Dickinson Season 1 Review

August 23, 2020 at 3:54am
By Jason Stettner

This is an Apple TV+ Original Series that dives straight into the seriously odd and twisted world of writer Emily Dickinson (Hailee Steinfield). It’s an interesting time piece that isn’t exactly too insane about being period accurate. It throws some modern attitude and music into the mix. I actually found that sort of fun, adding a bit of wonder to the various situations that Emily found herself in.

It’s definitely aiming to provide some levels of humor, and comments on that point in history. I’m not sure if it’s necessarily an entirely accurate portrayal, though from some slight research it does seem to be hitting the key points correctly. I’m not sure that particularly matters, but it’s something worth noting for those that find that aspect to be important. I found this initial season to be rather interesting, it sets up a number of characters and has a clear narrative arc to it.

It would be great to see more of it, at the same time I’m quite satisfied with the story that’s been told thus far. It’s quite interesting to see this foreground sense of realism and just the general lives of the Dickinson family. That’s then matched with this dreary and dark out worldly presence in the backdrop.

The strange state of thought that this poet is constantly in, and they have some fun with that. I did feel that they could have played with the relationship elements a bit more. Definitely some juicy moments in this one, though some of the latter situations could have been fleshed out more over perhaps another season. It just felt like some aspects were rushed there.

I felt that the heart of this series was definitely with Emily, and Steinfeld’s great performance. She’s just wonderful here, being a bizarre and quirky presence throughout. Now, with that I did feel that some rougher performances were present.

Jane Krakowski’s Mrs. Dickinson felt very stilted which is odd as she’s usually such a natural blend in within other works I’ve seen her perform in. There are other secondary characters that are also somewhat awkward in their performances, and it does stick out. I felt that generally they nailed the aesthetic and style of the times. The places came across as authentic, and large enough in scale.

Most of this does take place within their estate, but they use the spaces effectively to paint a picture of how this rich family lived their lives. That’s also present within the solid costume work, which I thought was worth mentioning. They have some very interesting looks, particularly in the party situations that appear.

The Conclusion

Dickinson Season 1 is a really great dive into one twisted world that Emily Dickinson sees, one delivered largely through Steinfeld’s excellent and quirky performance. She really does take point here, and most of the time others are trying to keep up which is interesting. This show definitely has a good sense of dark humor to it, and I enjoyed that.

It’s a lot of fun, with a good balance of laughs and drama as well. There are many surprising moments to it that should keep you guessing along the way. I will once again note that some of the acting was a bit awkward here, but for the most part this flowed very well for an enjoyable time. I was definitely engaged in viewing this one through.

It’s got solid pacing, an interesting selection of characters and a neat showcase of time passing. It hits the mark for the period, while also throwing some modern elements on it to spruce things up. Just keep in mind that this isn’t necessarily trying to be an accurate portrayal of that time, it’s having fun with the odd life of this individual in a rather unique sort of way. It works, and I certainly enjoyed this one.

Dickinson Season 1 Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Screening was Provided by Apple

Rating Overall: 8.0