Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers to “Wuthering Heights.” The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of The Point.
For the past three months, since the trailer first dropped, Warner Bros. has been calling “Wuthering Heights” the greatest love story of all time. But is it actually?
As I walked into the small, dimly lit movie theater and took my seat between my friends, I wasn’t surprised to see that the majority of people there were college-aged girls like us. The biggest reason I was there was because “Wuthering Heights” stars Jacob Elordi (Heathcliff) and Margot Robbie (Catherine), two actors I adore. I imagine all the other girls around me were there for similar reasons, or perhaps they were there because of the unending hype surrounding the film’s release.
Whether I was on Instagram or Snapchat, it seemed like I was only getting ads for “Wuthering Heights.” While I didn’t read the book and any early reviews of the film to avoid spoilers, it seemed like the ads and trailers were drenched in risqué, unbridled passion. It was an intriguing angle to take, but one that apparently worked since my theater was packed.
Aside from the ads, I genuinely had no idea what to expect going into the film. I was afraid the film would purely focus on the passionate fire between Heathcliff and Catherine, but I was pleasantly surprised by their slow burn that didn’t pick up speed until halfway through the showing.
But it went back and forth from being one of the most beautiful films I’ve ever seen to being absurdly cheesy. Sometimes they had a gorgeous line, like Heathcliff’s whisper, “So kiss me, and let us both be damned,” to Catherine. However, when Heathcliff randomly grabbed Catherine by the corset in a scene that’s supposed to be romantic, my entire theater burst into laughter.
If I learned anything from watching “Wuthering Heights,” it’s that it’s so hard for books to translate into movies well. Although they might carry similar themes, they often miss out on some of the gravitas that is only offered in its original form. Although I have yet to read the book, it felt like the romance between Heathcliff and Catherine in the book wasn’t fully translated to movie form very well – especially when Catherine cheats on her husband, Edgar.
If “Wuthering Heights” is really supposed to be the greatest love story of all time, love must be toxic. Catherine’s willingness to lose everything – even her own husband – in this wild, dead-end pursuit of love made me despise her character in many ways. Similarly, Heathcliff marrying Edgar’s ward, Isabella, and treating her like an animal, made all his charm disappear to me.
I had to remind myself that this is based on a work of gothic literature by Emily Brontë, so of course it’s going to be a little wacky. But no matter how much I tried to look past Heathcliff and Catherine’s flaws, I felt they couldn’t be justified. In our modern world, there are already so many toxic relationships that people think are normal – why further this narrative and add fuel to the already-kindled fire?
When the movie ended, I felt incredibly out of place as I looked around and saw everyone sobbing at the death of Catherine. Because of her insane cruelty throughout the film, I felt so disconnected from her character. If anything, I felt her death was inevitable and, in some ways, deserved. The film had been foreshadowing her death from the beginning, from the blood-red hallway walls of Edgar’s mansion to Catherine’s own red and black dresses. I was surprised her death hadn’t come sooner, and that she didn’t die in some horrific way because of the frequent mention of hanging at the beginning of the film.
Another issue I had with it was the music. Charli XCX felt incredibly out of place in a period piece. As great as her songs are, they just don’t feel like they belong in a film set in the late 18th century. There would be a beautiful, enrapturing moment between Heathcliff and Catherine or Edgar and Catherine, and then I’d get so taken out by pop songs that reminded me that this is, in fact, just a movie filmed in the 21st century.
I still don’t know what to make of “Wuthering Heights.” It was gorgeous and awful all at once; it was absurd and sensual. But is it the greatest love story of all time? Absolutely not. I think The Washington Post explained it the best: “This isn’t love, actually, but try telling that to a 19-year-old lit major on her first Brontë acid trip.”
Adee Tulcan