Emily

Add Frances O'Connor to the list of talented performers who fare just as well — if not better — behind the camera.

The Mansfield Park and A.I. Artificial Intelligence actor displays a strong command of visual and narrative filmmaking in her feature directorial debut, an Emily Brontë biopic that’s anything but a stuffy period drama.

Amidst gorgeous natural scenery, Emma Mackey (Sex Education) gives a star-making performance as the doomed Wuthering Heights author. With her sharp cheekbones and large, emotive eyes, the French-born actor is blessed with a striking presence — akin to a country cousin of Margot Robbie — and makes the multifaceted character her own.

Whether cowering under the disappointment of her domineering vicar father Peter (Adrian Dunbar, The Crying Game), seeking solace with her troublemaking brother Branwell (Fionn Whitehead, Dunkirk), or experiencing first love with new assistant curate William Weightman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen, The Invisible Man), Mackey’s Emily is a consistently compelling figure.

And O’Connor’s active storytelling and the Glass-like score from Abel Korzeniowski keeps the filmmaking exciting and not bogged down by typical 19th-century biopic trappings.

From that firm foundation, the writer/director confidently takes multiple stylistic risks, namely opium-infused sequences that subtly depict the art of getting high, and a witty montage of sexual double entendres with William as Emily's seemingly tame letter to her sister Charlotte (Alexandra Dowling, Game of Thrones) is read aloud.

None of the supporting players — including Gemma Jones (the Bridget Jones trilogy) as housemate Aunt Branwell — are slouches, but this is firmly O’Connor’s and Mackey’s show. Considering how young both are at their respective craft and how seamlessly they work together this first go-round, the potential is present for a thrilling long-term partnership, should they so choose.

Grade: B-plus. Rated R. Now playing at the Fine Arts Theatre.

(Photo: Bleecker Street)