Image by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Much has been made (in my circles, at least) about the stylized quotation marks in the title of Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights.” Does the punctuation belie a plot twist along the lines of Don’t Worry Darling, where a projected storybook fantasy belies the sordid basement of reality?
It seemed likely, knowing Fennell’s history of using a “sexually violent turn” as a third-act narrative device in both of her previous films, Saltburn and Promising Young Woman. If not, what do the quotation marks mean? I won’t spoil the third act of the film for you (come see it!) but walking away from this film, I think the quotation marks make a lot of sense.
“Wuthering Heights” breaks the mold of Fennell’s previous films as an adaptation instead of an original story, but that doesn’t mean her voice as a filmmaker takes a backseat at any point. Fennell is on record as having cast Jacob Elordi because he looked like Heathcliff on the cover of the copy of Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights” she read as a teenager. This is clearly a formative text to Fennell, and just as personal to her (if not more) than her original scripts.
Don’t expect a faithful tribute to the sprawling, detailed family trees and generational themes of Brontë’s novel, but Fennell’s film distills the core characters and their transgressive interpersonal dynamics into an abridged case study of fierce desire for someone you can’t be with. What results is a very subjective take on a culturally ubiquitous text—a messier, hornier and sweatier version anchored around Elordi’s phenomenal turn as Heathcliff, the love (and lust) interest of Margot Robbie’s less-realized Catherine Earnshaw.
Sumptuous photography by Linus Sandgren, dramatic lighting by David Sinfield and immaculate costuming by Jacqueline Durran anchor the film in sensual tones and colorful textures. Charli xcx’s contributions to the soundtrack from her new tie-in album, also called “Wuthering Heights,” are dazzling and gorgeously produced, complementing the film perfectly, like a 2020s counterpart to Sofia Coppola’s post-punk soundtrack to Marie Antoinette.
Leaving the theater with final thoughts, “Wuthering Heights” brought to mind most immediately another recent big-screen literary adaptation: Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. The weakest part of each film is probably its script, but I very much enjoyed the mood, the technique at hand, the sets and costumes, and the performances on display. (That being said, I don’t envy any scene partner of Elordi’s, since, by my measure, his work blew Oscar Isaac’s out of the water in that film and Margot Robbie’s in this one.)
I wouldn’t quite say it earns a spot as a definitive visual take on a classic novel, but “Wuthering Heights” on the big screen is still a real good time at the movies, and chock-full of Fennell’s trademark sensuous and bodily direction. This Jacob Elordi kid is going places.
“Wuthering Heights” opens at Midtown Cinema on Feb. 13.
Midtown Cinema is located at 250 Reily St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.midtowncinema.com. Gabriel Brown serves as assistant manager at Midtown Cinema.
February Events
at Midtown Cinema
National Theatre Live
“The Fifth Step”
Sunday, Feb. 8, 5 p.m.
“The Importance of Being Earnest”
Sunday, Feb. 15, 5 p.m.
Late Night Frights Series
“House” (1977)
Friday, Feb. 13, 9:30 p.m.
“Roman Holiday” (1953)
Saturday, Feb. 14, noon
Sunday, Feb. 15, 6:30 p.m.
3rd in the Burg Movie Night
“Across the Universe” (2007)
Friday, Feb. 20, 9:30 p.m.
Down in Front! Comedy Riffing
“Hobgoblins” (1988)
Friday, Feb. 27, 9:30 p.m.
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