REVIEW: “Wuthering Heights” is a Poor Adaptation of a British Classic
Set against the gloomy Yorkshire Moors, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights has captivated readers for almost 179 years. Considered one of the best novels in British literature, Brontë’s gothic story tells a tale of romance and revenge between her leads, Cathy Earnshaw and Heathcliff. Now, director Emerald Fennell is bringing the story to the big screen, but is putting her own fresh spin on the story. In her version of the story, Cathy (Margot Robbie) and her father live in the crumbling Wuthering Heights. A gambler and a drunk, Mr. Earnshaw (Martin Clunes) is barely keeping it together. When he brings home a poor boy after a day out drinking, Cathy wants nothing but to keep the boy. Not being able to tell his daughter no, Cathy gets to keep the boy whom she names, Heathcliff. As the story progresses, we watch as Cathy and Heathcliff’s relationship grows. From naïve children to naïve adults, Cathy and Heathcliff’s push and pull relationship is constantly challenged with class differences and stubborn attitudes. Refusing to set their attitudes aside, Cathy and Heathcliff find themselves in a toxic relationship neither can say no to.
On the surface, the story sounds as if it is the perfect movie to see this Valentine’s Day, or Galentine’s Day, weekend, but I highly recommend skipping it. There is nothing about this movie that screams love. It’s depiction of Cathy and Heathcliff’s relationship is extremely unhealthy, which I get was the point, but completely unnecessary. Fennell spends the majority of the movie showing why these two should not be together that she completely forgets to develop the story. The characters lack depth and the set is merely used as a backdrop instead of a major player to the story. After researching the book, there is so much from the book Fennell could have utilized to help make the story that much better. Instead, she focused on all the negatives of Brontë’s story, while at the same time pulling inspiration from other romance movies that seem more like an exact copy rather than an inspiration.
The original story of Wuthering Heights opened up the doors into the gothic romance genre. The first of its kind, the story not only focused on romance and revenge, but the supernatural and the heroine’s need to escape her trying homes, In this adaptation, Fennell chose to solely on the revenge and romance aspects of the story. She disregarded the other aspects of the gothic romance genre that are needed to tell this story. Pieces like the moors and what they symbolized to the characters or characters like Cathy’s brother, Hindley, and his hatred for Heathcliff. These are all pieces from the book that helped shape Cathy and Heathcliff’s relationship. Without them, audiences are only left shaking their heads at the nonsense that is unfolding on screen.
Robbie and Elordi lead this story as Cathy and Heathcliff and never can fully fall into their roles. The lack of depth in the characters make them unlikeable, and at some points, unwatchable. The passionate chemistry needed to pull off this revenge romance was completely missing, which made their need for each other unbelievable. The movie’s small secondary cast were completely underused. They were merely prop pieces to help hone in on how awful Cathy and Heathcliff were as human beings.
There are no winning points with “Wuthering Heights”. There was no passion, no heat, no chemistry. All the elements needed to pull off this type of movie. I highly suggest falling back on a favorite romantic comedy for Valentine’s Day or Galantine’s Day or checking out the Winter Olympics. You will find more moments that will make you sweat watching those than “Wuthering Heights” this weekend.
Grade: D