Wuthering Heights is among the all-time classics that always find an audience with every new adaptation. Each generation has a favorite version of Emily Brontë‘s classic, as filmmakers ranging from William Wyler to Emerald Fennell have taken their own approach to the iconic novel. The latest in the line is Fennell’s version starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, which is a sizzling, dark, stylized reimagining of the beloved story.
Wuthering Heights is a multi-generational, gothic tale of destructive love and revenge between an orphan, Heathcliff, and Catherine Earnshaw, his soulmate. Since the two can’t be together because of the class divide, Catherine marries Edgar Linton for social status. To take revenge on the family, a scorned Heathcliff returns years later to systematically destroy them. Each filmmaker adapts the story to the times, either leaving or adding parts, while the themes of love, revenge, and class divide remain relevant and the most relatable parts of the tale.
While Wyler’s 1939 version is considered a classic and Fennell’s is the latest, there’s a version of the tale that is closest to the original book – BBC’s 2009 British television adaptation starring Tom Hardy as Heathcliff and Charlotte Riley as Catherine Earnshaw. The two had an amazing chemistry with Hardy’s brooding take on Heathcliff, and even turned into an off-screen romance as the two got married after the two-part British drama came out. It seems like while Fennell’s version is captivating a global audience, fans of the Hardy-led adaptation are enjoying the series on PVOD.
Wuthering Heights is among the top 20 PVOD titles on Apple TV, according to FlixPatrol, and is doing particularly well in Australia, securing the #3 spot. The series has no critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, but it does boast a respectable audience score of 84%. The miniseries also stars Andrew Lincoln as Edgar Linton, Kevin McNally as Mr. Earnshaw, Burn Gorman as Hindley Earnshaw, Sarah Lancashire as Nelly Dean, and Rosalind Halstead as Isabella Linton, among many others.
Emerald Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ Is Captivating Audiences in Theaters
With source material as strong as Wuthering Heights and a talented director, Fennell, the Robbie and Elordi-led movie is being appreciated globally. While the internet is full of debates about Fennell’s interpretation, the movie has earned $152 million globally, by far, on an $80 million budget. The gothic romance has divided critics and audiences, who gave it 77% and 59% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively. The site’s consensus says, “Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights might not be the stuff of high literature but it is a visually vibrant pleasure.”
Meanwhile, you can check out Hardy-led Wuthering Heights on PVOD platforms such as Apple TV and Amazon. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
-
2009 – 2009-00-00
- Network
-
ITV1
- Directors
-
Coky Giedroyc
- Writers
-
Peter Bowker
