FilmLit: To Walk Invisible - The Bronte Sisters (2016)

Film Review: To Walk Invisible has a perfect cast, flawless acting, impeccable sets. A two-part, two-hour show, it's as finely crafted as we've come to expect from BBC productions. Although covering about three years in the lives of Charlotte, Emily, Anne, their brother and father, even more of their story is brought in by reference and flashback. In fact, the writer seems to have tried to include as much of their biography as possible in the confines of these two hours. To Walk Invisible is well-constructed, showing the obstacles the sisters faced in their time ("to walk invisible" refers to the necessity as authors of hiding their gender) without melodrama, creating solid individual personalities for the sisters and the other characters, and giving the whole an authenticity and verisimilitude that never wavers. I will never think of Charlotte Bronte again without seeing Finn Atkins' portrayal, and Anne Bronte was what I would have imagined, if I had imagined. Chloe Pirrie is brilliant as Emily, although she is presented as far more robust than I would've expected. There are some differences from the standard Bronte biography (Emily and Anne, the two youngest, were known to be inseparable; Mr. Bronte was considered more eccentric than shown), but none that rang false and it's evident that the writer did her research. There are moments of laughter and keen wit, and moments that brought tears. Fine writing. There are only two small complaints, neither of which seriously marred the film. First, the flashbacks to childhood were bizarre, a cross between Hogwarts and a fever dream. The second is that too much of the film is given over to the brother's story. More time devoted to Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, and a little less to the pitiful, dipsomaniac Branwell would have made a better film. Additionally, the suggestion is made that their brother crumbled under the pressures put on him, when other sources say that it was Branwell himself who proclaimed his genius loudly and often. But this is nitpicking. To Walk Invisible is a wonderful, entertaining, and excellent film!  🐢