Molly Shannon plays Emily Dickinson in the dramatic comedy WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY. The poet’s persona, popularized since her death, has been that of a reclusive spinster – a delicate wallflower, too sensitive for this world. This film, however, explores her vivacious, irreverent side that was covered up for years – most notably Emily’s lifelong romantic relationship with another woman (Ziegler). The film is told from the perspective of Mabel Loomis Todd (Seimetz) who published Emily’s poetry after her death along with editor T.W. Higginson (Gelman). Todd used this volume as an opportunity to posthumously force Dickinson to conform to a repressive status quo. Irreverent and surreal – and reminiscent of an extended Drunk History episode without the drinking – WILD NIGHTS reminds us that the persona of an artist is as much a creation as the artwork itself and that history is often more story, than fact. You will never look at Emily Dickinson the same way again.