Wuthering Heights [DVD]

 

 

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I loved this adaptation. The reality is that in Haworth in the days when Emily was writing, life there would have been so harsh, cold and wild. I went for a walk in September up to Top Withens the place purported to be Wuthering Heights. It was blue sky and mild but, behind me was the biggest, darkest cloud that told me it was time to get the full waterproofs on. As I travailed up the hill across the heather with the wind howling and the rain lashing into my face I felt like a real Bronte heroine. I could hear my breath as I gasped along with the wind taking my breath away.

When I watched this new movie at the cinema it was fabulous. It really captured the moors, the darkness, the rain, the wind (yes it does exist for real up there). The movement of the camera on the film captured what I saw and felt on my walk.Fabulous and superb camera work.

I thought this film was awesome. Yes the language was strong in places and one wonders if Emily would have approved....but I bet that was the language used in those harsh farms.

One reviewer below said it did not capture the love affair. I disagree strongly....Cathy licking the wounds on Heathcliffe's back after he took a whipping from Joseph is NOTHING if not true love.

Watch this film it is fantastic. I have recently watched two other adaptations and this is by far the best.

If one is looking for reasons why independent cinema is struggling, one need look no further than this dreadful, awful, offensive, film.

At one level it is a considerable achievement. To take one of the greatest works of English Literature, a towering gothic romance of staggering power and make a gut achingly dull and tedious film requires some form of genius.

This, I'm afraid, is a case of the emperor's new movie. It is a film designed to appeal to 6th form film studies students while totally forgetting that its purpose is to tell a story.

One can just tick off the filmmaker's affectations. Shaky hand held camera, tick. Odd camera angles and use of strange focus. tick. "Unknown" cast , tick. Lighting so dark that it is barely possible to see at times. Tick. Great clunking use of metaphor with all the subtlety of an elephant with a sledgehammer. Tick. Hyper realistic (to the point of unreality) grime and squalor. Tick. Sickening violence which can be descriibed as "gritty" or "tough", tick.

So what we get is:-

Shot of Yorkshire valley. Shot of farmhouse. Shot of birds. Shot of Heathcliffe looking sullen. 15 seconds of plot. Shot of Yorkshire valley. Shot of farmhouse. Shot of moths. Heathcliffe gets beaten up. 10 seconds of plot. Shot of Yorkshire valley. Shot of farmhouse. Shot of moth. Shot of Heathcliffe and Cathy getting muddy. 5 secs of dialogue. Death of animal. Shot of farmhouse. Shot of Yorkshire valley. Shot of featureless sky.

And so on ad infinitum.

Story telling and film-making should be about rhythm, about highs and lows, about building up and releasing tension. The only rhythm of this film is a dull, monotonous, trudge.

I have never been to see any of the works of Michael Bay, but believe me, half an hour into this pretentious travesty which sucks all the warmth, humanity and excitement out of the novel, the idea of robots hitting each other started to seem strangely attractive.

And it doesn't go on ad infinitum. It goes on ad nauseum. I did something I've never done before, I walked out of a film. I left the cinema when the second dog was hanged. Yes ladies and gents, boys and girls, for your entertainment and delight, not one but two dogs, one a puppy, are hanged on screen. This isn't gritty, this is intellectual torture porn.

Oh, I mentioned the use of metaphor. Guess what, when Cathy is young and free, we see lapwings soaring over the open moors. After she is married we get repeated shots of a canary in a cage. Subtle this ain't.

This film has a message and that message is "people who are treated brutally, become brutalised". There, I endured two hours of tedium in the cinema, and I've said as much as the film has to say in two seconds.

This film is just awful. I make no apologies for this being a review of the film and not the DVD. I assume that any purchase will be on the basis of the film, and my advice would be find somewhere else to spend your disposable income.

Up front I have to say I have never read the book upon which this is based, or seen any other film adaptation. Thus I cannot make comparisons, or comment on how closely the film follows the book or captures its spirit.

The film tells the story of Heathcliff, found orphaned in Liverpool and brought to live with the Earnshaw family in North Yorkshire. Heathcliff soon forms a passionate bond with his foster sister Cathy, whilst being tormented by everyone else. The film tells the tale of the passion between Heathcliff and Cathy, and the destructive effect it has both on them and those around them.

It is a great story, and one that should make for a great film. Unfortunately the director and writer seem more interested in flashy camera work, fancy editing and imposing a modern morality on certain aspects than actually trying to get a sense of character across, and much seems to be lost. I got no real sense of the passion between Cathy and Heathcliff, despite the best attempts of the actors. Due to the direction their attempts at delivering depth of feeling and passion came across more as petulance. The film seems to be lost in a morass of shaky handheld camera work and fast edits that left me feeling slightly bewildered and with a large headache by the end. Also, when a director spends so much time showing extreme close-ups of insects (which crop up with a monotonous regularity) rather than telling the story you know you're in trouble. Especially when it is set in the Yorkshire Dales and there is so much gorgeous scenery to film if you run out of other ideas.

The writer has tried to update some of the dialogue, and it sticks out like a sore thumb. I know in Emily Bronte's novel Heathcliff is depicted as being foreign, possibly from the East. Here he is portrayed by a black actor, and the writer has shoehorned in some racist abuse and a bit of swearing that sits at odds with the language used through the rest of the film. It feels jammed in for effect, and is so unnatural it sets your teeth on edge.

I found the film to be a bit of a mishmash, hard to follow and not really worth the effort. As an example, it was only when I asked my girlfriend (who has read the book) that it became clear that Wuthering Heights is actually the name of the farm where the Earnshaws live.

When leaving the cinema the Better Half, who has read the book and loves it, commented that she thought the writer and director hadn't read the book as the film did not manage to convey what she considered to be the essential elements. She also took issue with the setting of Wuthering heights as a small farm house with much squalor, rather than the larger, more prosperous setting she had imagined from the book.

In all two stars. I applaud the efforts of some of the actors, especially Shannon Beer as the young Cathy (why do the actors playing the older versions of Cathy and Heathcliff get top billing, when the bulk of the film centres around their younger selves? And especially in Cathy's case where the by far better performance comes from the younger actress), and the idea of playing up the depiction of racism towards Heathcliff is laudable if mishandled.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The best adaption ever
This adaption of Wuthering Heights is the best I have ever experienced. I say experienced because not only does it tell a story but is an incredible sensory experience. Read more

Published 1 month ago by TB

1.0 out of 5 stars What and insult to Emily Bronte
I sat through this appalling film, as others walked out of the cinema one after another. It is just the worst film I have ever watched. Read more

Published 1 month ago by lene

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Not a faithful reply of the great book but how could it be in 2 hours. A great modern take on the book with a fond eye for detail. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Ro

1.0 out of 5 stars Gloomy
Unfortunately I watched this on the big screen
and it was one of the longest two hours I have spent in a cinema. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Jf Peachey

3.0 out of 5 stars very mixed feelings ; worth a look? probably
I went with two friends to see this film and our reactions were significantly different, though none of us judged it a total success. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane

4.0 out of 5 stars Radical Retelling of a Classic
Wuthering Heights - the classic novel by Emily Bronte', published 1848 - was first filmed by William Wyler in the sunny hills of California nearly a century later. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Bookaholic

3.0 out of 5 stars Lacking all the elements
The new has rarely been more shocking than in Andrea "Red Road" Arnold's take on Emily Brontė's bleak fable, and while its rebellious elements are a welcome, it's deeply flawed... Read more

Published 3 months ago by R. J. Harvey

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