Wild Nights with Emily — Official Trailer

added: Fri, Mar 8th '19

Molly Shannon portrays famed American poet Emily Dickinson in this quirky biopic about her secret love affair with her brother's wife, Susan (played here by Susan Ziegler).

Check out the official trailer for "Wild Nights with Emily," an off-kilter period dramedy the tells the untold story about the secret lesbian life of 19th-century poet Emily Dickinson who was believed to be a reclusive spinster, but perhaps was a much more sociable and forward-thinking woman who discreetly carried out a long-running love affair with her lifelong best friend and sister-in-law, Susan Huntington Gilbert.

Based on the private letters of Emily Dickinson, the film is written and directed by New York indie filmmaker Madeleine Olnek, who previously made the cult lesbian comedies "The Foxy Merkins" and "Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same."

Co-starring Amy Seimetz and Brett Gelman, "Wild Nights with Emily," which premiered at SXSW last year, is hitting select theaters on April 12th.

synopsis:
In the late 1880s Emily Dickinson is writing prolifically, baking gingerbread, and enjoying a passionate, lifelong affair with her friend and sister-in-law Susan ... yes this is the iconic American poet, popularly thought to have been a reclusive spinster.

Beloved comic Molly Shannon leads in this humorous yet bold reappraisal of Dickinson, informed by her private letters. While seeking publication of some of the 1,775 poems written during her lifetime, Emily (Shannon) finds herself facing a troupe of male literary gatekeepers too confused by her genius to take her work seriously. Instead her work attracts the attention of an ambitious woman editor, who also sees Emily as a convenient cover for her own role in buttoned-up Amherst's most bizarre love triangle.

A timely critique of how women's history is rewritten, WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY remains vibrant, irreverent and tender--a perhaps closer depiction of Emily Dickinson's real life than anything seen before.

directed by Madeleine Olnek

starring Molly Shannon, Susan Ziegler, Amy Seimetz, Brett Gelman, Jackie Monahan, Kevin Seal, Dana Melanie, Sasha Frolova, Lisa Haas, Al Sutton

release date April 12, 2019