52 Films by Women Vol 10. 13. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (Director: Emerald Fennell)
Catherine Earnshaw, referred
to as Cathy, is not the most likeable of leading characters. The daughter of a
landowner, she only elicits sympathy for being without a mother. Her father
(Martin Clunes) is a drunken sot with a weakness for gambling. In Fennell’s
film, Cathy (played as a child by Charlotte Mellington and as an adult by Robbie)
is redeemed by her relationship with a boy renamed Heathcliff (Owen Cooper and
Jacob Elordi, cast as child and adult respectively), who is taken in to
Earnshaw’s household to be raised as a potential heir; Cathy names him after
her late brother. As children, the pair take walks together. On one fateful
day, Earnshaw’s birthday, they are caught in the rain. Cathy is confident that
it will cease, pointing out the blue sky in the distance. ‘It’ll take a while
before the blue comes here,’ reflects young Heathcliff. Indeed, the pair don’t
arrive home until late. Earnshaw is furious, but Heathcliff covers for Cathy,
claiming it is his fault. ‘She talked about nothing else except your birthday,’
he explains to the scowling Earnshaw, who has swept the dinner onto the floor,
claiming it is cold. Cathy escapes from the dining room and overhears
Heathcliff take a beating for her. Later young Heathcliff tells her that he
would do the same again. For her part, Cathy tries to teach Heathcliff to read.
Late to education, the boy struggles, somewhat to Cathy’s irritation.
As an adult, whilst
searching for Heathcliff, Cathy finds herself in the barn and witnesses the
stable boy, Joseph (Ewan Mitchell) seducing one of the house servants, Zillah
(Amy Morgan). Joseph puts a horse’s bridle over Zillah’s head and, it is
implied, rides her, albeit in a more bestial way. Cathy’s gasp is silenced by
Heathcliff, who has joined her; we only hear the sexual act. This is the second
occasion of untoward groaning. The first occurs at the start of the film. We
hear what we think is the sound of a mattress creaking and accompanying moaning
to discover a man dangling having been hanged, the crowd below pointing out his
arousal. Young Cathy witnesses this hanging, as does young Heathcliff, though
they have not yet met.
Pictured: Former lovers Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) and Cathy (Margot Robbie) in a scene from writer-director Emerald Fennell's visually bold adaptation of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel, 'Wuthering Heights'. Still courtesy of Warner Bros.
Fennell doesn’t shy
from presenting the fruits of Earnshaw’s drinking, his vomit, which the house
staff remark upon (at least it was outside). Clunes is cast very much against
his television persona – he is a staple of ITV’s family dramas – and appears
increasingly more repellent as the film progresses. His lack of charisma puts
Robbie and Elordi in relief. Cathy and Heathcliff comport themselves with more
decency, though Cathy does run off to the moors to pleasure herself in one
scene, shown in a discreet manner. She is discovered by Heathcliff who could be
of assistance, so to speak, should she so desire.
Cathy’s frustration
isn’t merely sexual. The Earnshaw household has a new neighbour, Edgar Linton (Shazad
Latif), who has not as yet invited Earnshaw to call on him. Cathy imagines him
looking for a wife. In spite of being told by her maid Nelly (Hong Chau) that ladies
do not call on gentlemen, Cathy decides to spy on Mr Linton, peering over a
tall hedge. She is spotted by Linton’s ward, Isabella (Alison Oliver) who
shrieks. Cathy falls backwards. The result is that she stays in the Linton
house for six weeks. When she returns to the family home, Cathy is radiant. As
Isabella, Alison Oliver offers comic relief. Her introduction, explaining the
plot of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to Linton (‘such exhaustive detail’)
is a highlight. Isabella is cultured but also silly. In a later scene, she
shows Cathy her dollhouse. Inside in an exact replica of her room. Fennell match
cuts from the actual room to the dollhouse version, the only major difference
being Isabella’s hand as it sets down the doll version of Cathy; I gasped and
laughed at the same time. Isabella explains that the hair on her doll comes
from brushing Cathy’s hair. It is so ‘singular’, she adds, much to Cathy’s
horror.
