In an early scene in “Wuthering Heights,” Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif) listens as his ward, Isabella (Alison Oliver) explains, in thorough detail, the plot of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” over tea in the garden. Isabella, who has just read the play for the first time, is completely entranced by the fate of the doomed lovers. Edgar, the unwitting victim of her obsession, is less so. He tries to come across as a devoted listener, but his attempts are unconvincing, to say the least. Isabella, so wrapped up in her new discovery, barely notices.
This is one of the most telling moments in Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights,” a loose adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 gothic novel about the passionate love affair between Catherine (Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi). In the press leading up to the release of “Wuthering Heights,” Fennell has spoken at length about her own obsession with this particular novel, and how in adapting Brontë’s work, she wanted to make the type of movie that played in her head while reading the book for the first time as a teenager. In this respect, Fennell feels not unlike Isabella – a young woman captivated by her first brush with all-consuming, madness-inducing passion. Some of the critical responses to the movie so far, on the other hand, feel a bit like Edgar – uninterested in this more anti-intellectual approach.
There are certainly aspects of Fennell’s decision to make the movie she envisioned as a teenager that don’t quite work. If you’ve read “Wuthering Heights,” you know that while it’s about two people in love, it’s also about two people determined to make each other as miserable as possible. It’s about generational trauma, and revenge, and class conflict, and race (Fennell’s response to questions about why she decided not to cast an actor of color in the role of Heathcliff felt particularly lacking). That’s the thing about “Wuthering Heights” – it’s magnificently complex, the kind of thing it’s a little difficult to believe is almost 200 years old.
Read Sammie’s full list on Rough Draft
