Ok DCUM, what do you think of the Wuthering Heights movie?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This movie should probably have just been something else. Like just a generic, spicy period piece. She basically ripped the heart and soul out of the novel. Even putting aside eliminating the racial aspect of Heathcliff why eliminate Hindley???? Why also get rid of the warm relationship between heath cliff and the dad? She basically removes all nuance and complexity so that aged Karens can fantasize about Jacob Elordi (probably why Margot Robie who is too old for this role was selected).

Did you even see the movie? It was hardly a hot fantasy...

Read the plot because I had suspicions it would be stupid. Hot fantasy or not it removed the complexity of the novel. Heathcliff getting revenge on Hindley (and Hindley jealousy of Heathcliff/the dad’s relationship) was his main motivation for the whole second half of the book.

[Anonymous]

What a boring, drawn-out, contrived take on the story. Couldn't end soon enough. So many gratuitous scenes with no real purpose or tie to the story. Whatever Fennell was one and whatever itch she was trying to scratch..

I mean if a thirty-year old woman had an urge for a quick O, you better believe she wouldn't be standing upright in an open field, blown about by a cold wind, leaning against a hard unpleasant rock. Why, when there is a perfectly good bed available!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Heathcliff was not white in the novel? I didn’t realize that.

My bookclub is reading (or rereading) Wuthering Heights and then going to the movie next week.

I read it at 16 and did not remember him not being white. I also remembered it as this passionate romantic but kind of creepy book. Now it’s so blatantly obvious he’s not white, there aren’t any healthy relationships let alone a passionate romance, and Heathcliff’s mysterious rise / wealth and applying all his resources to exact revenge remind me so much of the Counte of Monte Cristo (another great book). I’m not done with the reread, but close and I’d be surprised if the remaining part changes this for me. I’m kind of sorry j bought a ticket already because the trailer looks nothing like the book.

[Anonymous]

Agree that there is a strong undertone of race in the book, but my goodness can we talk about the poor women! Part of the complication was that women couldn't inherit or have money/property. It sucked!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree that there is a strong undertone of race in the book, but my goodness can we talk about the poor women! Part of the complication was that women couldn't inherit or have money/property. It sucked!

They could, actually. Only entailed properties were reserved for males.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree that there is a strong undertone of race in the book, but my goodness can we talk about the poor women! Part of the complication was that women couldn't inherit or have money/property. It sucked!

Living at Wuthering Heights sucked but in the movie, at least, neither Cathy nor Heathcliff is shown to have any life skills, even basic household stuff like sewing or repairs. They never talk about how they'd live together and they make no plans to get out. If she hadn't married Edgar they'd have all kept the miserable status quo until they died.

I read a review saying the book made it more plausible they could have been together, and that one of the sins of the film is making it completely justifiable that she went to Edgar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a B.A in English Lit and I loved this movie. It’s reallly well done and beautifully executed. Margot Robbie brings Cathy alive from the pages. It is an artistic interpretation of the 1/3 of the novel. I’m not going to nitpick based on if it’s a faithful adaptation of the novel because it does not claim to be.

It is so far removed the novel. My main gripe of why I disliked the trailer is the actors are so OLD. Katherine marries around 17 or 18 and dies a year later in the novel. Heathcliff dies at 37 or 38.

Margot Robbie is 35. She is way, way too old!

Emily Bronte wrote the novel at 29 and died at age 30 from TB. Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre) died at age 38. Anne Bronte died at age 29. Two younger sisters died at age 10 and 11. The only brother died at age 31.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a B.A in English Lit and I loved this movie. It’s reallly well done and beautifully executed. Margot Robbie brings Cathy alive from the pages. It is an artistic interpretation of the 1/3 of the novel. I’m not going to nitpick based on if it’s a faithful adaptation of the novel because it does not claim to be.

It is so far removed the novel. My main gripe of why I disliked the trailer is the actors are so OLD. Katherine marries around 17 or 18 and dies a year later in the novel. Heathcliff dies at 37 or 38.

Margot Robbie is 35. She is way, way too old!

Emily Bronte wrote the novel at 29 and died at age 30 from TB. Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre) died at age 38. Anne Bronte died at age 29. Two younger sisters died at age 10 and 11. The only brother died at age 31.

I get your point… But I will have to say, Robbie was 34 when she made the movie no one is looking at her and saying man she looks old. She is drop dead, stunningly gorgeous.

Again, I know what you’re saying, but I think that’s such a small beef to take up with this movie. And I’ll make the point that was made above about Jacob and Margot - who else was going to do this. They are both academy award nominated actors who are beautiful and very well-known.

You can’t name a younger actress as well known that would’ve played the part. I mean Sydney Sweeney’s getting a lot of attention but really? No one’s going to suggest that. They needed someone believable in the role and I can’t think of a mid 20s actress who could pull it off at this point and they were not looking to cast unknown or newbies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a B.A in English Lit and I loved this movie. It’s reallly well done and beautifully executed. Margot Robbie brings Cathy alive from the pages. It is an artistic interpretation of the 1/3 of the novel. I’m not going to nitpick based on if it’s a faithful adaptation of the novel because it does not claim to be.

