Apple TV+'s 'Dickinson' Season One: Review

Hailee Steinfeld leads Apple TV+'s charming, poignant and unique dark-comedy series, which celebrates the life of a marginalised, young creative through a contemporary form and period setting 

Hailee Steinfeld is Emily Dickinson in 'Dickson' (CREDIT: Apple TV+)

by Jack Linsdell

Apple TV+ launched last November to a somewhat subdued reaction, especially in comparison to Disney's own streaming service Disney+ this year (with a reported 55 million subscribers already). However, Steve Jobs' streaming platform isn't meant to be Netflix 2.0, or even a competitor to the giant of the streaming world. In fact, Apple TV+'s shows, both in style and content, are more "on the wall" so to speak than what you find on the likes of Netflix, and with the caveat that each series is anchored by a big star (or two), seems to have created a successful and highly original format. However, their biggest hits The Morning Show, See and Little America have somewhat overshadowed some of their severely underseen other shows, and, when they are as good as Dickinson, that's a problem. So, I thought it was time to post a review for the show and rectify that. 

Creator and showrunner Alena Smith's Dickinson, is a period, dark-comedy exploring the life of renowned poet Emily Dickinson. Described by Smith as "Emily's coming-of-age story", the show is less concerned with being this autobiographical, serious, moment-by-moment retelling of her life, rather capturing the true essence and spirit of Emily, with a modern sensibility and tone. And, it's done so well that Dickinson not only feels fresh and unique within the TV landscape, but has a wider audience demographic appeal as a result. Indeed, conventionally, Jane Austen-style period-pieces tend to attract an older, female demographic, but Smith's show has such a modern tone, style and sensibility to it (including a modern soundtrack, a lesbian romance at it's heart, and more contemporary language) that it manages to appeal to younger audiences too. That's one hell of an artistic choice because they have drastically opened up the show, and Emily's story, to a wider demographic, successfully becoming a hybrid to both the old and young demographics. In fact, it's refreshing to see a period drama with very little in the way of spectacle, appeal so successfully to a younger audience. 

And, in part, that's aided by the superb casting choice of Hailee Steinfeld, who plays the titular character. Indeed, what a better sell for the series than "Hailee Steinfeld as Emily Dickinson", cashing in on the popularity and fame of the actress/pop star amongst young people. Yet, Steinfeld is more than just a name above the title. In my view, Steinfeld is one the best young actresses in the business (regular readers have heard me saying this for the last few years), with an impressive filmography, and an unrivalled acting style/range, in which she manages to capture every emotion and story beat through the tiniest of details in her performance. She's charming, relatable and has such a screen presence, that Steinfeld really is a superb asset for Dickinson. Not just that, but we know she can handle period pieces (the Coen Brother's True Grit, for which she received an Oscar Nomination at 14; and the hard-hitting The Keeping Room), and character-driven comedies (The Edge of Seventeen, Barely Lethal), so really, no one else is better qualified to play Emily Dickinson. And, with greater maturity, experience and creative freedom on Dickinson (she serves as an executive producer on the show) than ever seen in her career so far, Steinfeld's performance feels even more nuanced and rounded here than before (and that's saying something, folks). 

But, of course, no show is completely reliant on it's lead star. In fact, excellent supporting turns from Ella Hunt (as her best friend turned lesbian lover) and Toby Huss (who plays her over-bearing yet heartfelt father), who are relatively unknown to a mainstream audience, get just as much credit for Dickinson's success. Every cast member, including Steinfeld, gives top-grade performances, and help to create a series of loveable, relatable characters with whom you invest deeply into. In fact, I can't wait for the second series (which has already been shot, but is just finishing post-production), because Smith and the cast had so successfully invested me into every single character's story, that I'm most looking forward to spending more time in their lives. That's the greatest compliment a TV show can have, isn't it?

With Halloween director David Gordon Green directing several episodes, and with a surprising supporting turn from rapper Wiz Khalifa, Dickinson has lots of different people involved in the project, something which makes it even more unique and successful. It feels very much like a painter's palette, one which is mixed with multiple different colours to form something unexpectantly beautiful. Examining the constraints of family, gender and society, as well as issues like gay romance, forced marriage and being a struggling creative (something that really resonated with me), Dickinson has an underlying subtext which is full of poignant relatability and grounded in human emotion, told in an era when the world was very different to how it is today. 

And, maybe that's where Dickinson's message lies best. In fact, as much as we like to think society's changed, it really hasn't. And, when you are young and lost in the world, it can be a lonely existence. Especially when you're a mature-minded young creative, who can never find acceptance from others in society because they fail to understand the way you work - what they see as a "difference", the show defines as a "unique gift". So, Dickinson is not just 5-star entertainment that's severely underseen on it's relatively new platform. It's a message to everyone, especially young people, that being a little "different" only makes you more human. 

Dickinson is available to stream on Apple TV+ now. 

5/5 STARS