“Wuthering Heights”

‍ ‍Catherine runs blindly through the thick fog, the dense air filling her lungs and making it difficult to breathe. With each step, the many fabrics of her ridiculously extravagant dress tangle with her legs, threatening to trip her. It couldn’t be true. It’s been five years. Five long years since she laid eyes on her best friend, her other half. Heathcliff left before she could confess her true feelings that have settled like rocks at the bottom of her heart, constantly weighing her down and never letting her forget that he still exists somewhere out there. The stubborn hope that he might one day return started to seem less and less like a possibility. But now it has happened. He’s come back and he’s bought her family’s home. Catherine stumbles, catching herself so she doesn’t fall to the ground, her breath heaving in and out of her chest. It can’t be true. Not after all the years she’s spent trying to move on. Why now? Why come back now? She takes another couple steps forward, then spins around, desperate to see a figure, a shadow, anything in this dense mist blanketing the moors. All of the sudden an awareness settles over her, the feeling of eyes watching her prickles her skin. Her breath now barely leaves her lips. She swallows and turns around. There, in between two towering tors some short distance in front of her, stands a silhouette of a man. As a small breeze flows through and the fog thins ever so slightly. It’s him, Heathcliff. Except he’s different. His hair has been cut short and groomed into curls, and his ragged dirt covered clothes have been replaced with expensive suit fabrics. Everything is fitted perfectly to his body and he holds himself with a commanding stance, as if he has come to claim what rightfully belongs to him. However, his expression hasn’t changed. He still gazes at Catherine with those same soft and kind eyes, a burning love seeping through.

Catherine and Heathcliff are two friends that have grown up together in the foggy moors of northern England. Under the oppression of an abusive father figure, they form an unbreakable bond with each other. As they grow older, their friendship secretly turns into more, both silently yearning to be with one another. But since Heathcliff is only considered part of the staff and well below her class, it is unthinkable for Catherine to marry Heathcliff. When a new decadently rich neighbor named Edgar moves in and catches Catherine’s attention, miscommunication drives Heathcliff to disappear before Catherine can say how she truly feels. Catherine marries Edgar with a sorrow in her heart, wondering if she will ever see Heathcliff again. Five years pass and Catherine has become quite comfortable in her new wealth. So comfortable that she’s bored, nothing in her new life providing the same companionship she used to have with Heathcliff. However, things shift dramatically when Heathcliff suddenly comes back transformed, now a rich and handsome bachelor himself. Catherine is torn between doing right by her husband and giving into the unrelenting desire to be with the person she has always loved. Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, a film based on the book of the same name by Emily Brontë, is a refreshing and passionate revival of an old, highly praised and famously revered romance.

Fennell has done it again. The colors. The set design. The wardrobe. Every little detail of this film is awe strikingly stylized. The stunning vividity and dramatic flare of this production is addictingly beautiful. The set design is portrayed as if a stage play were materialized into the real world, very textualized with a haunting tone settled into each shot. It’s all tied together with a consistent theme of shadowy blacks, silky whites, and viciously rich reds, mimicking the deep seeded nature of desire and longing that is the love story between Catherine and Heathcliff. While these colors are represented within almost every scene of the film, the most notable is the costume designs for Catherine specifically. Since the majority of the story takes place through her perspective, the dresses she wears mirrors her inner vibrance.

The mansion she lives in with her new husband is another disturbingly well designed setting, every room decked out in extravagance, yet laced with an unsettling and obsessive undertone. Fennell also does a captivating job of visually depicting lust through glorified and texturizing shots of menial activities, amplifying movements and sounds to add a sexual context when there normally isn't one. Much like how it feels when a person is overcome with desire and doesn't understand their sexual frustration, everything around them suddenly becoming erotically charged. Like Fennell’s previous films (Saltburn and Promising Young Woman), she has brilliantly designed her mise-en-scene in such an artistic and entrancing manner. Charlie XCX’s soundtrack for the film is also incredibly notable in creating the tone for this version of Brontë’s story. The eerie and edgy soundscape adds a whole other level to what’s happening within each scene, amplifying the intense emotions of these beloved characters.

Yearning has become the renewed in-demand genre of romantic cinema. The renowned Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi have delivered stunning performances in this classic tale of seduction and passion. Catherine and Heathcliff are in a perpetual state of longing after one another, completely consumed by their obsession of getting the other to confess. Margot Robbie gracefully depicts Catherine as a sinfully curious and spontaneous young woman, discovering what it truly means to love someone. Jacob Elordi compliments Margot’s performance with his own portrayal of the complex and quietly sensitive Heathcliff, his sole focus to make himself worthy of Catherine's affections. The two actors have an intense chemistry, their lust for each other’s characters seeping out of the screen. Margot and Jacob create an excellent build up of tension, acing the make or break of every great romance film.

‍ ‍Wuthering Heights is a story that has been told many times, in many different versions. Fennell’s version tastefully depicts Catherine and Heathcliff’s unrelenting friendship, lust, and love for each other. The theme of hidden feelings, desperate yearning, and a game of tantalizing seduction has given this classic tale an impressive modern revision. This film is a beautiful tragedy of two soulmates desperately trying to find a way to be together, their love forever unwavering. It’s a story that has held through the test of time, resonating with audiences through generations. Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights is a testament to the passionate love stories of the written word and to the gorgeous artistry of filmmaking.