Friday 12 August 2022 10:52 AM Emily Brontë historians will be 'p***** off' by sexy new movie about the ... trends now
A steamy period drama about the love life of Emily Brontë, who is not actually believed to have had any romantic encounters in her short life, is bound to wind up historians, its director has said.
Actress Frances O'Connor, famous for being a leading lady in Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and The Importance of Being Earnest opposite Colin Firth, is making her writing and directorial debut with the film.
In a revised history of the famously introverted author's life, 'Emily' portrays its central character as caught up in a forbidden affair with an assistant curate - a real and reportedly handsome man.
Forbidden affair: The film features a romance between Brontë and her curate father's assistant
'I know there'll be some people that are p----d off about it,' O'Connor told Total Film.
'People like Brontë historians will probably say, 'Well, that didn't happen'.'
Sex Education actress Emma Mackey, 26, stars as the titular character in the period drama.
The director has said that 'passionate' Mackey, a Brontë superfan herself, was perfect for the starring role.
Emma Mackey, 26, who plays Brontë, looks very different in her breakout role in Netflix's Sex Education
O'Connor added that Mackey had even said in the past that she'd love to play the author, and compared the rising star to Brontë.
'She's super bright and she's a very passionate person but, at the same time, she's got this fierce intelligence to her the same way that Emily did and she knows who she is in a really strong way.
'It's just very compelling when you put that on screen. And I think because she wanted to play it in a way that was very personal to her, that's why she's so amazing in the film,' she told
