Wuthering Heights trades transgression for tradition, fin...

What’s Happening

So get this: Overlong and undersexed, Emerald Fennells Wuthering Heights betrays her audience of edgelords and perverts.

C- Wuthering Heights trades transgression for tradition, finding the worst of both worlds Overlong and undersexed, Emerald Fennell’s adaptation betrays her audience of edgelords and perverts. Natalia Keogan — By Natalia Keogan | | 3:00pm Photo: Warner Bros. (let that sink in)

Film Reviews Emerald Fennell Copy to clipboard × Copy Link Copy Link — Facebook X Reddit Bluesky Email — 0 The first announcement of Emerald Fennells Wuthering Heights quickly led to hypotheses about her ulterior motive.

The Details

After all, the English enfant trash behind the subversive rape revenge tale Promising Young Woman and Saltburn s horned-up class commentary would surely have no interest in a straightforward adaptation of Emily Brontës landmark Gothic novel. When the title was stylized as Wuthering Heights , and Fennell broke down that this was because she was simply making a version of Wuthering Heights , it all promised some sort of unconventional approach.

But this gives Fennell too much credit. Her take on Wuthering Heights , while in no way totally faithful, doesnt generate any new compelling ideas about the text or the way that its endured in popular culture.

Why This Matters

Margot Robbie simply plays Cathy, while Jacob Elordi embodies Heathcliff, her lifelong love. Much of the fabric of Brontës story is present, though somewhat remixed—certain characters are morphed together, while an overt (if oddly tame) sexual current runs throughout. Truthfully, one of the most jarring deviations from the book lies in the casting of Robbie and Elordi as the central characters.

The entertainment world moves fast, and this is a prime example.

Key Takeaways

• Despite being oft-equated with feminine perfection (i.
• Barbie ), 35-year-old Robbie reads as far too mature of a choice for Cathy, who is 18 years old during the bulk of the narrative.

The Bottom Line

Barbie ), 35-year-old Robbie reads as far too mature of a choice for Cathy, who is 18 years old during the bulk of the narrative. Similarly, Heathcliff is originally described as a dark-skinned, ethnically indeterminate foundling (which leads to how he is treated throughout the narrative), so Fennells decision to cast the unambiguously white Elordi is puzzling.

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