Wild Nights with Emily is a 2018 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Madeleine Olnek.

It stars Molly Shannon as Emily Dickinson, as well as Amy Seimetz, Susan Ziegler, Brett Gelman, Jackie Monahan, Kevin Seal, Dana Melanie, Sasha Frolova, Lisa Haas and Stella Chesnut.

The film is based on the actual events of Emily Dickinson's life, including her process as a writer, her attempts to get published, and her lifelong romantic relationship with another woman.

[3] In her teens, Emily Dickinson befriends Susan Gilbert during a recitation of the Amherst Shakespeare Society, and during a scene in which they play lovers, a romance blossoms.

Years later after Emily's work has become successful, Mabel gives a talk to a large group of society women.

The film ends with titles explaining that recent technology has revealed Mabel's erasures and shown that the love letters were indeed written to Susan.

Wild Nights with Emily was originally performed as a play at New York's WOW Café in 1999,[5] and was also produced by Chicago's Caffeine Theatre in 2010[6][7] as well as in Boston and Alaska.

[9] Olnek was inspired to write Wild Nights with Emily when she read an article[10] in The New York Times Magazine about how new advances in science were changing perceptions of historical figures, and which described how Dickinson's correspondence was altered to conceal her lifelong relationship with another woman.

[15] Olnek originally met Amy Seimetz at various film festivals and had always wanted to work with her, and Brett Gelman was recommended by Shannon.

The website's critics consensus reads, "Silly yet deceptively smart, Wild Nights with Emily approaches its oft-investigated subject from a unique -- and utterly entertaining -- vantage point.

"[22] After accusations of "rewriting history," Olnek put together a 40-page "historical packet" of research supporting her characterization of Dickinson and her relationships.

"[24] Author Natalie Goldberg said "Wild Nights With Emily is a wonderful film to show in schools" and deemed it "essential viewing for all students of literature.