There have been many movies made about writers and poets. Often the films are sensationalized, focused on the character’s flaws, drug or alcohol use, or sexual orientation. In contrast, the selected films below focus on the creative process of writing and the writer’s life events that made them a good writer.
The Belle of Amherst
My favorite Broadway theatrical drama filmed for public TV about poet Emily Dickinson. It is excellent, offering an intimate, touching, dramatic, and often funny portrayal of the great American poet, her poems, wit, brilliance, loves, fears, disappointments, dreams, and joys. Starring Julie Harris in her Tony Award winning performance in the one-actor play.
Emily Dickinson (1830 to 1886) was little known in her life but became one of America’s greatest and most popular poets. She lived a quiet life at her family’s farm in Amherst, Massachusetts. Her so-called eccentric and reclusiveness lifestyle has been shown to be mere gossip. In reality she was social, witty, popular, brilliant, lively, provocative, and often erotic in her writings.
Details: “The Belle of Amherst”, 1976, U.S., PBS-TV, director Charles S. Dubin, starring Julie Harris. The Broadway play opened in 1976 and ran for 116 performances. Harris won a Tony, Grammy, and a Drama Desk nomination.
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An Angel At My Table
“An Angel At My Table” is a sensitive, poignant, and uplifting film about the perseverance of the human spirit. A critically acclaimed New Zealand film directed by Jane Campion. The story is about internationally renowned New Zealand writer Janet Frame (1924-2004) played by Kerry Fox. Frame was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia as a child but endured to become a celebrated author of 13 novels, short stories, poetry, and essays who traveled to Europe and the U.S.
Roger Ebert stated the film “Tells its story calmly and with great attentiveness to human detail. Watching it I found myself drawn in with a rare intensity.” Variety stated “Gentle humor and great compassion which make every character come vividly alive.”
Details: “An Angel At My Table”, 1990, New Zealand, Hibiscus Films, director Jane Campion. Cast: Kerry Fox, Iris Churn. Kevin J. Wilson, Alexia Keogh. Ratings: IMDB 7.4/10, Rotten Tomatoes 96%, Roger Ebert 4/4. Awards: New Zealand, Venice, Toronto.
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Finding Neverland
“Finding Neverland” is a warm, heartfelt, and charming film with drama, tragedy, and fantasy. Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet give critically acclaimed performances.
The story is about J.M. Barrie (1860-1937) played by Johnny Depp, a Scottish novelist and playwright who after stage successes has writer’s block. He meets a family with several children and an ill widowed mother that inspire him to use them as characters to write the celebrated Peter Pan stage play in London in 1904. Barrie became the guardian of the children when their mother died.
Details: “Finding Neverland”, 2004, British, Miramax, director Marc Forster. Cast: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Dustin Hoffman, Radha Mitchell, Freddie Highmore. Ratings: IMDB 7.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 85%. Awards: Oscar with 7 nominations, Golden Globe with 5 nominations, 10 BAFTA nominations.
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Capote
“Capote” is a highly acclaimed biographical drama. Philip Seymour Hoffman performs a tour de force, capturing the character of writer Truman Capote. Roger Ebert gave the film a four-star rating, stating: “Capote is a film of uncommon strength and insight, about a man whose great achievement requires the surrender of his self-respect.”
The story is about Capote’s effort to write his famous crime thriller novel “In Cold Blood” in 1965. Truman Capote (1924-1984) was the leading writer in the U.S. He gained notoriety with his novel “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” in 1958. He was the darling of the New York City socialite party set. In 1959 the Cutter family was brutally murdered in Kansas. Capote traveled to interview the family, police, and the killers Perry Smith and Dick Hickoch who were sentenced to death.
Capote developed a dangerous bond with the sociopathic killer and decides to write a novel about the crime. The emotional ordeal to gain trust to get the killer to confess to the murder drove Capote into a dark world, depression, and alcohol. He lost his self-respect and was never able to write another novel.
Details: “Capote”, 2005, U.S., Sony/UA, director Bennett Miller. Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Cliffton Collins Jr., Bruce Greenwood, Mark Pellegrino, Amy Ryan, Chris Cooper. Ratings: IMDB 7.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes 89%, Roger Ebert 4/4. Film Awards: Oscar with 5 nominations, 5 BAFTA nominations, Golden Globe. Awards for Hoffman – Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe, SAG.
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Starting Out In the Evening
“Starting Out In the Evening” is a highly praised, intelligent, and poignant movie with excellent acting and sharp dialogue. Frank Langela and Lili Taylor were both praised for their acting.
Leonard Schiller, played by Frank Langela, is an aging, ailling, and forgotten one-time celebrated author struggling to write his last novel. His daughter wants a child which causes a strain on her marriage. A young grad student played by Lili Taylor begins to interview Leonard for her masters degree. The interviews help Leonard to regain his writing skills and to help his daughter. Each character is forced to examine their life and decide how much they are willing to compromise and sacrifice their own desires to accommodate the demands of others.
