Okay gonna pretend I’m a film critic cause I watched “Wuthering Heights” by Emerald Fennell last Friday.
I’d give it a solid 6.5-7/10, not wow, not bad (in my opinion).
Firstly (and as everyone expected), it is not a faithful adaptation of the book. So as an English lit major I wasn’t gonna be purposefully annoying and virtue signal that it wasn’t what I expected, like many of you losers online.
It’s not that deep, it’s just a different portrayal of the story. (The OG Wuthering Heights story between Cathy & Heathcliff is only 1/3 of the book btw for those who didn’t know.)
That being said, I do think that Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi were both fundamentally miscast, even for this adaptation. They didn’t really have this “can’t live without you”-type chemistry. I just wasn’t buying it.
Both of them are also kinda old-looking for their respective parts. Robbie, especially, does not sell the whole “spoiled little girl Cathy” very well since she has looked 30 since she was 20 (not an insult btw, she still looks 30 as a 35 y/o, and is incredibly beautiful and talented, but it doesn’t fit for Cathy). Elordi, on the other hand, is very unbelievable as Heathcliff. He gave a wonderful performance in Frankenstein, which I loved very much, but here he reminded me of his role in The Kissing Booth…I thought Shazad Latif exuded more sexual charisma as boring ass Edgar.
Latif, Hong Chau, and Alison Oliver were great in their respective roles. I really enjoyed watching their scenes. The lack of real tension between Cathy and Heathcliff made me root for Nelly as she was sabotaging their relationship. Like yeah, they kinda deserve to die in this adaptation 😭 (in MY opinion).
The sex scenes were very mild also, not nearly as “pervy” as some of you pearl clutchers love to exclaim for likes on the internet. Very, very mild and vanilla. I’m sure the sex scenes in Heated Rivalry are more intense and interesting than in this film.
Lastly, I have to say that the cinematography and costumes were absolutely beautiful, no need to lie here. Aesthetics have never been an issue for Fennell.
Also, the way some of you criticize her and the women who do enjoy this film is incredibly disappointing and misogynistic. Y’all would rather spew that Fennell “belongs in the kitchen like a real woman” like those right-wingers instead of constructively criticizing her work. Fucking morons. Being sexist for internet likes will never get you anywhere in life btw, it’ll only set us back.
Okay, that was that. I probably won’t voluntarily watch it again, but if my girlies wanted to do movie night with this film, it also wouldn’t be the worst.
Xoxoxo tumblr user betterthanpills