Wuthering Heights

Last night I finally had the chance to see Wuthering Heights at the Broadway and, even though they may take away my English degree, I liked it.  The volatile Mr. Earnshaw (Martin Clunes) returns to Wuthering Heights, his Gothic estate, with a young boy (Owen Cooper) rescued off the streets.  His daughter Catherine (Charlotte Mellington) adopts him as her pet, names him Heathcliff, and the two become inseparable, much to the dismay of Catherine's paid companion Nelly (Vy Nguyen), the illegitimate daughter of a lord.  Cathy (Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) develop unrequited feelings for each other as the years pass but Mr. Earnshaw lets Wuthering Heights fall into disrepair through his drinking and gambling so she contemplates marrying Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif), a wealthy textile merchant who lives in neighboring Thrushcross Grange, to escape her circumstances.  She encourages his attentions and accepts his proposal but reveals her love for Heathcliff to Nelly (Hong Chau) and has second thoughts.  However, Heathcliff leaves Wuthering Heights unaware that Cathy loves him so she reluctantly marries Linton.  Her life at Thrushcross Grange is luxurious but empty so when Heathcliff returns as a gentleman with a mysterious fortune she begins a passionate affair with him.  Cathy is overcome with guilt and ends the affair so Heathcliff marries Linton's ward Isabella (Alison Oliver) to make her jealous which leads to tragedy.  Emerald Fennell takes many liberties with the novel by Emily Bronte to emphasize the tragic love story between Cathy and Heathcliff but what this version retains, in my opinion, is the scathing criticism of the rigid class system with the character of Nelly.  Much like Farleigh in Saltburn, Nelly is not a member of the aristocracy as represented by the Earnshaws (or even the wealthy merchant class represented by the Lintons) but neither is she a servant like Heathcliff.  She does not seem to belong but she holds herself above all of these characters and manipulates their self-indulgent and self-destructive behavior to emerge as a survivor.  In addition to this intriguing social commentary, I absolutely loved the bold visuals.  The juxtaposition between Wuthering Heights, which is dark and foreboding and dominated by the intrusion of nature, and Thrushcross Grange, which is unnaturally bright and colorful and full of artifice (even in the costumes), is very striking and symbolic.  I also enjoyed the gorgeous cinematography on the moors and the atmospheric score.  Robbie and Elordi have tremendous chemistry (although I was expecting their scenes to be a lot more provocative) and I liked that their characterizations are appropriately unsympathetic but I was much more intrigued by the performances from Clunes, Oliver, and Hau.  I definitely enjoyed this more when I viewed it as inspired by, rather than adapted from, the novel and I recommend it as such.