In the foggy hills of Yorkshire Dales, Northern England, the classic novel from the 1850s called “Wuthering Heights” was brought to life. The powerful rain and mossy valleys of this gothic world is the setting for the book by Emily Brontë that has now been adapted into a movie directed by Emerald Fennell. The film “Wuthering Heights” is directly based on the novel but adopts a variety of creative choices that cause for a plot surrounding the romance between the two main characters, Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff. However, the original novel by Emily Brontë expands more on the following effects of their actions over generations to come.
This newly released film, featuring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as leading roles, has interpreted this famous literary piece in a touching way that explores the complex relationship between forbidden lovers. This varies from Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights that emphasizes the lasting consequences and future of the characters along with their offspring. The actors in the movie perform these tragic characters with the help of setting, costumes, and props that represent deep symbols that further develop the theme of the effects of internal conflict and obsessive desire. Both versions represent the struggle with lack of freedom in traditional societies that value money and position over love and happiness.
One of the most significant differences between the novel and the film is the treatment of secondary characters and generational consequences. In Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, she explores the lives of English wealthy families and their servants as they suffer from the effects of social classes. She writes from the point of view of a renter in the area who hears the detailed history of the Earnshaws and Lintons from their housemaid named Nelly. The renter, Mr. Lockwood, lives in the time of the next generation while the story erupts from his curiosity of local drama. Additionally, the book includes Catherine’s older brother, Hindley along with his background and issues.
The new “Wuthering Heights” leaves out these side characters and limits their cast to those that add to the new plot. This creates a film more secluded and focused on the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff. Though the film adds many of the same characters from the novel, their personalities and distinctive traits change in the movie. Both works incorporate the two families living in Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, the Earnshaws and the Lintons. The two pieces share the periods of the characters’ childhood and adulthood, but the book is the only one that expands to the following generation. There is a clear separation of wealth between the families in both stories that leads Catherine to pursue the Lintons. Yet Emerald Fennell directs the film in the sense that the couple found ways to revolt against expectations, but Brontë writes their story in a more forbidden way. After all, the movie is only an interpretation, which is what the quotations reference in the title of the film, “Wuthering Heights.”
Emerald Fennell’s reimagination of this classic tale was built with all the cinematography elements including setting, props, costumes, and of course, actors. The director selects the location of filming based directly on the setting in the book. The misty, vast hills of Northern England cause for a mysterious and somber atmosphere. The audience takes in the suspense when thunder and rain divert the course of the film to match the feelings of the characters. Furthermore, the props used throughout act as symbols like selfishness, jealousy, and loneliness. For example, there are scenes that show meaningful items like sculptures, a dollhouse, carriages, and more that also add to the time period of the piece that is the 1800s. Another aspect that contributes to the era is the costumes and accessories that actors wear. Margot Robbie, as Catherine, is seen in elaborate corsets and layered dresses with a variety of colors after visiting the Lintons in Thrushcross Grange. This differs from her attire at the beginning of the film when she lived at Wuthering Heights and continues the idea of social classes and level of wealth. Margot Robbie is also decorated with fancy jewelry that go with the type of scene or situation that the character encounters. Other actors are given costumes based on their position, servants with simple dresses and nobles with detailed suits.
Lastly, this movie wouldn’t be what it is without the actors that brought the whole thing together. This version of “Wuthering Heights” begins with the childhood of the characters, requiring them to match young actors to the older designs. Then, the story progresses with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi who take on the tragic lovers, Catherine and Heathcliff. The actors captured these complicated roles in a perfect way, accurately portraying their growing love, obsessive desire, and complex internal conflict. Overall, the setting, props, costumes, and actors have successfully immortalized this classic novel under the direction of Emerald Fennell, creating a cinematic masterpiece.
To sum it up, the famous Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë has been transformed into the modern interpretation “Wuthering Heights” directed by Emerald Fennell and portrayed by a talented cast. These separate works share many similarities but also are completely different at the same time. Though the film includes purposeful symbols that add to its theme and message, the novel is still worth reading to continue exploring the lives of Catherine and Heathcliff. The book Wuthering Heights has been popular for centuries and has been developed into countless adaptations or interpretations, but nothing beats the original. Find out for yourself and watch the movie in theaters and read the book today.
