This last Friday, Wuthering Heights was released in theaters. My mom, my cousin, my best friend, my sister, and I all went to see it. We have been seeing trailers for it since September and have been so excited to see it. My review will have spoilers, so if you plan to see it, beware.
This movie began so bizarrely; a man was hung but we only heard the sounds for about 30 seconds (which sounded super sus!). It set a very tense and a little bit upsetting tone for the movie. House ft. John Cale played while the camera panned over the Wuthering Heights house, which would also have set that eerie tone, but it was hard not to giggle because of the TikTok trend that uses that song. The first 20 minutes set up Cathy’s and Heathcliff’s childhood in a very abusive household, and it was heartbreaking to see how her father treated them. When they had grown up, they had such a shared trauma bond, and before Cathy was married to Edgar, I really loved the vibes that were happening. It was a romantic, almost lighthearted, friends-to-lovers romance. But when Cathy stayed with Edgar, and eventually Edgar proposed, the entire movie changed. Heathcliff ran away, and a significant amount of time passed while Cathy was living as Mrs. Linton. Cathy visits her father, who is in horrible health, and has a really sad argument with him, and it makes me hate his guts. I mean, I already did, but now more. Then, Heathcliff shows back up, this time, rich. Oh my hot oh my hot. Jacob Elordi and that earring! Cathy and Heathcliff start having an affair because she still loves him and was being an idiot when she married Edgar. The entire affair montage was super steamy, omg. And to be completely honest, Jacob Elordi was putting a little too much tongue into it. Other than that, super hot.
This movie was super dark. Not only the plot, but the cinematography too. My overall reaction is that I liked the movie, but of course am upset by the ending. I’m frustrated with Cathy because she should have just married Heathcliff, and all of this wouldn’t have happened. Also, she treated Nelly horribly and cheated on Edgar, who, at the end of the day, was a really good man. I’m upset at Nelly because of her horrible advice to Cathy to marry Edgar and her unnecessary, extensive efforts to keep Cathy and Heathcliff apart. I’m upset at Heathcliff because of how abusive he is to Isabella. The whole movie was stressful and upsetting, with a strong hint of super sexy. I never read the book, but I know that the movie was super inaccurate. There was a lot of controversy about the costumes, but I thought they were so gorgeous; plus, we knew the movie was going to be book-inaccurate, so I’m not sure why people were so upset. The set too was unreal. Edgar’s house was gorgeous- it had this slightly gothic maximalism vibe that I loved. I also recently found out that in the book, Heathcliff was not white, and I’m a little curious about the casting decision there. But, again, this movie was book-inaccurate, so I guess casting accuracy wasn’t necessarily a priority? I wonder why Emerald Fennel didn’t just make her own movie that was slightly inspired by Wuthering Heights, rather than a very inaccurate adaptation. But, with all of that said, I will be thinking about how tragic this movie was for a long time.Â