Despite earning $3 million on its opening night Thursday, “Wuthering Heights” is facing backlash from reviews. My hot take? It is still worth watching.
The biggest issue people seem to be having is that it’s not a true book-to-scene adaptation, the film isn’t dedicated to its source material. Some feel that director Emerald Fennell’s take is too modern, and fails to match Emily Bronte’s 1847 tale. However, for me this film was surprisingly emotional and incredibly fitting as a modern re-imaging of the Victorian romance.
The film stars Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, as well as Margot Robbie as Catherine. We’ve seen Elordi before in Fennell’s film “Salt Burn,” which if you were a fan of “Salt Burn” you should be running to the theater for this film too. The directorial style and cinematography were incredibly similar. One could even argue that the universe is one in the same, with each film taking place at different moments in time. The whimsy, animalistic style and sexual tropes all were met, if not even more exaggerated, in this film than what we saw in “Salt Burn.”
While fans of the book were disappointed in the narrative straying too far from the original story, I would argue that Fennell captures the dark intense tragedy that resonates with our current generation, much as Bronte had when publishing her work.
Besides the stellar cinematography, Charlie XCX’s soundtrack was incredible. It felt like the perfect blend of new aged tunes and classical – more fitting for the time – instrumentals. Which for me added to the atmosphere and world building for this story. Especially in pairing the backtracks to the more whimsical elements of this film one could really begin to understand the emotions guiding the story moreover then the plot itself. I am curious to listen to the album separately now, to see how the album holds up not paired with the film.
The use of exaggerated fruits, lighting, costuming and fairytale-like color schemes also added to the whimsical nature of Fennell’s directorial style. These elements worked well in carrying the point that no matter how romantic, dreamy and perfect one set of circumstances can be, without your true love, none of it matters. I encourage you, while watching this film, to count how many peculiar moments you can catch that serve solely to illuminate the facade of magical perfection. For me these moments stood out in the best way, for reviewers it seems they felt they only found them outlandish and distracting.
Lastly, I want to celebrate the use of the wind in both sound and presence. For a story framed around a place called “Wuthering Heights,” the wind played a key role in mirroring the emotions of our two lovers. Fennell did an incredible job of using this element to her storytelling advantage; a wonderful nod to the book in my opinion and use of symbolism in this rendition.
My only wish for this film is that we got more. The film spans just over two hours and has a rather large time jump in the plot of about five years. I feel that we didn’t get enough of Elordi’s Heathcliff in those sped-through years as we had with the character of Catherine. The choice does leave the audience just as excited as Catherine does after the five years have passed, but I still think in terms of plot the audience would have benefitted from having a little more of his story presented.
All in all, I rate this film a solid four out of five on the spicy scale, a must watch for fans of Fennell’s other work, a give-it-a-go if you’ve read the book and a definitely-check-it-out for those who haven’t read the story but are a fan of tragic romances – or actors Elordi or Robbie. A perfect film to toss on as well if you are having a belated galentines celebration. Stay tuned for next week as Reading Raft’s Eli Heck and I dive into another spicy storyline, comparing “Heated Rivalry” the book to the TV show.