Review: “Wuthering Heights” is lush and imaginative, but could’ve been meatier

Writer-director Emerald Fennell emphasized in her press interviews for “Wuthering Heights” that quotation marks have to be included in the official title.

For one, this is her interpretation of Emily Brontë’s landmark novel. The way she sees it is when she read the book growing up. And second, because it is a very loose adaptation. 

We follow the same love story. Catherine Earnshaw (Margot Robbie) falls in love with her adopted brother Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi). Economic pressures forced Catherine to wed a wealthy husband, leaving Heathcliff to flee and make his own fortune.

Five years later, Heathcliff returns with affluence to lure Catherine back. They will soon both realize that going back to old conditions may be harder than they think.

“Wuthering Heights” only covered two-thirds of Brontë’s multi-generational tale, leaving the more profound themes of vengeance and reconciliation. But what Fennell left is an accessible version of the story, even if it meant replacing the grander confrontations between Catherine and Heathcliff with erotic exchanges. It is expected after all, coming from the director of “Saltburn” and “Promising Young Woman”. 

Fennell has made a name for herself by staying true to her own vision. Her latest work is no short of creativity, though I wish she covered more desolate grounds. “Wuthering Heights” can be unapologetic in its presentation of sex, but plenty of times it doesn’t feel seductive enough. 

Catherine and Heathcliff clearly cannot resist each other. Leaving more time to set up and anticipate the kisses and fornication would’ve made a big difference. 

Robbie and Elordi did great here, but I feel the younger actors playing their counterparts, Charlotte Mellington and Owen Cooper, respectively, made the more exceptional turn in this movie. 

“Wuthering Heights” is lush and imaginative, but with the direction they’re going here with Fennell’s direction, it could’ve been meatier, for the lack of a better term. I would still recommend it because this is no by-the-numbers “Wuthering Heights”, and a playful version of something will always be better than a plain adaptation. 

“Wuthering Heights” is now showing in cinemas.

Featured images from Warner Bros. Pictures.