Cynthia Nixon is quite fine in this intense, if 'quietly' so, bio-pic about poet Emily Dickinson. Terence Davies makes old fashioned films (often shot ON film!). But, he's not 'old fashioned' in the way most filmmakers are. It's not just that he's an older man and has seen a lot of even older films. No, with Davies, you have the sense that he is a man born two decades too late - or, maybe two CENTURIES! He truly seems be from another age. And, that's what makes his films so remarkable. You feel as if you are watching a work that was actually made at the time they are set in.
QUIET PASSION isn't the top tier of Davies' films such as DISTANT VOICES STILL LIVES or DEEP BLUE SEA (a bit too dry), but, it's still a resonant tale. Don't expect a typical biography treatment by Davies. He's more interested in what made Dickinson tick as opposed to a reciting of known facts of her life. He doesn't fully succeed, yet it is a compelling watch. And, one with only the faintest modern take -- which is why Davies' work is so utterly unlike anyone else's (although he does use CGI!).
QUIET PASSION isn't the top tier of Davies' films such as DISTANT VOICES STILL LIVES or DEEP BLUE SEA (a bit too dry), but, it's still a resonant tale. Don't expect a typical biography treatment by Davies. He's more interested in what made Dickinson tick as opposed to a reciting of known facts of her life. He doesn't fully succeed, yet it is a compelling watch. And, one with only the faintest modern take -- which is why Davies' work is so utterly unlike anyone else's (although he does use CGI!).