Everyone knows the plot to Emily Bronte’s novel, Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff, an orphan from unknown origins, is taken in and he develops a close relationship with his foster sister, Catherine. His foster brother on the other hand is not as keen about the arrival and bullies Heathcliff to such an extent that revenge becomes the only thing that keeps him going later on. However, when Heathcliff’s foster father dies, the bullying intensifies and eventually Heathcliff runs away. Years pass before he comes back to reclaim his place in the family as a successful businessman and so that he can finally get his revenge… Sadly, upon his arrival, Catherine has become a married woman and things aren’t exactly as he had hoped.
Wuthering Heights is a classic tale, where love and revenge goes hand in hand. That being said, Wuthering Heights would not be Wuthering Heights if it wasn’t for The Moors… The Moors (Yorkshire, England) is one of the most beautiful sceneries in the world and director Andrea Arnold was able to capture the majesty of the area perfectly in this film, whilst keeping the story intact. On a side note though, don’t expect this to be an ordinary, classic tale. Andrea Arnold takes Emily Bronte’s tale and turns it into something different where racial problems also becomes a part of the tragic story of Heathcliff and Catherine.
As a fan of Wuthering Heights, I was intrigued to see what Andrea Arnold would do with her adaptation and sadly, I find that it didn’t succeed as well as I hoped. Sure, we have the actual tale there and the accompanying racial tension (which is not necessarily a part of the original version), but there happens so much in the book alone and there’s so little time to get everything told, that in some ways it fails. Of course, this is a brilliant film to get someone interested in Emily Bronte’s tale, but there are so many better versions out there… That being said, there is one thing that cannot be taken away from this film and that’s the scenery. Everything is so exceptionally Yorkshire, from the actors to the canary in the cage, that no other version can come close in that regard. Frankly, it’s beautiful to watch.
Heathcliff has always captured the minds and fantasies of women and this unconventional version’s Heathcliff will do the same thing. Handsome, complex and kind of a bad-boy for the time, women all want a Heathcliff to come home to.
If you want to know why women love Wuthering Heights, don’t hesitate to get your hands on the film. If you want to know what women want in a man then get your hands on Wuthering Heights… Most of all, if you want to see why this version is truly wonderful scenery wise, get it.
I’ll give this version a 6/10 star rating.
