A stunning yet otiose film for the TikTok generation.
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First rule of watching Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” is to not confuse it for an adaptation of the 1800s gothic novel of the same name by Emily Brontë. What is known as a classic story with controversial themes for its time, rich in characters’ trials and tribulations with social hierarchy, has been condensed into a film laser-focused on its catastrophic love story. The quotation marks in Fennell’s loose inspiration exists for a reason.
“Wuthering Heights” follows the tale of star-crossed lovers Catherine Earnshaw (Margot Robbie, Barbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein), from when they first meet as children to their later years as adults. Catherine’s father, having seen young Heathcliff (played by Adolescence breakout star Owen Cooper) mistreated, decides to take him in under his wing in a false pretense of saviourhood, only to see the poor boy later subjected to the older Earnshaw’s drunken tirades. Young Catherine shows Heathcliff a kindness that drives him to vow eternal love for her, a love she silently returns unbeknownst to him until it’s too late.
Cut to years later, Mr. Earnshaw is more drunk and broke than ever before, Catherine and Heathcliff still living under his slowly decaying roof. Desperate to marry rich to save herself from damnation, Catherine finds herself in the home of one Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif), a man with wealth and stability Heathcliff could never afford her. A broken hearted Heathcliff leaves their home while Catherine subjects herself to a one-sided relationship until one fateful day that reunites them, thus beginning a long-awaited string of passionate tryst enveloping the pair in a love bubble while the rest of their world fall apart.
Much like her controversial film, Saltburn (2023), writer-director Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” takes a bold turn with deliberate provacativity for shock value. It hones in on the sex appeal of its leads with tantalising sexual imagery that yearns to be the promiscous talk of the town but daren’t go further than a tease. Much of their secret love affair plays like a compilation TikTok video someone’s niece made on their phone, compressing years of passion and heat that dissolve within minutes. The score and accompanying music from modern day popstar Charli XCX attest to this.
Despite the casting backlash, Heathcliff proves yet another star-making turn for the newly minted Academy Award-nominee Elordi. His nuanced take on the brutish and forlorn love interest makes for a compelling scene partner to Robbie’s strong-headed Catherine. The pair have undeniable chemistry that makes their characters’ love story all the more devastating but their screen presence can only take the film so far.
Captivating as they may be, the true star of the film is the striking imagery and Linus Sandgren's cinematography that we dare say are more steamy than all the sex scenes combined. Jacqueline Durran’s exquisite costumes tell a bigger tale than Fennell’s dialogues, with textures and distinct colours coming into play. We’d never tire of seeing all the lavish veils billowing in the wind as they wrap themselves around Robbie’s structured face so sensuously.
“Wuthering Heights” is a film full of lust that's rich in visual detail and strong performances from its cast and yet, there’s a nagging feeling of shortcoming. If Fennell’s intention was to deliver a handsomely packaged empty vessel, she’s succeeded. If not, what was the point?
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