The newest Wuthering Heights adaptation by Emerald Fennell has received its fair share of backlash due to its casting choices. With Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi set to play Catherine and Heathcliff many are feeling actor fatigue – it does seem like the same already famous people are being cast in everything nowadays and long gone are the days where someone would be discovered on the street to give a life-changing performance.
People are also doubtful of the casting because of the ambiguity of Heathcliff’s race in the novel. Although his ethnicity is never explicitly stated, he is initially described as a “dark-skinned gypsy.” This phrasing doesn’t directly indicate race – in the 19th century the term “dark-skinned” was used to describe anyone differing from the fair-skinned Yorkshire norm. Even so, many readers still interpret Heathcliff as potentially having African, South Asian, or Romani heritage. This also stems from his status as an outsider: he enters the novel as a rescued homeless orphan and is treated with striking hostility by those around him, which some modern interpretations read as at least partly racialised.
Another aspect people have an issue with is the advertising of the movie as ‘the greatest love story of all time.’ In my view, Wuthering Heights is above all a revenge novel. So, although Heathcliff is one of the greatest yearners in literature, it wasn’t my main takeaway from the book. It is far darker than a simple forbidden love story, and Heathcliff is, to twist a classic phrase, very much a man scorned.
Aside from all of this, I believe that the adaptation will be better than we expect. Letterboxd reviews of the movie from the premieres are already at an equal split between 1 and 5 stars, so I think the movie will be the classic case of love it or hate it – which may be a good sign as the novel was always polarising with its public. Additionally, I think expecting the movie to be accurate to the book would just end in disappointment, and maybe we must accept this will be a good movie rather than a good adaptation.
The movie will be the classic case of love it or hate it– which may be a good sign as the novel was always polarising with its public.
Ultimately, whatever debates surround the adaptation, it may well surprise us – and if his recent turn as Frankenstein’s Monster is anything to go by, Jacob Elordi is almost certain to deliver a striking performance.
