What You Should Know Before Watching Wuthering Heights

I want to start by saying that it’s very clear from the trailers that this won’t be a “true” adaptation of the original Wuthering Heights written by Emily Brontë; it is definitely more inspired by it. Based on what we’ve seen so far, many important pieces from the novel will be left out. However, I do also think that this will be a really good movie. Here are a few things you should know if you’re planning on watching it.

It’s not a romance

All of the promotional material for this movie is making it seem like it’ll be a fluffy romance story, but it’s far from that. It’s traumatic and devastating; there is no happy ever after. There is even a bit of a horror element in the story, considering it features animal cruelty, grave digging, obsession, and generational revenge. The director of this film is Emerald Fennell, and she also directed Slatburn, which was a crazy and good movie, and it showed obsession very well. I think all of the toxic aspects of this story will definitely be in the movie.

The whitewashing of Heathcliff

When Jacob Elordi was revealed to be Heathcliff, a lot of backlash sparked online. The book describes Heathcliff as “dark-skinned” and is implied to be of Romany or South Asian descent. Part of the reason Heathcliff gets so mistreated is because of his skin color. This mistreatment is one of the main reasons why he decides to get revenge. I wonder how the movie will build up Heathcliff’s character now that they have gotten rid of a crucial piece. Interestingly, Shazed Latif (who is of Pakistani descent) was cast as Edgar Linton, who is described as “fair, blue-eyed.” Did they reverse the character’s race on purpose?

Some characters are missing

While looking at the trailers and the cast list, I noticed that some characters are missing. It seems like the 2nd generation, the protagonists’ children, won’t be featured in the movie. It's looking like the focus will be entirely on Cathy, Heathcliff, and Edgar. With the erasure of these characters, the whole story shifts. Instead of being a story about multi-generational trauma, it’s a story about how people can destroy each other. I personally don’t like this change. I think it removes a lot of tension from the story, and that without it, the movie might feel a bit fast-paced.

These are the 3 major things I think people should know before going to the theater and watching Wuthering Heights. Honestly, I think if you have read the book, it’ll probably be a good idea to separate the film and the book in your mind. I think if you go into it thinking that they’re different stories, then you’ll be able to enjoy the movie better. If you haven’t read the book, I definitely recommend reading it. It’s for sure one of the best books I ever read. The movie comes out this week on Valentine’s Day, and I can’t wait to go see it. The costumes and sets looked so amazing in the trailers; I have high expectations for this movie. 

(Image from the official Wuthering Heights trailer)