Chocolates and cheesy rom coms on Valentine’s Day? Nope! This year, the mood shifts from romantic to brooding as Wuthering Heights, the film adaptation of the beloved novel by Emily BrontĂ«, premieres just in time to give love a darker meaning.
Most people think of the usual sappy films to celebrate the romantic holiday. Still, Emerald Fennell, the film’s director, decided to steer the audience towards something different. Instead, she offers a movie that’s a little less sweet and more intense, dark, and dramatic. While passionate, the story between the two main leads, Catherine and Heathcliff, is as messy as it can get. That’s probably why the novel has stood the test of time, earning 35 different film and television adaptations. Wuthering Heights blurs the line between devotion and obsession. And it starts with the protagonist, Heathcliff.
Before BookTok’s morally grey main heroes, we had Heathcliff. Brooding? Check. Loyalty that becomes obsessive? Check. Emotionally stable? Think again. Heathcliff’s character isn’t black and white; he’s a man who was wronged from the start, but his own thirst for revenge came to haunt him. Was he a romantic because of his undying love for Catherine Earnshaw? Or was he the biggest red flag you could find hiding under the label of a tortured individual?
Currently, social media is filled with those who enjoy dark romance and love to debate the idea of “I can fix him,” and Heathcliff is exactly the type of character that keeps the modern audience hooked on the classics. From emotionally unavailable protagonists to silently yearning love interests, pop culture has always romanticized passion that evolves into destruction. Wuthering Heights serves as a reminder that this fascination with morally ambiguous leads has captivated audiences for almost two centuries.
It certainly has fascinated Fennell, who was very passionate about the novel. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Fennell states, “I’m very fanatical about the book,” and that BrontĂ« “gets inside you.”
Fennell, who previously directed Saltburn and Promising Young Woman, wasn’t “mucking about” when it came to this film. The film stars Margot Robbie as Catherine and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff; both of them have worked with Fennell before, though this is Robbie’s first time acting under the director. Additionally, Fennell collaborated with many more members from her previous projects, such as production designer Suzie Davies, cinematographer Linus Sandgren, and editor Victoria Boydell.Â
Despite the enthusiastic responses from the team and the director, there seems to be much controversy online regarding the casting and creative choices of the film. The film is not a true adaptation of the novel, and some users on X took to the platform to share their thoughts.
With such a focus on the main couple, some fans of the novel find the removal of certain scenes to be a fatal mistake in the adaptation. However, in an interview between Fennell and Baz Luhrmann of Interview Magazine, the director shared that “there are so many narrative instructions you don’t need.” This was in reference to Fennell removing the character of Hindley Earnshaw, Catherine’s brother, who was integral in preventing Catherine and Heathcliff from being together and who sets up the novel’s important themes, such as racism, prejudice, and Heathcliff’s desire for revenge.
The controversial changes for the film caused much buzz online, which was great for the film’s press and for getting the public interested.