Life has been lifeing lately on this blog! While I still find time for the occasional new book and book review, my life has largely been taken over by soccer and mom life things these last couple of years so posts about book reviews etc have been scarce. That doesn’t mean I have abandoned my blog or reading by any means…..it just means pressing pause for now on some things and focusing on this new soccer mom season of life.
But that said, you know I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to do a quick review on the new Wuthering Heights film! If you have been around a while then you will know just how much I love this classic. I used to re-read it every single Thanksgiving break and while it’s been a while since I have done that, I am still a HUGE fan of anything Wuthering Heights and when I saw this new film was coming out…..I couldn’t WAIT to watch it.
I watched a few interview with the director, Emerald Fennell, and knew that it would be a loosely based remake. I assumed there would be a lot of creative license and differences from the book although I wasn’t expecting so many changes. I am not familiar with any of Fennell’s previous films so I went in not knowing what to expect but I did assume that it would be more of an ‘artsey’ film just based on some of the trailers etc. But I wasn’t ready for just how different this film would be.
From here on out there might be spoilers so please consider this your warning.
Let’s start from the beginning.
Jacob Elordi—fantastic Heathcliff. While no one will ever replace Tom Hardy’s Heathcliff for me, Elordi was the perfect modern casting. He has the look, the sex appeal, brooding……he is literally Heathcliff. Margo Robbie as Cathy…..also a good choice except I felt like she was almost a little too old to play Cathy—especailly when playing opposite Elordi (who is like 10 years her junior). I felt like at times it worked but at others, I felt she just looked too old.
I really loved the visuals of The Heights and I loved the the landscape was featured as predominantly in this film as it is in the book. I also liked that there was a real focus on Cathy’s childhood but I had a lot of questions around the visual rendering of Thrushcross Grange. It felt like the palace of Versailles while Wuthering Heights, a hovel. It was too much of a contrast and it make Thrushcross Grange feel out of place on the Moors. I did like how the film was trying to be more of a Bridgerton style with the modern music and visual appeal but for me the appearance of Thrushcross Grange was too extravagant for the setting.
In this film, the focus really is on the starcrossed lovers aspect rather than the moral decay that revenge has. I missed the dynamic of Hindley and Heathcliff, because he was one of the main driving forces of Heathcliff’s rage and complexity. It wasn’t just about making Cathy jealous, it was about getting revenge on Hindley as well. I missed that layer of the story because for me Heathcliff was so much more complex in the book and here we just see this poor wronged child who grew up with an alcoholic (much like Cathy) and you just feel sorry for him rather than true horror at who he becomes. In the film he was just a victim of circumstance where in the book he was his own worst enemy.
Cathy’s marriage to Linton in the film was a straightforward explanation that audiences could easily understand. A poor girl with an alcoholic father who is mostly destitute needs money—it makes sense for her to marry the simple neighbor who is rich. But in the book you get a much more layered scenario where she wants to marry Linton and be the lady she dreamed of being but she loves Heathcliff…..there is so much more to explore in the book naturally but I still felt like there would have been more to offer from the books onto the screen by exploring more of Cathy’s anxiety and torment over denying herself her one true love..
In this film, I never actually felt like Healthcliff was cruel or could be a monster or even Cathy really. Cathy was spoiled but you didn’t hate her in the film in the way you hate her in the book. Heathcliff in the book was much more of a monster and cruel to Isabella and Cathy and basically everyone. In the film Nelly is very much the one you hate but in the book it really isn’t her who is the villain.
I also hated that they made Cathy pregnant and loose the baby. I felt like having each of their respective children alive added to the scope of dispair that both of the characters were feeling. This just didn’t work for me. But once again it offered the audience a clear reason for their feelings. I did appreciate that they made Isabella into more of a stalker for Cathy which I think worked here and gave us reason to be like ok she’s weird rather than feeling sorry for her (Isabella) but in the books she is very much a victim of Heathcliff’s revenge and here she was more of a willing pawn, which worked in a surprising way.
Overall the film really lacked depth for me. Yes I loved the costuming and visuals of the landscape, even if they were really over the top for the setting etc it still worked. But I will say the weird skin room was creepy AF, but overall the visuals were fine and exactly what I would expect from a more artsy film. Even the casting was fine with me. I appreciated the diversity in the film as they clearly took a page out of the Bridgerton series, I just felt that Margo Robbie, while a brilliant versatile actress, was a little too old next to Elordi.
Stylistically the divergence from the book to the screen was problematic for a classic purist. I have read the book and loved it so much but I already realize in the modern era where everyone is obsessed with TikToks and shallow storytelling, having a rich, complex, layered classic brought to the screen that has actual depth, wouldn’t be as attractive as a classic with a clear simple story line and lots of sex. And make no mistake this film has SEX and unconventional sex too. I had less of an issue with this than I was expecting on the surface.
Yes we all know that sex sells and who doesn’t want to see Jacob Elordi without his shirt on? Was some of it raunchy, sure. Was the raunchy sex necessary, absolutely not. But Cathy and Heathcliff have a very complicated relationship and one that can’t be captured in a 2 hour film. The sex in general made it easier to convey ‘feelings of longing’ without the time it takes to capture actual love and torment to the depth that Heathcliff and Cathy have. You see the same problem with Bridgerton. Yes there is some hot sex scenes in Bridgerton, especially the show, but in the show you don’t necessarily see the complexity of the characters’ relationship and feelings for the romantic interest in the way that you do in the books. So sex becomes an easy tactic to deploy when you need to show intense love, you can replace it with intense physical passion. But can someone please explain how Cathy and Heathcliff are constantly doing the dirty at her house with NO ONE seeing them? I mean come on, that was unbelievable at best. Yes I know that Nelly eventually spills the beans so SOMEONE clearly saw them but it just felt like blatant disregard and sloppy.
While it’s been a while since I have seen the Tom Hardy Wuthering Heights series, I do recall there being sex in that one too. And here is why sex works in Wuthering Heights—there is more of a focus on passion in the Bronte books, a passion that 19th century society wouldn’t let be described in a way that we can now. So the sex didn’t bother me in the film but at times it was unnecessary and more for shock and ratings rather than serving any true storytelling purpose. But that said, I think sex in Wuthering Heights is absolutely necessary for a film. One of the biggest things that bothered me though was when Heathcliff admits to Cathy that he would kill her husband if only she would ask and she was like ohhhhh wait, this has gone too far and wants to break it off. I felt this was more forced. I didn’t feel a true change of heart from Cathy. I didn’t feel like she really objected to Heathcliff saying this, it felt out of place for her character and in the film even out of character for Heathcliff…..book Heathcliff, absolutely NOT out of character for him. I saw zero change in either character. This rejection forced Heathcliff into a marriage with Isabelle but it felt like a half hearted attempt at revenge on his part and with Cathy a half hearted plea to leave her alone.
So how did I feel about this film? I have respect for the vision and style but ultimately it wasn’t for me. If I hadn’t read the book or seen other film versions, I would probably enjoy this film but the problem is, I do have something to compare it to and I can’t look past the Wuthering Heights that I know and love and whatever this rendition is. In the days since I have watched the film, I have seen very polarized opinions on social media and within my own circle of friends. Some love it while others hate it. I personally am glad I saw it but I probably wouldn’t watch this version again.
Film rating:
D+ for visuals and casting
The Lit Bitch 