PBS TIME!!!

To Walk Invisible is another biopic about the four Bronte siblings (a likely more accurate portrayal than the previous movie I watched). This one presents the four in a both codependent yet tumultuous relationship which all seems to go on completely under their well-meaning father’s nose (played by Jonathan Pryce). Quotes from letters to and from the sisters add to the realism of the movie.

Flashbacks reveal how the four were once so close and imaginative, yet the signs of their adult personalities are still there. The main plot starts with Branwell (Adam Nagaitis) and Anne (Charlie Murphy - no, not the Charlie Murphy who once played basketball against Prince) coming back home from positions after Branwell had an alleged affair with the wife of their employer. At the same time, a depressed Charlotte (Finn Atkins) and a fed-up Emily (Chloe Pirrie) are also back home after attending a school with practical questions of what will become of them when their father dies. Branwell is as he always is, a drunk who cannot commit to a path in life and is constantly bailed out by their father. Meanwhile, his three sisters both pity him and fear what their lives will be like when he will be in control of the family finances.

This brings the writing and publishing into play. That’s right! This film is actually about the women as writers -not made-up love triangles or scenes of pining out windows. Charlotte, having been inspired by a drunken rant by Banwell, decides that the three women should publish poetry under male names in an attempt to earn some income.

At first, Emily is appalled by this idea as her poems are private and she flies into a rage when Charlotte reads them without her consent. Anne is the peacemaker between her sisters and is happy just be writing. Still, Anne hate the idea of being credited as men and wishes they could just write anonymously. Charlotte and Emily insist that if anyone suspects that they are women, their writing will never be judged fa

The movie isn’t without it’s drama. The awkward love between Charlotte and her father’s curate, Arthur Bell Nicholls is somehow even sadder without the grand love triangle knowing their lives together would be so short. Branwell’s depression, love life, and abuse towards his family aren’t shown as everyone constantly catering to him. Instead, Emily chases him from the house with anger while Charlotte continues to plan ways for them to secure their own income. Emily is shy and secretive, yet the closest to Branwell. She is the one who does not wish to ever reveal herself, is the most critical of their brother, and the one who cleans up many messes. Anne is still left as the constant “third sister”, the one just on the outskirts who keeps everyone else taken care of. She’s even the one who suffers the most publishing wise. She is also the one who feels the most guilt and emotion over Branwell as he reaches new lows. *By the way, I finally read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and it’s fantastic. I actually like it better than Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights.

The publishing process of the mid-1800s shows how for a first book, the women had to pay to have it published, but still received the proof in the mail (just like now). I imagine contracts, terms of profits, and marketing were quite different, but some of the initial steps really haven’t changed. It also shows the hurt of publication rejection with that added realization that if the three sisters can’t be published they might not be able to survive after their father dies. They also cover topics of publishing fraud, unreliable editors, and subtle fame.

The movie imagines the issues that come with writing under pen names and trying to keep it secret in a small town when Charlotte’s The Professor is rejected but the agents agrees to print Agnes Grey and Wuthering Heights. It also includes the idea of the Charlotte finally telling their father about Jane Eyre’s success in hopes that it will alleviate their father’s worries. He is proud of them and I have no idea if that would be how such a scene played out. This scene is also revealed that their pseudonyms are an attempt to protect Branwell’s feelings who never managed to write his own novel, even as Branwell falls into further debt and ill health. There's a difference to be shown here between professionals and family ties.

Overall, this is a much better version of the tale of the three writers although it end abruptly with post-scripts of their lives and little insight into their short lived lives after Branwell’s death.