Pictured: The calm before a pawn. Isabella Linton (scene stealer Alison Oliver) in a scene from writer-director Emerald Fennell's bold adaptation of Emily Brontë's 'Wuthering Heights'. Still courtesy of Warner Bros
It isn’t long before
Cathy’s acquaintance with the Lintons turns into a proposal. ‘I said yes,’
Cathy tells Nelly whilst Heathcliff listens nearby. But does she love him?
Nelly has been in the house for years and was rankled when the boy Heathcliff
arrived, losing her mistress’s attentions. She knows Cathy’s heart. ‘I can’t
marry Heathcliff, it would degrade me,’ Cathy cries. Heathcliff has heard
enough and gallops off. When Cathy sees him next, he is without beard.
Cathy wears her
wedding dress as if it were a funeral, and we get to compare white and black
dresses later on. Her white train over the grass is something to behold,
filling the screen. Fennell’s visual confidence is considerable. Her use of
eggs and fresh fruit, hidden in bed to be sat on when one character is upset
with another, is inventive. Heathcliff’s return is signalled by such a
discovery. In the five years since Cathy and her adopted brother have been
apart, Cathy has struggled to conceive. However, she announces her pregnancy to
Edgar. Heathcliff in turn proclaims himself as Linton’s new neighbour, having
purchased Wuthering Heights, the Earnshaw family home.
The film is tightly
plotted, almost as tight as the wedding dress, worn masochistically by Cathy.
She fixates on the wounds on Heathcliff’s back, evidence of being whipped. In
being dressed, she acquires a matching wound. Costume design plays an important
part in the film. Cathy’s clothes illustrate her conflicted nature, a white
blouse contrasting with a red skirt. Only in ceremonies does she wear a single
colour. Heathcliff’s outfits are darker and layered, the better to conceal his
feelings. His inability to write also becomes a character point. He weaponizes
Isabella, who is besotted with him.
The production
design has flourishes of invention. Linton has Cathy’s room painted her
favourite colour – of her own skin, complete with beauty spot. In a moment
alone, Cathy places her hands against the wall as if she were trying to restore
some sensation to herself. She wants to feel again, to care.
Fennell doesn’t
follow Brontë’s plot but focuses instead on the part played by Nelly. Dismissed
by Cathy for not revealing that Heathcliff heard her talk about his suitability,
she nevertheless remains in the household, intercepting every letter addressed
to her. Heathcliff overhears that she is pregnant. ‘Is it mine?’ he asks. The
pregnancy provides the film’s denouement.
Robbie is fine as
Cathy, but it is Elordi who commands the screen. We believe in Heathcliff’s
compassion and cruelty. Heathcliff’s meeting with Isabella, drawing her to him
but explaining he does not love her – ‘shall I stop’ – is the standout dramatic
scene. We understand why, in an underpopulated community, Isabella would be
drawn to the stranger and why she foregoes her dignity, playing a long game
when she imagines Heathcliff would tire of his own contempt. Latif’s Linton is
a weak bystander, unable to prevent Heathcliff from opportuning his wife.
While Fennell’s Wuthering Heights does not move the audience to tears, and its
soundtrack – songs by Charli xcx – is less than effective, the film offers a
compelling – and paired down – study of obsession. Fennell isn’t sentimental.
She has a dark sense of humour. There is a moment during Heathcliff’s absence
when Cathy is told about a hanging. ‘This will be of interest to you,’ she is
informed. We hold our breath wondering if Heathcliff is for the gallows. A beat
later. ‘It is a woman’.
Reviewed at Cineworld
Ashford, Scene Seven, Ashford, Kent, Southern England, Wednesday 25 March 2025,
13:20 screening
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