Every second I spent watching this abysmal movie is a second I spent tortured. Emerald Fennel utterly butchered one of the foremost novels of the 19th century. I’d like to preface this review by saying that I am not one to hate movies. In fact, I love movies. There are very, very few movies I dislike, and even fewer that I hate. I tried to hold on to some hope for this movie, even after I’d seen several reviews bashing it. The cast, you’d think, is good enough. There are lots of famous names who can act, but this script will make you forget they possess even this faculty.
The set design? Loud and wrong. Take, for instance, the famed “skin room”– a room made by scanning Margot Robbie’s skin. Yes, the walls have hairs, freckles, and moles. Sure, it’s no big deal really, artistic liberties are taken all the time by artists and filmmakers alike. But there were too many “liberties” taken. This whole movie is one big call for attention. “Wuthering Heights” assumes that frills, big names, shocking, scandalous scenes will grant it some prestige, but it is devoid of any emotion or reverence for its source work. It is not an adaptation; It is not even inspired by the novel, it is some bizarre caricature of Brontë’s work.
Months ago, when the casting was revealed, the internet was outraged. The book’s closest thing to a protagonist–Heathcliff, a dark-skinned orphan who’s taken in by Mr. Earnshaw would be played by Jacob Elordi. Yes, liberties like this are taken all the time; take the Little Mermaid live action, for instance, but race was not central to that movie. Race, in Wuthering Heights, is basically the catalyst and explanation for every action and every event. Heathcliff would not have matured the way he did–he would not behave the way he does if he were white. In fact, the whole book would have been different. If Heathcliff were white, I’m sure Catherine and Heathcliff would’ve married as soon as they had the chance. Additionally, the cast itself is pretty diverse–Edgar’s actor could have easily played Heathcliff. But, no, he couldn’t have, because that wouldn’t have aligned with Emerald Fennel’s fantasy of the book.
Not to mention, the press with this film has been atrocious. Margot Robbie wore a historic Taj Mahal diamond necklace to the Los Angeles premiere of “Wuthering Heights.” That, combined with the casting of Jacob Elordi to play Heathcliff, is only one thing–tasteless. The diabolical choices are not iconic, cool, or chic; they are tasteless. The ‘evocative’ scenes, too, were tasteless. This was a novel that pretty much abstained from any physical displays of love, not only because it was written in the 1800s, but also because these characters do not want that. Even though the movie quotes the famous line, “I am Heathcliff,” it completely misses the premise of said quote. To forgo so many important plot lines (like Hareton and Catherine, Hindley, Linton, etc.) and STILL not make a movie that is worth seeing is ridiculous, and sad.
With all that said, I give “Wuthering Heights” a whopping… half a star. It’s disappointing, it’s shallow, it’s a waste of time, etc, etc, you get the point. I’d only recommend this movie to you if you’re a fan of bad YA novels, and maybe if you’re a shallow person yourself. Other than that, stay away. Don’t waste your time as I did.
