Faithful adaptations be damned! Emerald Fennell has taken creative liberty to a new level with her audacious take on Emily Bronté’s acclaimed novel. Wuthering Heights strips away most of the source material’s thematic richness, and dials the lust up to eleven. Hollow as it may be, this movie smoulders with intensity and passion at surface level, which is, dare I say, intoxicating.
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I’d Imagine Emily Brontë is rolling in her grave right now with the way her source material has been treated. I’m not even familiar with the novel and I could tell where its intelligence had been castrated for this version. The leads have been aged up but still behave as teenagers. The major themes surrounding race and classism have been stripped away almost entirely. There are changes that seem to have been made purely to evoke shock from the audience. This isn’t an intelligent film in the slightest, but instead one that hinges on your ability to ride its emotional wavelength. It took me a while to get there, but once I realized what kind of movie this is, I was able to sit back and (mostly) enjoy the ride.
The soundtrack and score do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to making you feel the appropriate emotional pull. For however cringeworthy the writing can be or how thinly the characters are constructed, Charlie XCX’s original songs paired with Anthony’ Willis’ string-heavy score consistently swept me up. The production design and cinematography deserve a lot of praise as well. Every location feels like something pulled from a gothic fairy tale, with impressive use of fog, shadow and colour. colour in particular is frequently used to convey character’s emotional status. It’s striking and not at all subtle, but nothing here is subtle in the slightest, so it works beautifully.
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Despite being too old for their roles, Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi bring an appropriate level of intense smouldering to their love affair. You can practically feel the heat between them, igniting the screen in fiery passion whether together or apart. Their characters are super hollow, with character traits that amount to little else besides “horny”, but they convey that lust for one another rather well. For how toxic, unlikeable and childish they are, their radiant chemistry is undeniable. The casting for the younger versions of Cathy and Heathcliff is on point, with impressive performances from both actor in their limited time on screen. In fact, Owen Cooper gives the best performance in the movie.
Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights is a damn fine Charlie XCX music video, that will enrobe you in all of its steaminess through sumptuous visuals and beguiling music. As a movie, it’s passable. As an adaptation, it’s laughable. As a purely visceral and emotional experience, you may find yourself caught up in what it’s trying to achieve.
Rating: ★★★
Review by: Benjamin Garret