion picture, looking into the intimacy of the miraculous Bronte Sisters, as the title makes clear, has been left.

If it was on the program of our local film channels, it must surely be broadcast elsewhere, but the fact that only four (!) critics have reviews on IMDB is astounding and definitely wrong.

It is not of the same scale as The Hours say, with its Academy Awards wins, but this a noteworthy, well-acted, beautifully filmed, directed and written by the formidable Sally Wainwright.

Finn Atkins is exceptional as Charlotte Bronte, one of the greatest writers of all time, author of Jane Eyre (reviewed here: http://realini.blogspot.com/2014/10/jane-eyre-by-charlotte-bronte.html), as is Charlie Murphy as Anne Bronte ( the one who gave the world Agnes Grey http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/03/note-on-agnes-grey-by-anne-bronte.html?q=bronte) and Chloe Pirrie in the role of Emily Bronte, the one who wrote Wuthering Heights (http://realini.blogspot.com/2015/01/wuthering-heights-by-emily-bronte.html?q=bronte)

Even if the film is a work of fiction, it is still fascinating to imagine the life of three of the world’s geniuses, who have been extraordinarily born under the same roof, as phenomenally gifted sisters, daughters of the parson Patrick Bronte aka the legendary Jonathan Price.

Since the movie deals with events that took place around 1845, this is an age where men rule and it is believed that the brother, Branwell Bronte would be the writer, if there would be any in the family, even after he is involved in an affair with a married woman and the result is something of a scandal – if a minor one to begin with.

Nevertheless, when the cuckold husband dies, he would have left provisions in his testament so that if the widow ever marries again, she would lose all the fortune, every penny and the house to boot…these instructions are brought to the attention of Branwell and the messenger makes it clear that there is no reason for the young man to come to see the woman who has just lost her spouse, for it would harm all those involved.

While the brother drinks with effusion and comes inebriated on a regular basis, even when he has no money to pay for his indulgence and becomes indebted, the sisters manifest a talent that borders the impossible…to have two sisters that are both geniuses is already hard to conceive, but to have three is impossible…indeed, there is no other case in the world, except for the Bronte Sisters.

Charlotte Bronte enters the room of her sister, Emily, and she is in awe with what she finds, but when she speaks about her admiration and radiant experience, the sister is appalled and furious with his flagrant invasion of her privacy…in fact, the two would see differently quite a few things, even if they esteem each other, for instance when the issue of travelling to London is raised.

When they write their novels, the Bronte Sisters opt to use masculine pen names and after some refusals, their works are not just accepted for publication, but become incredibly successful, soon after the storm caused by Jane Eyre, an adaptation for the theater is in the works, to be produced on stage, in London, and their commercial results cause some problems, together with the happy perspective for the family, that they would not have to worry about income anymore…

A ruthless publisher decides to cash in on the name and the profits generated by Jane Eyre and without consent, he decides to publish another work, to the dismay of Charlotte, who has given no acceptance and is aghast at the thought that George Smith and William Smith, the rightful partners for their work, would think they were cheated.

Charlotte decides to travel to London and reveal her identity, notwithstanding the promise they all made to keep their identity a secret, in order to protect her honor, convincing Anne to travel along, for seventeen hours, but not Emily, who would stay at home, where the brother would get seriously ill and eventually die, in large part because of his excesses.

The publishers are amazed to find that two sisters are the real authors and they invite them to the Opera, agreeing to maintain their identity a secret, while they reveal what they have been up to their father, who has heard of the popular, sensational Jane Eyre, but is flabbergasted to hear that one of his daughters has written it and furthermore, the other two are also established authors and they can earn money for more than their living now…

In other words, this is a memorable, excellent film, which has passed unnoticed, while The Avengers and other such fare break the box office, without the educational value of Walk Invisible, which has lived up to its name, alas, and has been…invisible.