Emma Mackey's Emily Movie: Trailer, Cast, and More

Watch "Sex Education" Star Emma Mackey in the Trailer For Emily Brontë Biopic "Emily"

Aug 15 2022 by Rehana Nurmahi

Get that classic Kate Bush song ready . . . It's not quite "Wuthering Heights", but a brand new fictionalised biopic is coming based on the life of the novel's author, Emily Brontë starring Emma Mackey, best known for "Sex Education".

Before she appears alongside Margot Robbie in "Barbie" in 2023, the British star will play the iconic writer in the period drama, which will focus on the bond between the Brontë sisters, and Emily's thoeretical relationship with William Weightman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), a real-life figure who was an associate of her father. While Brontë's personal life is famously enigmatic, the film will imagine a more dramatic backstory to the writer's life.

Bronte was born in 1818, and died of tuberculosis at the age of 30. Along with her sister Charlotte, who wrote "Jane Eyre," she is now one of the most beloved writers of her era. A relative recluse during her life, she has proven a difficult subject from biographers, and most of what's known about her is taken from her sister Charlotte's writing.

"My sister's disposition was not naturally gregarious; circumstances favoured and fostered her tendency to seclusion; except to go to church or take a walk on the hills, she rarely crossed the threshold of home," Charlotte wrote in a preface to the second edition of "Wuthering Heights," published in 1850. "Though her feeling for the people round was benevolent, intercourse with them she never sought; nor, with very few exceptions, ever experienced. And yet she knew them: knew their ways, their language, their family histories; she could hear of them with interest, and talk of them with detail, minute, graphic, and accurate; but WITH them, she rarely exchanged a word."

"Emily" will imagine a much richer life for Brontë than ever portrayed onscreen before. Ahead, check out what we know about the movie's plot, trailer, cast, release date, and more.

— Additional reporting by Eden Arielle Gordon

"Emily" Trailer

Warner Bros. released the first trailer for the film on 12 Aug. providing the first official glimpse into the "imagined life of one of the world's most famous authors, Emily Brontë." The trailer starts with the question: "Emily, How did you write 'Wuthering Heights'?" with the footage that follows suggesting that the narrative of "Emily" will explore how certain elements of the author's life played into the creation of her classic work. A dramatic orchestral score led by violins creating a gothic atmosphere and provides the haunting soundtrack.

With plenty of sweeping shots of the Yorkshire landscape, close-up shot of stolen glances between the romantic leads, and scenes of writing in candlelight, the film is set to embody everything that makes period dramas great. The trailer was posted with the tagline: "Rebel. Misfit. Genius." Our first glimpse at Emma Mackey in the role certainly provides the sense that she is all three!

"Emily" Cast

Fresh from the release of her French debut "Eiffel", and in the midst of filming Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" film, as well as the upcoming season of "Sex Education", Mackey stars as the titular Emily Brontë. "From the moment she auditioned, I really couldn't think of anyone else who would do such a great [job in the] role. And there were quite a few names that we met for the part but I just felt there was something that she had to offer that role that felt really personal," Director Frances O'Connor told Metro. "She also just really loves Emily Brontë as a character and a person and what she represents to her, so it felt like a really great meeting of a character and an actor."

Alexandra Dowling ("The Musketeers"), YouTube star Amelia Gething ("The Spanish Princess"), and Fionn Whitehead ("Dunkirk") star as the Brontë siblings, playing Charlotte, Anne, and Branwell respectively. Playing their father is Adrian Dunbar, best known as Ted Hastings from "Line of Duty." Meanwhile, Oliver Jackson-Cohen ("The Haunting of Bly Manor", "The Lost Daughter") stars as William Weightman, the romantic lead.

Image Source: Getty/Stephane Cardinale/Corbis

"Emily" Plot

In their description of the film, Warner Bros. refer to "Emily" as the "imagined life of one of the world's most famous authors, Emily Brontë, a rebel and misfit, as she finds her voice and writes the literary classic Wuthering Heights."

The plot description goes on to explain: ""Emily" explores the relationships that inspired her – her raw, passionate sisterhood with Charlotte and Anne; her first aching, forbidden love for Weightman, and her care for her maverick brother whom she idolises."

Given how little is known about the life of the real Emily Brontë, it is safe to say that this film is a work of speculative fiction, rather than a tell-all about the author's life. "I've taken inspiration from certain elements from "Wuthering Heights", and also the biographies that I read, and put those pieces together to create a narrative, which is not a biopic. It's more like its own thing," O'Connor says.

Image Source: Warner Bros.

"Emily" Setting

The Brontë sisters famously grew up in the Yorkshire town of Haworth, and "Emily" is shown to be predominantly set there. As well as it being the setting, Yorkshire also provides the primary shooting location for the film, with scenes being filmed across Haworth and also the village of Dent.

The house that features in the film was the genuine inspiration for "Wuthering Heights." So whilst the film's narrative may be imagined, its setting is very much genuine and accurate to the life of Emily Brontë and her sisters.

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"Emily" Director and Production Team

"Emily" is written and directed by Frances O'Connor, in her directorial debut. No stranger to period dramas, O'Connor is best known for her acting roles in films such as "Mansfield Park", "Madame Bovary" (for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe), and "The Importance of Being Earnest."

The film is produced by Embankment films and Ingenious Media, with distribution being done by Warner Bros. in the UK and Ireland. Cinematography is by Nanu Segal, whilst award-winning composer Abel Korzeniowski has written the score.

Image Source: Getty/Tristan Fewings

"Emily" Release Date

The film will receive its general release in cinemas on 14 October 2022. Prior to that, it will have its premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.