It was interesting hearing this movie announced, as it had been a while since I read the book, and I was curious how this would play out. Adaptations are a big amusement for me. Good, bad, and at times downright ugly, the genre has had a wide array of offerings, and I am always interested. So hearing the quotations were part of the title had me wondering. I didn’t refresh myself on the plot until after watching the film. I wanted to go into it fairly blind, but there were a couple of things I vaguely remembered. And it turns out that, regarding the film, those aspects didn’t quite matter.
On the scale of adaptations, this falls pretty middle for me. There are positives and negatives across the board. The first thing I want to address is that I find this film visually stunning for several reasons. To start, the scenery was stunning. The wild moors as a backdrop are brilliant in the book, and Emerald Fennell brings them to the screen well. The contrast of the tidy English garden at Thrushcross Grange compared to the wild moors of Wuthering Heights and beyond adds to the tidiness and properness of the Lintons being surrounded and overcome by Catherine and Heathcliff’s wildness. One aspect that was cool but also wildly unsettling was one room having the walls made of Margot Robbie’s real skin. Photographs were taken and made into fabric, which was then used to make the walls in such a way that sweat effects could even be added to make the skin walls look dewy. Interesting choice aesthetically, as well as Robbie always wearing red in some way. But definitely added to the unsettlingness of the film. The wardrobe was absolutely breathtaking, and I found myself desiring many of the outfits and jewelry. The soundtrack was also fantastic, done by Charli XCX. So aesthetically, there was a lot that hit the mark for me. Now, let’s address where things missed for me.
The quotations around the title are well deserved because this is not a plot-faithful adaptation in any way. One of the few things I remembered was the beginning being in the future, and then the story flashes back. We skipped that and began with young Catherine (Charlotte Mellington) and Nelly (Vy Nguyen) as girls, and Catherine’s father, Mr. Earnshaw (Martin Clunes), soon brings home a young
Heathcliff (Owen Cooper). The story then largely follows the book. They grow up, Cathy (Margot Robbie) makes a connection with neighbor Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif), and when she agrees to marry him, Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) flees, not knowing her true feelings for him, manipulated in part by Nelly (Hong Chau). Heathcliff returns after several years, now wealthy, and marries Edgar’s sister Isabella (Alison Oliver) in revenge. Elordi is a fine actor, but I have to admit that when I read the book, I pictured someone Indian or Black. So Elordi isn’t quite the swarthy character I expected. Personally, I would have gone with Dev Patel, but that’s just me. Heathcliff’s race and ethnicity have been the topic of much discussion within literature circles. So again, no hate to Jacob Elordi, but it is odd casting given the way the character is described in the book.
But the biggest problem for me is that the movie frames this relationship between Cathy and Heathcliff as romantic. It’s seen as a tragic romance instead of the deeply troubling relationship it really is. Not to mention a great many things happen in the story after Cathy dies that portray Heathcliff’s villainy and abuse even further than the little taste we get in the film. A great portion of the story happens after Cathy dies, but that’s where we leave off in the film. So it leaves a bad taste in my mouth that this pairing should be seen as romantic in any 
way. The movie touches on desire well. The way someone can make you want things that you never expected. But these two people are not healthy people and not characters to be exemplified. In the same way, I cringe when people love the Joker and Harley Quinn. He is a monster who abuses her! That is not a model for a romance, my god. But people love a “misunderstood” tragic hero, anti-hero, whatever term to justify horrible choices in the name of “true love.” The cruelty is touched on minimally, but with certain story removals, it lessens the blow of how truly horrible this man is, but the movie also ends on such a note as to make it seem like a tragic romance. Particularly after loving Promising Young Woman, this felt like mixed messaging for female empowerment.
So, taking away the first chunk of the story and then the latter chunk of the story and essentially having like six characters, you get this version of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. Like watered-down Kool-Aid, it’s refreshing but just not enough. Visually, it’s a feast. The wardrobe, scenery, and color theory are absolutely amazing and make it a gorgeous film to watch. The acting is certainly fantastic. It truly hits home the saying, “Monsters aren’t born, they’re created.” But these monsters are also not people to exemplify or desire to be. Heal yourself, walk away from people who would desire to control you. Find happiness in your own way, but not by emotionally manipulating or abusing others. We have enough of that. We don’t need more.