Roger Ebert commented, “The movie is carefully modulated to draw us deeper and deeper into the situation, and uses no contrived plot devices to superimpose plot jolts on what is, after all, a story involving four civilized people who are only trying, each in a different way, to find happiness.” Rolling Stone stated “Langela delivers a masterclass in acting with a deeply portrait of a lion in winter.” Variety “A wise, carefully observed drama, deeply resonate, a sure grasp of characters.”
Details: “Starting Out In the Evening”, 2007, U.S., Cinetic/Roadside, director Andrew Wagner. Cast: Frank Langella, Lili Taylor, Lauren Ambrose, Patti Perkins, Adrian Lester. Ratings: IMDB 6.9/10, Rotten Tomatoes 86%, Roger Ebert 4/4.
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Bright Star
One of the most visually beautiful and romantically sensual movies ever made. “Bright Star” is a drama about English poet John Keats and his romantic relationship with Fanny Brawne. The film portrays what every poet’s aspires, to behold, grasp, and communicate the sublime.
In 1818 in the Hampstead section of London, John Keats worked on what becomes the most celebrated poetry in the English language. He gets involved with his neighbor, the fashionable Fanny Brawne. The love affair inspires Keats poetry. They planned to get married but Keats had no income. Eventually he is published and commercially successful. Then tragedy strikes and Keats died of consumption.
Details: “Bight Star”, 2009, Australia/ UK, Warner, director Jane Campian. Cast: Ben Whishaw, Abie Cornish , Paul Schneider. Kerry Fox. Ratings: IMDB 6.9/10, Rotten Tomatoes 83%, Roger Ebert 3.5/4. Awards: nominated for Oscar, BAFTA, Cannes, Cesar.
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Genius
The “Genius” movie is about editor Maxwell Perkins at Scribner Books, played by Colin Firth, who discovered Thomas Wolfe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway. Jude Law plays Thomas Wolfe (1900 1938) who became a leader in Southern Renaissance literature. He wrote novels, short stories, plays, and non-fiction.
In the film Perkins worked to assist Wolfe in writing his celebrated novel ”Look Homeward Angel” which became a commercial success. Wolfe was out-of-control, almost impossible to work with. His novel was written on thousands of bits of paper. Perkins struggles to get Wolfe focused on writing.
Details: “Genius”, 2016, British, Summit/ Roadside, director Michael Grandage. Cast: Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Guy Pierce, Dominic West, Louise Perkins, Laura Linney. Ratings: IMDB 6.5/10, Rotten Tomatoes 52%.
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Mary Shelley
“Mary Shelley” is a 2017 biographical drama film that stars Elle Fanning as Mary Shelley. It presents a comprehensive portrayal of the early part of Shelley’s life, including her relationship with her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, played by Douglas Booth, and the writing of her iconic novel “Frankenstein.” It takes a close look at the struggles Mary faced as a young woman in a society that often belittled and dismissed the ambitions and abilities of women, providing a clear feminist undertone.
Elle Fanning delivers a compelling performance as Mary Shelley, bringing a depth and sensitivity to the role. She portrays Shelley as a complex figure – at once ambitious, passionate, and vulnerable to the turbulence of her personal life. The film is visually pleasing with its evocative depiction of early 19th-century England and Italy.
In terms of its exploration of “Frankenstein,” the film emphasizes the novel as a reflection of Mary’s experiences – particularly her sense of abandonment by her lover, her grief over the loss of her child, and her sense of isolation and struggle as a woman striving to make her mark in a male-dominated society.
Details: “Mary Shelley”, 2017, British, IFC Films, director Haiffa al-Monsour. Cast: Elle Fanning, Douglas Booth, Tom Sturridge, Bel Powley, Stephen Dillane. Ratings: IMDB 6.4/10, Rotten Tomatoes 41%.
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The Man Who Invented Christmas
A delightful romantic fantasy that tells the struggle of Charles Dickens to overcome writer’s block and salvage his career by writing “The Christmas Carol”. In the process of writing, Dickens’ characters come to life and interact with him in magical, confrontational, and hilarious ways. The Christmas Carol becomes autobiographical and Dickens is confronted with his own demons and nightmares. Dan Stevens as Dickens and Christopher Plumber as Ebeneezer Scrooge are both wonderful.
Details: “The Man Who Invented Christmas”, 2017, Ireland, Parallel Films, director Bharat Nalluri. Cast: Dan Stevens, Christopher Plumber, Jonathan Pryce, Miles Jupp, Morfydd Clark, Patrick Byrne, Mark Schier. Ratings: IMDB 7.0/10, Rotten Tomatoes 79%.
