“Wuthering Heights” A Bold Loose Adaptation of the Emily Bronte Novel

“Wuthering Heights” marks Emily Bronte’s only novel the author has ever published. Published in 1847, the novel is a classic of English literature known for its passionate, dark, and violent story of the obsessive love between Catherine Earnshaw and Healthcliff. The novel explores themes of love, revenge, and societal class through their destructive relationship and their families.

Emily Bronte’s only novel has been adapted for the screen numerous times over the years, most notably the 1939, 1970, 1992 and 2011 versions are said to be the stand out screen adaptations to hit the big and small screens. So, now, the time has come for a new adaptation to hit the screen that has been getting a somewhat divisive reaction.

Tragedy strikes when Heathcliff falls in love with Catherine Earnshaw, a woman married into a wealthy family in 18th century England.

I’ll admit I have never read the 1847 novel before checking out this new adaptation, but I did a bit of research to slowly familiarize myself just a little bit.

This latest adaptation of the Emily Bronte novel delivers great performances from lead performers Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, amazing cinematography and quite a few moments that can get really emotionally intense. The new adaptation also takes some substantial departures from the novel and a bit of the content may not be well-received by fans of the source material.

The film’s visual style is easily one of its strongest elements. The film effectively captures the wild nature of the Yorkshire moors with a significant use of fog and natural lighting, which actually looks really incredible. There are some sequences throughout the film that have a surreal, dream-like quality to it, including Catherine’s bedroom that has flesh-colored walls.

The performances from the cast are actually pretty decent. A major draw of “Wuthering Heights” is the chemistry between Robbie and Elordi. During quite a few of their scenes together, the pair really captures the majorly sensual tension that their two characters really needed. While both of their performances are pretty decent. There has been slight controversy about how the characters have been portrayed are not as consistent as their novel’s iterations.

There have been quite a few fans of the beloved novel that are said to be giving polarizing reactions to this loose adaptation and I can see why they haven't really been enjoying it. There are some moments throughout this film that are somewhat like a “50 Shades” version of “Wuthering Heights.” We also see some costumes that might not exactly be period accurate and the modern soundtrack used for this film can be slightly distracting - even though I think the use of the modern soundtrack is actually not that bad.

Director Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” is a film that has some great looking visuals and also seems to have a bold style over emotional depth. It’s an artistic interpretation primarily designed for a modern audience, so if you’re looking for a more faithful adaptation, you may have to check out some of the other film iterations.

Cast: Margot Robbie (Cathy); Jacob Elordi (Heathcliff); Hong Chau (Nelly); Shazad Latif (Edgar); Alison Oliver (Isabella); Martin Clunes (Mr. Earnshaw); Ewan Mitchell (Joseph); Amy Morgan (Zillah).

Writer/director: Emerald Fennell (Saltburn; Promising Young Woman)

MPA: Rated R for sexual content, some violent content and language   (runtime 136 minutes)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID0rqEWrN44