74
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90VarietyAmy NicholsonVarietyAmy NicholsonIf the film has a flaw, its that it’s so preoccupied with balancing its furious feminism with gags about Victorian life that there’s little running time to lavish on Dickinson’s actual poetry.
- 88RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyRogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyThis is a great example of Olnek's style. It's respectful, but it's also alive. It's serious, but it's also tongue-in-cheek. Olnek's approach gives Emily room to breathe. At last.
- 83The PlaylistKimber MyersThe PlaylistKimber MyersWild Nights with Emily feels at once revelatory and a total delight, a surprise for both for literature geeks and those who didn’t do their required reading in school.
- 80The New York TimesTeo BugbeeThe New York TimesTeo BugbeeThis is an irreverent film, but its lightness is meaningful. With each silly flourish, Olnek offers joy and companionship to a figure whose history was more conveniently presented to generations of readers as solitary.
- 75Slant MagazinePat BrownSlant MagazinePat BrownThe film’s playful tone is a corrective to a century of scholarship that insisted on projecting the image of a moody spinster onto Emily Dickinson.
- 75Boston GlobeTy BurrBoston GlobeTy BurrBeneath the japery and rough-edged filmmaking is an abiding love for the work — its passion and resilience — and respect for the women whose hidden lifelong language that work may have been.
- 75The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldThe Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldIt’s a quick, funny movie.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeHowever well or poorly it matches the truth of Emily's life, the film's vision of her long relationship with Susan is warmly funny.
- 50Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshLos Angeles TimesKatie WalshDespite the juicy details and fascinating topic, it’s disappointing that the stilted tone makes it so difficult to connect emotionally with this important story.