I recently went to the movie theater for the first time in a while, and my friend and I were picking out which movie to watch. We decided on Wuthering Heights because we had seen the trailers and the press tour videos including all of the “chemistry” between Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. Safe to say I had a lot of thoughts about it, I had never read the book but I was really excited, and some parts definitely delivered while others fell short. As per usual, there will be spoilers ahead!!
Setting:
Starting off with what I would argue is the strongest part of the movie: the setting. The location was absolutely gorgeous. It was rainy, moody, and had that medieval gothic atmosphere that was perfect for this film. The rain added to the harshness of the characters, the cliffs added to the dramatics, and the attention to detail in Edgar’s mansion created a very solid and strong setting. The montage of Cathy (Margot Robbie) living out the beginning of her marriage is incredibly fun for the viewer to see all of the different rooms and outfits and extravagance. In addition to the location, the score enhanced the moody vibe and was another really big positive of the film. Overall, the atmosphere was phenomenal, and I would say it was my favorite aspect of the film.
Characters:
Our two main characters of the film are Cathy and Heathcliff, and I’m conflicted about these two because we watch them “grow up”- but they are essentially the same throughout the entire film. In some (rare) cases this might not be a bad thing and may add to the story, however that is not the case in this film. Cathy remains childish and shallow, while Heathcliff is a hot moody man for the entire film. It is a little bit hard to root for them when they are both terrible people. Cathy marries Edgar for money and cheats on him with Heathcliff, but she was stringing Heathcliff along for years prior. She only gets with Heathcliff when he comes back and he’s suddenly rich. Heathcliff has no ambition in life other than to be with Cathy, which is romantic but also results in making him a flat character.
It’s hard in media and movies especially to see two characters who don’t really grow or change, and who make bad decisions but don’t actually reflect on their choices. I think there’s definitely a way to have those types of characters and portray it well, I just don’t think that’s necessarily done here. As a hopeless romantic, I did enjoy the main romance, but I also felt conflicted because the audience is supposed to root for someone who is betraying and hurting another person. It’s morally grey, yet not explored in the way it could be. That said, the exploration of Cathy and Heathcliff’s complicated relationship with Cathy’s father was done very well and I thought it was a good plot point. You can see Cathy’s struggle with him because she loves him as her father, but hates him as an abuser. In general I don’t love the characters, but it didn’t stop me from completely enjoying the movie.
The Plot…if you can find it
I genuinely have no idea where the plot was in this movie. The entire “plot” was the romance, but that simply was not enough. The “plot” consisted of Cathy and Heathcliff going back and forth driving each other away, then finally getting together, then breaking up, then Cathy dying. Now I will say, I did not see Catherine’s death coming, so it did hit me hard and I did cry- but I am going to chalk that up to Margot Robbie’s acting skills and the atmosphere. But back to the plot, this was a two hour movie and essentially nothing happened. Like I mentioned before, the characters didn’t grow, we never saw another setting, and there was no major conflict or resolution. They started to explore it with Cathy’s feelings of the affair being wrong and Edgar telling her to stop crying, but it really wasn’t explored enough. Cathy’s miscarriage and spiral could be seen as a major point of conflict, but I feel like they should have gone deeper into her pregnancy and her relationship with Edgar and her struggling with the thought of being a mother, etc. etc. Literally anything, but instead we focused completely on the “will they or won’t they” romance, which don’t get me wrong I’m a sucker for, but I need more than that.
Final Thoughts:
In conclusion I didn’t think this was a bad movie. I thought the acting was incredible, the atmosphere and score were spectacular, but the character and the plot just fell a little short. I enjoyed the romance, and while I probably won’t watch it again, I wouldn’t discourage anyone from giving it a try.