“Wuthering Heights” – Lacks Support For Its Scintillating Stars

There is no one these days that can get audiences hot and bothered like writer-director Emerald Fennell. Pushing the boundaries with her debut, 2020’s ‘Promising Young Woman‘ and 2023’s ‘Saltburn,’ she looks to do so once again with “Wuthering Heights” (the quotes do a lot of heavy lifting here). Another adaptation of Emily Brontë’s book of the same name, it pairs stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw in this loose adaptation of the source material. Already causing controversy by the casting of the latter as Heathcliff, suffice it to say that diehard fans are likely to be mixed on this latest version. Either way, while the film may not reach the heights of Fennell’s previous works, the aforementioned Robbie and Elordi, and their collective star power, go a long way in making it work. In spite of its flaws, the toxic whirlwind romance of Catherine and Heathcliff does an admirable job at keeping audiences on edge. However, where the film fails is in supporting that central storyline, leaving very little in the way of developed supporting characters to fill in the rest of the film around them. That being said, an always reliable Hong Chau and an unhinged Alison Oliver do their best to help prop it up.

The source material as a point of reference in terms of story, but “Wuthering Heights” is centered around the relationship between Catherine Earnshaw (Robbie) and Heathcliff (Elordi), an orphan who found his way into her life at a young age and has been close friends with her ever since. Over time, that relationship became something more as the two undoubtedly harbored feelings for one another. Unfortunately, Catherine and Heathcliff found themselves at a hierarchical impasse as any prospect of marriage was not in the cards for them, or at least, it would be a great detriment to her social standing moving forward. Whatever feelings Catherine and Heathcliff may have had for one another, they wouldn’t matter as the future of her family’s estate was on the line. With her alcoholic and gambling-addicted father (Martin Clunes) spending away the Earnshaw family fortune, they were in need of a major lifeline. Fortunately, that lifeline would come in the form of Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif), who moved in to Thrushcross Grange, the neighboring estate to Wuthering Heights with his ward Isabella (Alison Oliver). A man of great wealth, it made sense on paper for Catherine to marry him, but Heathcliff did not approve.

Making quite the impression on Edgar and Isabella, he asked for Catherine’s hand in marriage. However, this predicament left her at an emotional crossroads, choosing Edgar would be the logical choice, as opposed to Heathcliff who she confessed to love, though acknowledged the detriment that it would cause to her. Overhearing an intimate conversation between her and her longtime friend/servant Nelly (Chau), Heathcliff stormed off after learning he was not chosen, missing Catherine instantly changing her mind. At that point, it didn’t matter as she essentially had no choice but to marry Edgar. Waiting for the possibility of Heathcliff’s return, it became clear that he would not return and that she could no longer delay her wedding to Edgar. To her credit, he was a nice man and a great husband to her, affording her a lavish lifestyle. Nevertheless, she still longed for his return. Five years after Heathcliff’s departure, Catherine and Edgar’s marriage, and her being pregnant with his child, the situation grew more complicated with his sudden return and mysterious newfound wealth that he used to buy Wuthering Heights. Instead of being happy to see her, Heathcliff remained angry with Catherine over her choice to marry Edgar instead of him. Plotting to get back at her, his aim was to make her jealous.

Once Isabella becomes infatuated with Heathcliff, all hell would break loose, as Catherine became her latest target. Above all else, she and Heathcliff can only resist their feelings for so long as they went hot and heavy over the course of a secret affair. Ultimately, it was only a matter of time until the truth would surface and threatened to drive them apart. With the volatility of Catherine and Heathcliff, there is very little that can stop them, regardless of the questionable acts they commit against each other. Taking out his frustration on Isabella, she became a BDSM slave that submitted to his degradation of her, all the while becoming his wife. Sending Catherine into a deep depression, something had to give, but, for better or worse, they were meant for each other.

On a technical level, beautiful cinematography, clean production design, along with an impactful score and cool soundtrack by Charlie XCX, puts audiences in the right mood, as the narrative does just enough to get by. Besides Robbie and Elordi’s Catherine and Heathcliff, the best part of “Wuthering Heights”, the film lacks enough of a hook. In the end, it’s not their fault as their scintillating chemistry does most of the heavy lifting here, adaptation accuracy aside. Despite underwritten characters, hoping that their star power would fill the gaps, they still command the screen, perhaps Elordi more so than Robbie, thanks to his imposing stature. Meanwhile, Chau makes the most out of her limited screen time and Oliver is delightfully unhinged in her limited screen time as Isabella. Other than them, no other supporting characters make a dent.

“Wuthering Heights” may not be a by-the-book adaptation, but is an Emerald Fennell movie through and through. Leaning heavily on the star power of Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, the film lacks a well-rounded narrative to support them.

still courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.