One of my favorite things about watching movies for a living
is getting the opportunity to experience the work of a new filmmaker, then over
time seeing that artist develop and hone their voice with each new project.
Case in point: the wonderful indie filmmaker Madeleine Olnek.
Olnek specializes in wry, deadpan, and affably unpolished
comedies, first gaining attention with her 2011 feature “Codependent Lesbian
Space Alien Seeks Same,” a black-and-white sci-fi romance between a shy
greeting card store employee and the woman she doesn’t realize is from
outer-space. She followed that up with 2013’s “The Foxy Merkins,”
an absurdist buddy comedy following the wacky misadventures of two lesbian sex
workers.
While
sometimes hampered by their limited budgets, both films are inventive, witty,
character-driven films from a distinctive voice I immediately knew I wanted to
hear more from.
At a time
when many (frequently white male) rookie directors are plucked from the world
of micro-budget indies and immediately handed the
reins of a massive blockbuster feature, Olnek has
gone a different route.
Each of her
films have remained the indiest of indie productions,
but that’s also freed Olnek from the pressures of
working within the studio system. Over those years, she’s been able to grow and
evolve as a filmmaker at a more deliberate pace. And each of Olnek’s projects have grown slightly more ambitious, with
her latest being a full-fledged historical dramedy with a recognizable star.
“Wild Nights
with Emily,” is a hilarious and moving biopic that reimagines the life of Emily
Dickinson (played by Molly Shannon) and recontextualizes
the writer’s work through the lens of her sexuality, specifically her lifelong
romantic relationship with her sister-in-law, Susan Gilbert Dickinson (the
hilarious Susan Ziegler, a veteran of all three Olnek
features). And it’s Olnek’s strongest film yet.
Emily and
Susan were friends since childhood, and we meet them during their teenage years
(with Dana Melanie as Emily and Sasha Frolova as
Susan), when their friendship first blossomed into a love affair. Susan
eventually married Emily’s brother Austin (Kevin Seal), moving into the house
next door. Living as neighbors allowed the two women to continue their
relationship as an open secret for the next 40 years.
The film
includes a narrator of sorts, in the form of the smug and opportunistic Mabel
Todd (Amy Seimetz). Based on an actual person, Todd
was the one who “discovered” Dickinson’s trove of 1,800 poems and took it upon
herself to publish them four years after Dickinson’s 1886 death. But not before
taking the time to edit and erase the bits she deemed controversial. It’s worth
noting that she also happened to be Austin Dickinson’s mistress.
Despite the
presence of a marquee talent like Shannon, “Wild Nights with Emily” maintains Olnek’s shaggy style. With a tone that feels like
“Masterpiece Theatre” by way of “Drunk History,” it’s a thrilling effort to
rescue Dickinson from the narrative that’s defined her.
The story
was inspired by a New York Times piece about how spectrographic technology
allowed researchers to recover words and phrases that had been erased from
Dickinson’s writing, most crucially the name “Sue.”
Running with
that fact, Olnek’s script tosses out the widely accepted
history of Dickinson’s life. Her vision is a far cry from the image of a
miserable, sickly recluse that’s been popularized over the years and, the film
argues, the result of Emily’s legacy being filtered by Mabel Todd’s eyes. In
addition to possessing Shannon’s expert comedic prowess, the film’s version of
Emily is a strong-willed woman who lived fully and loved deeply.
Throughout,
you sense a real love for Dickinson’s writing, and it’s obvious a great deal of
research went into its creation. Olnek consulted with
Dickinson scholar Martha Nell Smith, whose book, “Rowing in Eden: Rereading
Emily Dickinson” focused on the skewed legacy of the author. She also received
the approval of the Harvard University Press and the Amherst College Special
Collections, which allowed access to their archives of Dickinson’s poems and
letters.
“Wild Nights
With Emily” is funny, genuinely touching, and
committed to the kind of smart-but-stupid silliness that’s a joy to watch. It’s
filled with biting wit and genuine emotion, all the way through the
heartbreaking end credits. Plus, did I mention it’s a period piece? That Olnek is able to do all that with such a visibly low budget
is all the more impressive.
I eagerly
await the time when some ahead-of-the-curve studio offers her a generous budget
worthy of her talent. Which is not to say I need a Madeleine Olnek “Avengers” movie — for all I know, she has no
interest in making a bigger budget film of any kind. But I thrill at the
possibilities of what she might do with enough resources to let her imagination
truly run wild.
This article appears in May 1-7, 2019.
