We’re on the search for greatness, people! Some out here may gush over Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie. Or bemoan the gratuitous sex scenes inserted into a supposedly sanitized novel (Emily Bronte’s work, I haven’t read it). But I’m all about Emerald Fenell, who has started her directorial career brilliantly with two perfect 5.0 movies in my book. Saltburn was a smash hit of surprise, full of gothic and lurid smut, while Promising Young Woman was bold and brash with its excellently poignant message. I’ve got to tell you, I don’t like the timing in which this movie is coming out though – January and February are usually the dead zones for fresh releases. But I’ve got all fingers crossed that Fenell can break bad patterns and soar to the stars. Go you good thing, for the love of movies!
And holy-moly, I have so many thoughts. This is a movie of two halves for me – the first being quite poorly, until an ending comes that packs a genuinely crafted emotional wallop. I’ve just seen Wuthering Heights in cinemas with about thirteen twenty-year-old girls, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as the credits rolled – myself, included. But yes, I was uneasy with this movie’s first half; puzzled, but not entirely sure those problems wouldn’t melt away with the benefit of a rewatch, now that I know how the characters end. Let’s talk.
It’s taken me a while to quite put my finger on what was so abrasive about this movie. The scenes move too quickly…? The location isn’t defined or is too drab to be scenic. The cinematography utilises the weather as its primary source of colour and tone, and whilst that’s picturesque and great for capturing mood, it’s not a stand in for a sense of place. I get the sense that Wuthering Heights is a failing manor on a hill, while Linton’s mansion is down the way in a valley, but I’m only surmising. And even then, the layout of Wuthering Heights isn’t too well established, although I’m familiar with the home’s dining area, barn and stables. Heathcliff’s presentation in his early part is baffling, as he is played more like a braindead mute than a noble stable hand, like a Tarzan or Igor type; perhaps Elordi brought too much of his Frankenstein to the next set 🙃 But at the same time, I get it; as the story plays out, the emotions and events, as if nothing is missed. I guess what I might mean to say is the whole adventure is presented like an “idea”, rather than a solid movie. It would be cliché and not entirely accurate to call this version of Wuthering Heights “dream-like”, but it is wistful, and unfulfilling in its execution. We jump forward in time a few times and there is no way to know without the characters telling us either. I thought of the movie’s poster, how the style presents like pulp fiction; a trashy novel interpreted by me to be sending up the genre of heightened romance with the intent to show a gloomier or tort underbelly to love. There’s the heavy pairing of sex and death in the opening scene that doesn’t truly manifest into a sustained parody, although you could argue both are present again given the ending, now fueled by melancholy. And then, there are the Charlie XCX songs; a clash of time periods to update the source material, to keep it fresh, that also satirize the themes and aristocracy in the classic tale. It was a lot, a lot going on.
Easier to place is what I perceived as massive mistakes in casting. In the beginning, the kids are fantastic. Owen Cooper is going to be a star, I reckon, having just won so many awards for the mini-series Adolescence, and deservedly so. But then, Heathcliff and Catherine grow up, into Elordi and Robbie, and it’s like, does age mean nothing to you, movie?! Margot Robbie is too old; acting young, she sounds so retarded! She has the look, but I dared to wonder if an actress like Samara Weaving could have devoured the bombastic, angry, and depressed components required to for this role, perhaps further cementing her as a talent on the rise as well 🤷♂️ I cannot tell you how worried I was for the lauded Aussie, Robbie, who’s had missteps before, but this threatened to be career ending 😮 And Hon Chau is like, 45, right? Luckily, these characters age up again, years after Catherine is married, and so the second half proceeds with less of an issue. By the end, I really can’t picture anyone else in this role other than Robbie, and it is evident why both Robbie and Chau were picked. On the other hand, Elordi is no problem, and the future of acting is really in good hands, with Elordi tucked in quite nicely amongst Chalamet, Keoghan, Butler, Hedges and others. Yet, I could never get behind the notion of Shazad Latif as Edgar Linton; what a boring weak-chinned man. I was disgusted every time Catherine kissed him; why would she ever marry him?! I think a more handsome fellow, who was a dullard, would’ve worked just as well – even Archie Madekwe, from Saltburn too.
But, as stated above, when the characters look more their age, when Heathcliff comes back with money, this story does steam up, in every sense of the expression 🔥 And even before that, there were shots where even if the movie wasn’t landing, Fennell’s talent as a filmmaker was still intact, and still on show. Storywise, the jealousy, and seething lust between Catherine and Heathcliff becomes a sordid affair that constricts and limits the affluent spaces around them. All is on the line, as the next bout of intimate passion is all that matters, like a smack junkie needing that fix. Catherine’s life, concerning her marriage, baby, and reputation, are on the line, while Heathcliff’s life is only Catherine. With that said – and having no basis of comparison with the original source material – I think inserting sex into this story works quite well where the longing and love has a tangible intimate element. It’s not theoretical, the lives they long for – it’s now, it’s alternative, it’s real. I do wonder how the book treats Isabella (Alison Oliver), but the idea that she enjoys the BDSM on offer to her isn’t a dealbreaker for me either, returning that bit of grit to sex that Saltburn explored so well. Moreover, I’m perfectly fine with Fenell setting up any glimmering story only for her to force it off a cliff, to fall from a great height, and watch it purposefully shatter. For these characters are destroyed, by their longing, and choices made out of fear. But more than that, the ending of Wuthering Heights isn’t cheap – it reflects back to love, of a lifetime, as Catherine lays cold. Reliving the highlights of Catherine and Heathcliff, along with the best scene of the movie, as boy Heathcliff tells a sleeping Catherine that he will love her forever, only for her to smile; still gives me chills and was worthy of me tearing up. Because that’s what any of us really want, really, as we drift along this mortal coil? A connection so powerful, it penetrates social etiquettes, survives eternal. Beautiful.
If Alison Oliver is to be Fenell’s muse, you won’t hear me complaining either! 😛 I’m content to score this movie a 3.5, but with room for it to grow. 3.5
P.S. It’s so funny, I came out of Saltburn adamant that Taylor Swift’s “Dancing with Our Hands Tied” would fit so well where “Murder on the Dancefloor” stood, and today, if it were a little slower, Swift’s “Dress” would fit well with Wuthering Heights, for the longing and the lust. Gosh, some people pair wine with fish, and I seem to pair Taylor Swift songs with Emerald Fenell. I wonder what the next one will be…
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