I admire O’Connor’s ambition. She has talked about wanting to engage the younger generation with the Brontës through this film. Maybe this sex, drugs and rock & roll take on Emily’s short life will appeal to the TikTok generation? I don’t know. Whether you enjoy this film or not will depend on two things: how much you know about the Brontës, and how much you care about the truth. The film does present itself as a ‘reimagining’. I could get on board with that. After reading mixed reviews, I approached it as a sort of ‘what if…’ and tried to keep an open mind.

I liked Emily’s questioning of dogma, her ridicule of blind faith. I liked the various nods to Wuthering Heights. I could forgive the fact that characters and events are completely manipulated to serve the narrative arc the film wants to achieve. In this parallel universe Haworth, Emily is Julia Stiles’ character in 10 Things I Hate About You, Patrick Brontë is quite terrifying (except for the scene where it appears that he and everyone present has had a lobotomy for Emily’s book launch – yes, you read that right: book launch), Branwell is an affable rogue, Charlotte is Nurse Ratched, and Anne might as well be a clump of heather in the parsonage’s back garden.

This parallel Haworth enables all the dynamics needed to make this version of events plausible – if you’re willing to suspend your disbelief. I clearly was to a large extent, because it moved me. What it had to say about grief, isolation and the wrench of leaving childhood behind really struck a chord. The first time I watched it, I cried so much I had to Google ‘cats being knobheads’ to get over it.

What is so frustrating, though – and what I can’t forgive – is the implication that everything Emily achieved is either drawn out of her by the talentless Branwell or inspired by the wet weekend with whom she has an affair, William Weightman. I prefer to believe that O’Connor didn’t intend to give this impression – that she was trying to show Emily as rebellious and the vehicle for that had to be men as they were afforded so much more freedom. [...]

There’s a moment where she opens the window and lets nature in, before she starts to write. That’s what I wanted more of. I’m not a purist or a Brontë scholar, but I believe their legacy is an important one which needs handling with care, and this is a bit of a missed opportunity. If you’re the kind of person who gets annoyed at historical inaccuracy, do not watch this film. If you like a good yarn and a stunning score, fill your boots. Just remember to take a heavy pinch of salt. (Amy Stone)