The Modern Expressionism of “Wuthering Heights”

Written by Susan Dijker

One of my favorite parts of going to the cinema to see a movie is hearing the collective reactions from the audience. Watching “Wuthering Heights” in a full theatre was an experience of its own; Everyone laughing at moments of ridiculousness, gasping at shocking one-liners, and seeing all the heads in front of me look to each other as Heathcliff returns to Cathy with his new look. Whether you like the film or not, Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s book makes audiences feel the full range of emotions.

“Wuthering Heights” follows the tragic love story between Cathy (played by Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi). When Heathcliff is ‘adopted’ by Cathy’s father the two grow very fond of each other, eventually falling in love. But when a rich bachelor moves into the house next to them Cathy chases wealth and status, driving Heathcliff away for several years. When he finally returns, their lives are turned upside down.

As controversial as the release has been, this film feels like it was made for me personally. I have not yet read the book by Brontë and I think judging this film as a standalone piece of media works in its favor. So seeing it as such I really enjoyed it and was very impressed visually, “Wuthering Heights” is one of the most gorgeous films I have seen in a long time. I think it is worth seeing just for the beautiful shots of the fog covered English landscapes and the amazing costume and set design. The mansion where most of the story takes place bears strong resemblance to the German expressionism of the twentieth century, portraying the absurd and tormented inner world of the characters as well as director Emerald Fennell’s personal experience of the book. The eerie soundtrack by Charlie XCX adds to this sinister feeling of torment belonging to the expressionist movement. The landscapes, however, are reminiscent of impressionist paintings like those of Monet. In this sense, between the carefully crafted soundtrack and the stunning visuals, the film forms into an impressive piece of art.

We should address the elephant in the room here: the casting of Heathcliff. In the book he is, although this has been debated ever since its release in 1847, a man of color, which makes for a lot of the effects and meaning of the story. Choosing to cast the white Jacob Elordi in the role has thus ruffled some peoples feathers. Watching the opening of the film it becomes quite apparent that Heathcliff, even though now being played by a white man, is not a white character. While Heathcliff is made white, other characters like Nelly and Edgar have been casted so called ‘colorblind,’ being white originally in the book but not in the film. The film makes a great example of why ‘colorblind casting’ doesn’t really work. In stories such as these it is not simply about the skin color of a character, but about an embedded cultural and historical context. Early moments of Heathcliff in the film take on a much darker meaning in relation to his non-whiteness and the time in which the story takes place. Emerald Fennell has defended her choice of actor, by stating that because the book never explicitly mentions Heathcliff’s race one can only create a movie based on how they imagined it themselves while reading. In our current age of supposed progressiveness a choice like this, expectedly, stirs up a lot of conversation.