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Colette
“Colette” is a biographical drama about Sidonie-Gabrielle Collette (1873-1954) the French novelist and actress who wrote “Gigi”, Collette is played by Keira Knightley.
Young and rural Collette is brought to Paris by her new lover Willy, a Parisian socialite. They marry and conduct a libertine, hedonist lifestyle. Collette helps Willy in his literary broker business. He soon discovers she can write. He exploits her writing which become best-selling novels under his name, Eventually Collette develops her own literary and acting identity. She leaves Willy and becomes a celebrity.
Details: “Collette”: 2018, British, Bold Films, director Wash Westmoreland. Cast: Keira Knightley, Fiona Shaw, Dominic West, Robert Pugh, Eleanor Tomlinson, Denise Gough, Alysha Hat. Ratings: IMDB 6.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes 87%. Awards: 4 BAFTA nominations.
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Becoming Jane
A well-crafted, charming, and enjoyable period film on the early life of British novelist Jane Austen on how she learned about love. The sparing chemistry of Anne Hathaway as Austen and James McAvoy as her lover is wonderful. An excellent cast and story-telling brings the 200 hundred year old Austen as a person into focus, not just a beloved icon.
Austen’s parents are financially strapped and expect Jane to marry the nephew of the wealthy Lady Gresham, but Jane knows that this will destroy her creativity and sense of worth. She has a romantic affair with a charming young lawyer who gives her the life lessons of love she needs to become a truly great writer.
Details: “Becoming Jane”, 2007, Miramax, British, biographical romance drama, director Julian Jarrold. Cast: Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, James Cromwell, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, Joe Anderson, Laurence Fox. Rating IMDB 7.0/10, Rotten Tomatoes 58%.
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Sylvia
“Sylvia” is a dark, romantic drama about American poet Sylvia Plath (1932-1963), played by Gwyneth Paltrow, and her husband British poet Ted Hughes (1930 to 1998), played by Daniel Craig. They were married from 1956 to 1963, lived in England, and had two children. Plath committed suicide in 1963 and Hughes later became the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1984 to 1998.
The story is about Sylvia’s emergence as a poet winning a scholarship to the University of Cambridge, England where she met Ted Hughes. Ted’s career was successful but Sylvia struggles to juggle being a mother and a poet. Ted began an affair with another woman and left Sylvia with two children on her own. Sylvia went through an emotional breakdown and depression. Her poetry became very dark and cynical. In the end she took her own life.
Her book of poetry “Ariel” was published in 1965 after her death, it won the Pulitzer Prize, and is considered one of the greatest books of poetry of the 20th Century.
Details: “Sylvia”, 2003, British, BBC, director Christine Jeffs. Cast: Gweneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, Lucy Devenport, Jarrad Harris, Michael Gambon, Blythe Danner. Ratings: IMDB 6.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes 36%, Roger Ebert 3/4.
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Paterson
The critically acclaimed “Paterson” dramatic film is a captivating journey into the poet’s creative process. It is a lovely dreamscape that is poignant and engaging. The story is about Paterson, a bus driver played by Adam Driver, who is an everyday character struggling to be a poet. He observes the mundane yet beautiful moments of life, its small joys and oddities. The movie features some of his poems.
Details: “Paterson”, 2016, France, K5/Amazon, director Jim Jarmusch. Cast: Adam Driver, Gulshifteh Farahani, Rizman Manji, William Jackson Harper, Barry Shabaka Henley. Ratings: IMDB 7.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes 96%. Cannes award.
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Gothic
“Gothic” is a psychological horror film about the British 19th Century poets Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, with his wife Mary Shelley, her sister Claire, and Dr. Polidori. The story film tells a fictionalized account of the Shelleys’ visit to Lord Byron’s Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva, Switzerland. It concerns their competition to each write a horror story.
One night of heavy drinking the group holds a séance and decide to have a competition on writing a horror story. Unknown to them they evoke an evil spirit that brings out their worst fears and inner demons, driving some to near suicide. They experience horrible hallucinations and demonic aberrations. In a postscript at the end, within a few years Mary and Percy’s son William dies, Mary’s sister Claire has a miscarriage of Byron’s child, both Lord Byron and Percy Shelley have mysterious deaths, and Dr. Polidari commits suicide. Ultimately the night led to Mary Shelley writing “Frankenstein” and John Polidori writing “The Vampyre.”
Details: “Gothic”, 1986, British, Virgin Films, director: Ken Russell. Cast: Gabriel Byrne s Lord Byron, Julian Sands as Percy B. Shelley, Natasha Richardson as Mary Shelley, Mirian Cyr as Claire, and Timothy Spall as Dr. Polidori. Ratings: IMDB 5.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes 60%.
Watch the trailer below:
References
IMDB
Variety
Hollywood Reporter
Ranker
Collider
Looper
Writers Digest
Rotten Tomatoes
Roger Ebert
Wikipedia
