This Wuthering Heights review says this Emerald Fennell’s take on the Gothic classic is a jewel box full of dazzling images that will inflame and intrigue.

Those who are concerned that this version of Wuthering Heights strays too far afield from Emily Brontë’s Gothic romance need to understand that writer/director Emerald Fennell never did intend this unorthodox bodice ripper to be a faithful adaptation of the original source material. It’s clearly and intentionally meant to more Wuthering Heights adjacent, or Wuthering Heights-ish.

It doesn’t claim to stay true to the plot or themes of the 18th Century Gothic novel, and is much better for it. With all due respect to Ms Brontë and those who are enraptured by her writing, I felt her only novel was a bit burdensome, overcooked and over complicated. While Fennell’s work is not unflawed, it’s ever so much more flamboyant and entertaining.

Fennell tells a more straightforward tale of the ill-fated love story between Catherine (Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi), mostly in truly arresting images, rather than words. Blood-sucking leaches on silky skin, fingers poking through gelatinous trout aspic, mountains of empty green wine bottles heaped behind a dying man, slippery raw eggs on a bed, yards of white gauze billowing over the moors—these supremely sensual images and more, many more, tell the story in ways that mere dialogue never could.

Pundits who complained that Robbie, at 34, was too old to play Catherine, and that Elordi, at 27, was also too old to play Heathcliff, can just get over it. Robbie’s quivering, creamy bosom heaves as heartily and frequently as any teenager’s, and Elordi broods with the most tragic of those who have been abandoned and brutalized. He had to grow up far too fast, which somewhat accounts for his cruelty in successive years.

Wuthering Heights review — the masters behind it

While the lead performances are arousingly demonstrative, there are also supporting performances that are not to be overlooked, including Martin Clunes (Doc Martin, Vanity Fair) as Catherine’s brutal father; the incomparable Owen Cooper, (Adolescence) as a young Heathcliff; the relative rookie Charlotte Mellington as young Catherine; and Alison Oliver (Saltburn, Christy) as Catherine’s sister-in-law Isabella.

Also doing extraordinary work are cinematographer Linus Sandgren (Saltburn, La La Land), production designer Suzie Davies (Saltburn, Conclave) Charli xcx, who is behind most of the current and soul-searing soundtrack. You hardly want to blink or sneeze for fear of missing out on one second of their work.

The plot itself is stripped down to the basics, without excessive characters or subplots. It’s basically a love story of a poor servant boy and a spoiled (comparatively) rich girl, who fall for each other in their youth. When she chooses money over love and marries rich, he is heartbroken, travels foreign, then returns after a lengthy absence having made a fortune. He torments her in alternately kinky and passionate ways, leading up to a heartbreaking ending, very different from the original.

This alternate ending would be the film’s biggest flaw, in that with so much emphasis on artistic contrivance, it’s unclear exactly what happens. In my confusion, I asked three different critics after our screening, and between us we had four different ideas. We all agreed on the same outcome, however— it may not matter all that much how we got there. It was the journey, not the destination.

In essence, Fennell’s Wuthering Heights is an extravagant modern vision, loosely based on 18th century source materials, that is bound to infatuate, inflame, infuriate, indulge and intrigue today’s audiences, depending on age and mindset.

Rated R

2 Hours 16 Minutes

If Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Wuthering Heights review induces you to saunter over to your local cineplex, find times and tickets at Fandango.com.

This Wuthering Heights review says this Emerald Fennell’s take on the Gothic classic is a jewel box full of dazzling images that will inflame and intrigue.