What's up with "Wuthering Heights"?

What's up with "Wuthering Heights"?

In case you missed it, there’s a new movie version of Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights that’s out in theatres... It’s the latest imagining of the tale of Catherine and Heathcliff - a love story that has both captivated and divided audiences since it was first published in 1847 - and its retelling has caused just as much of a stir. So in this Squiz Shortcut, we'll explain:

• The ongoing fascination with the novel

• Why director Emerald Fennell’s take on it has attracted so much controversy

• And how it’s been received…

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Squiz the Shortcut

Why is this movie such a big deal?
Well, it’s been especially big in Australia because 2 of our biggest stars are in the lead roles. They’re of course Margot Robbie as Catherine (or Cathy, as she’s known) and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff. But it’s also because Wuthering Heights is one of literature’s most beloved - and debated - classics, which means any adaptation was always going to invite scrutiny. What’s pushed this one into controversy territory is the unconventional approach taken by director Emerald Fennell, which has divided audiences almost as fiercely as the novel itself.

How has she gone about it?
You might notice that the title of the film “Wuthering Heights” is in quotation marks. That’s on purpose - Fennell says she made the movie based on how the book made her feel as a teenager reading it, rather than being faithful to the story. That’s afforded her a fair bit of artistic licence, and she’s made a version where the heavier themes of the novel are dialled down, while the sexy times are dialled way up. We’ll get to what the critics are saying about that in a bit… 

Got it… Just remind me what the story’s about…
As a very brief summary, it’s the story of an orphaned boy brought into a family on the Yorkshire moors. The boy, Heathcliff, forms a bond with the daughter in the family, Catherine - they essentially grow up together - but that bond is shattered when she marries a man from a wealthier family for social status.  

How very dare she…
That’s exactly what Heathcliff thinks… He doesn’t take it well at all. He vows vengeance and leaves, but then returns some years later as a rich man and sets out to ruin both families through financial means and forced marriages. Needless to say, it’s widely acknowledged that none of the characters in the book are particularly likeable. Nevertheless, it’s considered to be a literary classic, and it’s still studied in schools for its commentary on class, race, family and trauma. 

How was it received when it was published?
It was originally published under the male pseudonym of “Ellis Bell” (back in the mid-19th century, books by women weren’t taken all that seriously), and right from the get-go the book shocked critics for its depictions of violence and dark themes. One reviewer at the time in Philadelphia's Graham's Magazine described it as a “compound of vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors”. 

Hang on, so why is this latest movie incarnation billed as “The greatest love story of all time”...?
Well, that’s the message (coupled with the film’s release the day before Valentine’s Day) that’s had quite a few critics calling out Fennell for romanticising toxic relationships… But experts say most of the criticism is coming from people drawing comparisons to the book - and just on that, sales of the novel around the world have skyrocketed in recent weeks…

Oh yeah?
Ahead of the movie coming out, sales of Wuthering Heights in the UK alone jumped by 469% year-on-year for the month of January, and it’s a trend happening in the US and here in Oz too… But what first-time readers are finding is that it’s a much more complicated love story than they possibly bargained for - given it’s set against a backdrop of domestic violence, addiction and generational trauma that basically causes everyone to be miserable for most of the book.

Sounds like a real page-turner… Why do people like it so much?
It was transgressive in its themes for its time, and many of them are still relevant today. And whatever you make of the characters, there is a tragic love story at the heart of the novel that’s been striking a chord with people for almost 180 years. Many fans of the book say they love it because the emotion in the story really cut through to them in a visceral way when they first read it as teenagers… And Fennell says she was affected by it in that way too…

What has she said about it?
She says she first read it when she was 14yo and was so taken with it that she’s wanted to turn it into a film ever since. And if you don’t know who Fennell is, she’s the director behind 2023’s Saltburn which deals with themes of class and privilege, and Promising Young Woman, which is about consent, rape culture and revenge… In other words, she’s known for producing provocative, unsettling content - and, it’s fair to say her version of Wuthering Heights has got a lot of people talking, even if it’s widely acknowledged as being, as The Times of London brilliantly put it, “not the full Brontë”. 

Is all the chatter helping at the box office?
The numbers show it’s on track to be a huge success. Reports say it took an estimated $117 million globally on its opening weekend, which means it’s already earned back its estimated budget of $113 million. 

And how is it being received?
Just as they are over the novel, critics are largely divided over the movie… It’s sitting at 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, but the reviews have varied wildly from one star to 5… When it comes to the gripes, some reviewers aren’t happy that Elordi was cast as Heathcliff when he’s described in the novel as being “a dark-skinned gypsy” - they say it’s whitewashing. Others aren’t pleased that the film only deals with the first half of the book - there’s a whole second generation that gets cut out… But mostly the negative reviews say the movie has softened some of the weightier themes of the novel in order to make it more palatable, and even though it’s visually beautiful, they say it delivers more on style than substance. 

And what about the good ones?
On the other hand, critics who loved it really loved it. The BBC called it “bold” and “swoonily romantic”, and The Australian’s Nikki Gemmell gave it 5-stars and said Fennell is “one of the most commercially interesting directors in the world, alongside [Barbie and Little Women director] Greta Gerwig” and “they’re making art of provocation, wit and deep thought”... But of course, the best way to judge the new film if you’re interested is to grab some popcorn and watch it for yourself…

Onto our Recommendations

Listening: We mentioned that lots of people are reading/re-reading the novel. The team from The Secret Life of Books podcast have revisited it too, and they discuss the thorny question of whether or not it really is the greatest love story of all time…

Listening: Following that thread, Cassie McCullagh from The Bookshelf Podcast explains how the book affected her when she first read it as a teen, and how, with each re-read, she takes away something new… That’s on our Squiz Quiz this week.

Watching: Back to the movie - this clip of Margot Robbie recreating Kate Bush’s iconic dance in the video clip to her 1978 hit song Wuthering Heights is something to behold... It was taken on the last day of shooting, Margot’s in a flowing red skirt and lip-syncing to Kate out on the wily, windy moors, of course…

Reading: And if you want to know more about the costumes in the movie, The Conversation has come through with this article all about them, with plenty of photos…

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