To Walk Invisible: The Lives of the Brontë Sisters is a historical and biographical drama (based on a true story), which premiered on British television (BBC) in 2016.
Most scenes are set in the village of Haworth in West Riding of Yorkshire in the middle of the 19th century.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Writer and director: Sally Wainwright
** Cinematography: David Raedeker
** Musical score: John Lunn
** Available on DVD and via Amazon Prime Video
** Subtitles: English
** Run time: 119 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** Finn Atkins as Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855) - daughter
** Charlie Murphy as Anne Brontë (1820-1849) - daughter
** Chloe Pirrie as Emily Brontë (1818-1848) - daughter
** Adam Nagaitis as Branwell Brontë (1817-1848) - son
** Jonathan Pryce as Patrick Brontë (1777-1861) – father
** Jill Baker as Elizabeth Branwell 1776-1842 – aunt
** June Watson as Tabitha “Tabby” Aykroyd 1777-1855 – housekeeper
** Gracie Kelly as Ellen Nussey 1817-1897 – friend
Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore, I feel free to mention some of them here.
While the drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Some details may have been added, altered or excluded for dramatic reasons or practical purposes. Not everything happened exactly as shown here. But the basic story is true.
This historical and biographical drama is about the lives of the Brontë sisters, but it does not cover their whole lives from the beginning to the end. It covers only the last three years of their brother Branwell’s life. This means the time frame is 1845-1848.
The three sisters had been writing poetry and fiction since they were young. During the years 1845-1848 they tried to get some of their works published. They also wrote some new works.
As we know, they all succeeded, far beyond expectations, although they had to use male pseudonyms in order to be accepted as published authors:
** Charlotte = Currer Bell
** Emily = Ellis Bell
** Anne = Acton Bell
The pseudonyms are odd. It seems they were chosen because the initials matched their real names.
What do reviewers say about this drama? Here are the results of three review aggregators:
** 71 per cent = Meta
** 74 per cent = IMDb
** 86 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes
If you ask me, all these ratings are too high.
Why?
Here is my answer:
I like historical and biographical dramas, especially when they are done well. In this drama, I find positive and negative elements. Unfortunately, the latter are stronger than the former.
On the positive side I will say that the cinematography is excellent and the actors play their roles well.
On the negative side I will mention the following cases:
# 1. The prologue is a flashback to the time when the siblings were children, ca 10 years old. It is odd. And I do not like it. Perhaps Sally Wainwright wants to tell us that the siblings were close when they were children. But this message could have been conveyed in a better way. Perhaps she wants to tell us that the siblings were full of imagination when they were children. Again, this message could have been conveyed in a better way. Opening the drama with an odd flashback to the past was an unfortunate decision.
# 2. According to the subtitle, this drama is about the lives of the three sisters who became famous authors. But the title is misleading, because the brother Branwell appears much too often; much more than he deserves.
Obviously, he must be in the story, but he is not only in the story. He is dominating it. I think he gets as much screen time as the three sisters combined, and this is not right. The title of this drama could be The Life of Branwell Brontë and the Lives of his Sisters.
# 3. When Branwell swears, he uses a modern expression, which I do not want to mention here. It is an anachronism.
# 4. In one scene, when Branwell is drunk, he has a hallucination which does not serve any purpose and which seems completely unnecessary.
# 5. When the drama premiered on British television, many viewers complained that they could not always follow the dialogue, because the background music was too loud. This complaint is not unjustified. Sometimes the background music is very loud.
For this flaw we cannot blame the composer (John Lunn). We must blame the director (Sally Wainwright).
Some American viewers complain that they have a hard time understanding the Yorkshire accent. This complaint is quite fair.
Fortunately, there are subtitles. When you turn them on, you can still find out what is being said, even if you cannot always hear the voices.
# 6. Towards the end of the drama, a visitor arrives: Ellen Nussey. Who is she? Ellen Nussey was a lifelong friend of Charlotte’s who made frequent visits to the family; in time, she became a friend of all three sisters. But in this drama, she only appears once towards the end. This decision does not seem right.
# 7. Elizabeth Branwell, aka Aunt Branwell, died in 1842. In 1845, when the story begins, she has already been dead for three years. But she is in this drama. How can this happen? There is something wrong with the chronology here!
# 8. Towards the end of the drama, the three sisters are walking with Ellen on the moors. Suddenly there are three suns. This phenomenon is also known as a sundog. It is an optical illusion which can be seen all over the world but only on rare occasions.
Was a sundog really visible on the moors of Yorkshire in 1848? Or is this exceptional event merely a product of the director’s vivid imagination?
# 9. The epilogue is a flash-forward to the present day in which the former home of the Brontë family has been turned into a museum. It is odd. And I do not like it. It looks like a commercial for the museum. Is this really necessary? If you ask me, the answer is no.
# 10. On-screen messages at the end of the drama tell us what happens after the death of Branwell:
** Emily dies in 1848
** Anne dies in 1849
** Charlotte lives on
We are not told that Charlotte decides to get married in 1854. And we are not told that she dies in 1855. Why not? We are not told that the father Patrick Brontë outlives all his children. We are not told that he dies in 1861. Why not?
As stated above, the negative elements are stronger than the positive. This drama is not great. It is not even good. It is average. And this is why it deserves a rating of three stars (60 percent).
PS. Emily is a historical and biographical drama which premiered in 2022. It is about one of the three sisters, Emily Brontë.
What do reviewers say about this drama?
Here are the results of three review aggregators:
71 percent = IMDb
77 percent = Meta
80 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)
86 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)
*****
To Walk Invisible:
The Brontë Sisters
(PBS, Masterpiece)
(2016)
*****
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