'To Walk Invisible' brings to life the Brontes and the genius forged on the moors
Now, as a tribute to the 19th-century siblings who have become something of a public television franchise, 'To Walk Invisible' dramatizes the lives of the Brontes themselves.
Now, as a tribute to the 19th-century siblings who have become something of a public television franchise, 'To Walk Invisible' dramatizes the lives of the Brontes themselves.
Think of 鈥淭o Walk Invisible,鈥� which debuted last night on public television鈥檚 鈥淢asterpiece,鈥� and is now streaming for free at pbs.org, as a thank-you note to the Bronte sisters for giving 鈥淢asterpiece鈥� so much material.
The Brontes 鈥� Charlotte, Emily and Anne 鈥� wrote novels that have inspired several lavish 鈥淢asterpiece鈥� adaptations over the years. Anne鈥檚 鈥淭he Tennant of Wildfell Hall鈥� drew praise in 1997, and Emily鈥檚 鈥淲uthering Heights鈥� prompted two 鈥淢asterpiece鈥� projects airing in 1998 and 2009. Charlotte鈥檚 鈥淛ane Eyre,鈥� which aired as a 鈥淢asterpiece鈥� production in 2007, garnered three Emmys.
Now, as a tribute to the 19th-century siblings who have become something of a public television franchise, 鈥淭o Walk Invisible鈥� dramatizes the lives of the Brontes themselves.
The Brontes grew up in Yorkshire as the daughters of a clergyman 鈥� an ostensibly sheltered existence that left many readers wondering how the women鈥檚 novels could be so insightful about madness and scandal. 鈥淭o Walk Invisible鈥� walks viewers through the darker aspects of the Bronte household, suggesting how family tragedy informed the sisters鈥� sometimes stormy fiction.
Adam Nagaitis plays Branwell, the Brontes鈥� brother, whose own literary ambitions were doomed by alcohol and opium addiction. As family patriarch Rev. Patrick Bronte (Jonathan Pryce) goes blind, the Brontes seemed poised for emotional and financial ruin.
It鈥檚 up to Charlotte (Finn Atkins), Emily (Chloe Pirrie), and Anne (Charlie Murphy) to secure the family鈥檚 destiny by writing the novels that would earn them enduring fame 鈥� an ambition that forces them to publish under pen names because women writers of the time wouldn鈥檛 be taken seriously.
Charlotte, who wanted anonymity for other reasons, expressed the wish that inspired the title of Sunday鈥檚 drama: 鈥淚 think if a good fairy were to offer me the choice of a gift, I would say 鈥� grant me the power to walk invisible.鈥�
Walking on the moors was something of a family pastime, a reality only faintly suggested in Sunday鈥檚 show. Most of the action unfolds in an exact replica of the Bronte parsonage, its shadowy interior expressing the brooding sensibility of writer-director Sally Wainwright鈥檚 production.
There are occasional hints of happier times, with fleeting flashbacks to the sisters鈥� childhoods. For a fuller exploration of the Bronte sisters鈥� origins, including the more life-affirming aspects of their literary origins, readers should check out Deborah Lutz鈥檚 2015 study, 鈥淭he Bronte Cabinet,鈥� which includes an intriguing look at how their girlhood playfulness shaped their literary genius.
The best way to explore the Brontes鈥� legacy, of course, is reading their novels. With any luck, 鈥淭o Walk Invisible鈥� will send viewers back to their fiction, or nudge them to experience it for the first time.
鈥� Danny Heitman, a columnist for The Advocate newspaper in Louisiana, is the author of 鈥淎 Summer of Birds: John James Audubon at Oakley House.鈥