Buffalo films: Wuthering Heights

By Matthew Turner
(Image above: L-R — Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in ‘Wuthering Heights’)

Emerald Fennell, for better or for worse, has become one of the most iconic directors of the millennial generation.

From winning an Oscar for her debut thriller Promising Young Woman to showing everyone her freak in the black comedy Saltburn, Fennell has made a name for herself through gorgeous cinematography with eye-rolling smug dialogue that makes you wish she directed silent films. So what better director to helm yet another adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights for the BookTok generation?

In Fennell’s Wuthering Heights she enlists former collaborators Margot Robbie, with whom she co-starred in 2023’s Barbie, and Jacob Elordi, co-star of the exhausting Saltburn, to fill the massive boots of Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, respectively.

Both actors thankfully avoid having iPad faces that would cause viewers to just think that they are watching modern actors acting instead of real characters. I only wish that the employment of pop legend Charli XCX as the writer of the film’s original music could be changed in order to help further the immersion.

Any hesitance to this film is understandable from the perspective of a book snob not wanting Elordi as Heathcliff, or an Emerald Fennell skeptic, or boomers who do not know what a Charli XCX is or those not wanting a Saltburn-level shockfest that tarnishes the source material. For this reviewer, who is a skeptic and one who was thoroughly offended by Saltburn’s existence, the film fails miserably at being a disappointment.

Brontë’s heartwrenching tale of love, loss, regret and high society translates into a film that revels in not being your grandma’s romance, but strays too far from a bodily fluid-soaked celebration of spoils to be exploitative. Instead, it is a surprisingly tender and entertaining film that understands the characters as human, while not shying away from their physical expressions of love. These are realized characters that Robbie and Elordi bring to life with their typical charm, as opposed to the Fennell archetype of one-dimensional snobs that get high off their own supply. 

Rounding out the cast is the always delightful Hong Chau as Catherine’s life-long companion with ulterior motives: Nelly; Shazad Latif as the aloof and unaffected husband to Catherine: Edgar Linton; and Alison Oliver as Edgar’s sister and the human embodiment of A03: Isabella Linton.

While these supporting roles take a backseat to the central romance, Chau and Linton don’t just make meals out of their lines. They are devouring feasts with every line delivery and facial expression. Oliver in particular stands out as the film progresses and she becomes Heathcliff’s object to bait jealousy from Catherine. In what is by definition a thankless role, Oliver swings for the fences and brings physical gravitas to the performance through her transformation from mousy introvert to animalistic sidekick. 

As per usual for a Fennell film, Wuthering Heights is an absolute joy to look at. Wide shots of the English countryside give the film a timeless, picturesque feeling which makes the film an effective antidote to the sleek, cold digital style flooding theaters and the wasteland of slop that is Netflix. One would be forgiven for losing focus on the dialogue at any given moment to stare in awe at the gorgeous backdrops. For all of the hardcore film-heads out there, I highly recommend checking out this VistaVision dream at the IMAX so you can truly get lost. 

Without giving too much away plot-wise for an adaptation of a 150 + year old novel, it must be stated that this film is worth the watch. Ignore the annoying advertising, ignore the departure from the source material and most importantly: ignore that it is from the same director as Saltburn.

Wuthering Heights is a film that is the antithesis of the modern-day romantic film. The film is sensual, moving, fearless, gorgeous to look at, exquisitely realized, and it cements Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie as two of the most charismatic stars of the modern-day. For those of you that want to celebrate Valentine’s Day weekend, drop the Heated Rivalry for a few hours and speed on over to your local theater to experience Wuthering Heights with your significant other.

Matthew Turner is a scholar of all things film and a teacher of English.