It is so far removed the novel. My main gripe of why I disliked the trailer is the actors are so OLD. Katherine marries around 17 or 18 and dies a year later in the novel. Heathcliff dies at 37 or 38.

Margot Robbie is 35. She is way, way too old!

Emily Bronte wrote the novel at 29 and died at age 30 from TB. Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre) died at age 38. Anne Bronte died at age 29. Two younger sisters died at age 10 and 11. The only brother died at age 31.

I get your point… But I will have to say, Robbie was 34 when she made the movie no one is looking at her and saying man she looks old. She is drop dead, stunningly gorgeous.

Again, I know what you’re saying, but I think that’s such a small beef to take up with this movie. And I’ll make the point that was made above about Jacob and Margot - who else was going to do this. They are both academy award nominated actors who are beautiful and very well-known.

You can’t name a younger actress as well known that would’ve played the part. I mean Sydney Sweeney’s getting a lot of attention but really? No one’s going to suggest that. They needed someone believable in the role and I can’t think of a mid 20s actress who could pull it off at this point and they were not looking to cast unknown or newbies.

NP- Saw the movie and liked it but I don't think they were going for young at all in any case or aiming to recreate the book themes. The director decided to make her a spinster, the themes very adult (S&M, sexual frustration, immaturity due to sheltered, dark upbringing rather than age) in a way that would not work with a younger couple. They were basically middle aged, beautiful weirdos stuck in those moors without options and a life, emprisonned in that disgusting old house with no prospects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a B.A in English Lit and I loved this movie. It’s reallly well done and beautifully executed. Margot Robbie brings Cathy alive from the pages. It is an artistic interpretation of the 1/3 of the novel. I’m not going to nitpick based on if it’s a faithful adaptation of the novel because it does not claim to be.

It is so far removed the novel. My main gripe of why I disliked the trailer is the actors are so OLD. Katherine marries around 17 or 18 and dies a year later in the novel. Heathcliff dies at 37 or 38.

Margot Robbie is 35. She is way, way too old!

Emily Bronte wrote the novel at 29 and died at age 30 from TB. Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre) died at age 38. Anne Bronte died at age 29. Two younger sisters died at age 10 and 11. The only brother died at age 31.

I get your point… But I will have to say, Robbie was 34 when she made the movie no one is looking at her and saying man she looks old. She is drop dead, stunningly gorgeous.

Again, I know what you’re saying, but I think that’s such a small beef to take up with this movie. And I’ll make the point that was made above about Jacob and Margot - who else was going to do this. They are both academy award nominated actors who are beautiful and very well-known.

You can’t name a younger actress as well known that would’ve played the part. I mean Sydney Sweeney’s getting a lot of attention but really? No one’s going to suggest that. They needed someone believable in the role and I can’t think of a mid 20s actress who could pull it off at this point and they were not looking to cast unknown or newbies.

NP- Saw the movie and liked it but I don't think they were going for young at all in any case or aiming to recreate the book themes. The director decided to make her a spinster, the themes very adult (S&M, sexual frustration, immaturity due to sheltered, dark upbringing rather than age) in a way that would not work with a younger couple. They were basically middle aged, beautiful weirdos stuck in those moors without options and a life, emprisonned in that disgusting old house with no prospects.

Yeah, haven’t seen the movie but that’s a good point. Aging meant something totally different during that time.

[Anonymous]

Anyone get na8ED?

[Anonymous]

Just watched it and loved it! It was surprisingly funny, highly theatrical, and the actors brought out different sides to their characters (amplifying them, and mainly making them more likable, IMO). The metaphors were larger than life—it felt almost like the set of a play (perhaps a bit heavy handed, but a clear stylistic choice). I liked the pre-marriage chemistry between Cathy and Heathcliff the best.

I agree that the movie was “inspired by” vs “based on” the book (which I read in January, so very fresh). I appreciated the layer that Thrushcross Grange was also a place of imprisonment for Cathy, albeit a sparkly one. I missed Hareton and the possibility of redemption for the second generation, but also appreciated the need to whittle down the storyline. Nelly’s backstory was also an interesting wrinkle, and she was even more interfering than in the book.

[Anonymous]

FYI, one of the rest is history guys just started a “book club” podcast and the fist book they are doing is withering heights. I haven’t listened yet.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-book-club/id1876049295

[Anonymous]

PP here. I liked that the characters were a bit older than the book, and seemed to have a degree more intent in their decisions…so much of the drama in the book is because they are all so young with minimal adult guidance, have poor role models, and are isolated—leading to a lot of rash behavior (perhaps with the exception of Heathcliff, who only begins plotting his revenge carefully after his impetuous departure).

[Anonymous]

I actually enjoyed it. I think people are misjudging that in the 1800s England race meant something different - not WASP could be a number of things including gypsy or Spanish. Elordi is Basque.

I felt Margot Robbie was too old for the role but the heat between her and Jacob was palpable.

I loved the costumes and atmosphere of the film.