Living in New York City means having so many more opportunities than people who live anywhere else. I have had experiences such as being in the audience for late night talk shows, day time talk shows, and even SNL. I have seen some of my favorite celebrities out and about and have had the fortune of attending movie and TV show premieres, screenings, and discussions. To say I have been waiting for the release of “Wuthering Heights” since the trailer came out months ago would be an understatement, and I even got lucky enough to get tickets to an advanced screening the Monday before the movie was released publicly.
I feel the need to preface some things before writing this review. I have never read Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, so I went into the movie pretty much blind. I am aware of all the controversies surrounding this adaptation and I understand everyone’s disappointment with the casting. If my favorite book got completely miscast, I would be upset as well. This review is more a review of the movie on its own with a complete separation from the book. I would consider myself more unbiased than someone who has read the book but as someone who loves Jacob Elordi, how unbiased can I really be?
“Wuthering Heights” was entirely captivating, vibrant, and riveting. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The cinematography was incredible, with the bright colors being reflected in Cathy’s dresses and the Linton House, while the nature and environment was dim and dull. It was windy and dark, with the trees never having leaves and Heathcliff always finding Cathy outside, away from the life she was engulfed in with Edgar Linton. Heathcliff is never fully brought into Cathy’s light, showcasing their differences in class and wealth, even when he disappears and returns with money years later.
The trailer felt misleading in a way. Sure, there were multiple sex scenes, but the movie was more devastating than “freaky,” so I will admit I am confused where the early reviewers’ comments on “this is just porn,” “this is just smut” are coming from. Fennell’s Saltburn had more flare, so that was what I went into it expecting. The way Fennell described this movie, I was expecting something more along the lines of Fifty Shades of Grey, but no one was naked at all. I think as normal people (not critics or professional reviewers) watch this movie, they will either be disappointed by this lack of sexual content or pleasantly surprised, but I think Fennell shouldn’t have pushed this to be exactly what it wasn’t as much as she had.
What I wasn’t expecting though, is the anxiety or sadness that came with Cathy and Heathcliff’s story. Fennell knows how to capture emotion and must receive her flowers for that. And the soundtrack? I was hesitant on Charli XCX’s rise to fame a couple summers ago during Brat, but once I got it, I got it. So I was excited to see what she would do with “Wuthering Heights” and with the singles she had already released, it was a bit hard to anticipate the vibes of the movie, but after seeing it, I would say “Chains of Love” is the most perfect song for this movie.
The casting is also a very important aspect of this adaptation. The constant reminder of how Elordi loves to play some sort of monster isn’t lost on me, considering how his costars and friends always describe him as a gentleman and so kind. The difference with Heathcliff though, is that he isn’t really a monster — at least not in Fennell’s version of the story. Not like Elordi’s Frankenstein’s Monster or Nate Jacobs. Heathcliff is a man who has had his heart stomped on constantly by Cathy, making him feel like he would never be good enough, and when he eventually returns and is still thrown to the side by the woman he loves, he turns villianous, wanting to torture Cathy by marrying her husband’s ward, Isabella. Though Elordi was miscast in regards to the book description, he acted his heart out and deserves some props for that.
Margot Robbie is a phenomenal actress and she was exceptional in Barbie — a role people thought she was too old to play — but for Cathy, she was definitely too old to play her. It was so hard to constantly remember how young Cathy is supposed to be while 35-year-old Margot Robbie was playing her. Don’t get me wrong, Robbie is beautiful with a flawless face, but you can tell women in their thirties have had experiences women in their twenties don’t, and it is shown all over their face, from their jawline to their eyebrows. The innocence that I felt should have been within Cathy just wasn’t there. This is not to say that Robbie didn’t play the role beautifully, though.
Standouts from the cast definitely include Owen Cooper and Charlotte Mellington who play young Heathcliff and Cathy, Alison Oliver who plays Isabella, and Hong Chau who plays Nelly. Oliver was so incredible, she captured my heart as Isabella. From innocent and innocuous with Cathy to callous and primitive with Heathcliff, I honestly liked Isabella and Heathcliff together more during scenes throughout the movie than Cathy and Heathcliff. Chau as Nelly was also gripping. The emotions portrayed by Cathy’s maid-turned-friend had me waiting and wanting more — which she did end up delivering. I stood by Nelly, even when she did despicable things, because I too understand what it’s like to be friends with a pseudo-narcissist.
Is it wrong to say I didn’t really like Cathy? Is that a popular opinion within the Bronte and Wuthering Heights community? Or was it just the way she was portrayed in the movie that made me dislike her? Yet I still felt every emotion from her that Robbie and Fennell intended so it’s hard to really hate her. Maybe just hated the way she treated everyone around her but she’s complicated — like every good character should be.
My friend that I saw the movie with really understood and resonated with Cathy while I feel I understood Isabella more. This is what I love about movies, books, anything fictional really. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. You’re allowed to like something or dislike something but that doesn’t make something objectively good or bad. Don’t let other’s opinions stop you from making your own.
Obviously, this is a spoiler free review but I just have to say (as someone who didn’t read the book) the ending shocked me, partly because how else could it possibly end? “Wuthering Heights” is tragic, like most other books of the era. It was devastating and had my entire theater crying. Fennell said in an interview that she wanted it to be this generation’s Titanic, and while I wouldn’t go that far, it definitely should have put into perspective what kind of movie this was going to be.
Like I said, don’t let critics’ opinions be your opinion. Go see it for yourself! Form your own opinions and thoughts! Careful though, seeing Jacob Elordi’s abs might get to your head and sway your opinion on the movie.