Emerald Fennell's "Wuthering Heights" is now in theaters and if you missed my review earlier this week you can read it right here. I loved it but as with all of Fennell's movies it's looking to be inexplicably divisive -- I've read dozens of think-pieces trying to explain to me why Fennell makes people so crazy at this point and they all seem like nonsense to me. Like here's somebody making extravagent and funny pop-entertainment that's ribbed for our pleasure with gorgeous creatures behaving badly and every single one of them gets met with this wave of hostile humorlessness over and over and over again. No matter how hard people make their case it will never compute for me. Anyway I 100% plan on re-watching Saltburn this Valentine's Weekend because what is Love if not Barry Keoghan's cock flopping in time to "Murder on the Dancefloor"? Oh and here's something else super cool -- I'm actually spending Valentine's Day itself camped out in the movie theaters of MoMA because they're screening two Park Chan-wook masterpieces back to back with Thirst and The Handmaiden. And, truly -- what is Love if it's not two gorgeous lesbians scissoring on a steam-ship after triumphantly murdering all of their enemies? Be gay do crime forever!
While I agreed with a lot of what you said about the new “Wuthering Heights,” I can’t say I really liked it much. The acting of the two leads was sensational, but the writer/director took all the beauty and romance out of it. To begin with, it’s a ghost story. The lack of that framing device — that Kathy hunts Wuthering Heights — takes away the mood of the story. Cutting Kathy’s brother takes away a strong element of the story as well. Making Edgar such a wimp doesn’t help either.
ReplyDeleteThen there’s all that sex. I mean really: turning Isabella into an SM pet? Even if they’d only cut half of the sex and create more character development it might have been better.
Having been to the real Wuthering Heights (Penistone), it looks better in this movie. That part was marvelous, but she took all the romance out of the story. Elordi’s Heathcliff broods well, but not as well as the character is drawn in Bronte’s novel.
I came home and found the 1939 version on TCM. Yes, Vivien Leigh would have been a better Kathy, but Merle Oberon is superb, Geraldine Fitzgerald is a perfect Isabella and Flora Robson is everything you expect as Ellen.
This new version is very watchable, but it’s almost as bad as the Demi Moore Scarlet Letter! What an embarassment that is!
Very much agree on Fennel’s career and the response to Wuthering Heights so far. I love it and I frankly feel much of the criticism is not coming from a place of good faith. Can’t wait to see what she does next.
ReplyDeleteProbably more whitewashing, since folks like you are lapping it up! Maybe she'll make more movies where the police are wonderful noble heroes like PYW, you'd love that, wouldn't you?
DeleteYou are literally proving the point. No sane person would make that their hot takeaway. Try harder.
DeleteMisogyny. Her works have a maximalist/pop/camp viewpoint. Slap "Tarantino" at the front of them and I bet you wouldn't hear as much complaining.
ReplyDeleteWhitewashing isn't cool even when a lady does it :(
DeleteThank God these aren't Tarantino films. Perish the thought!
DeleteSo you're just going to keep glossing over the whitewashing, huh? No wonder you love Emerald Fennel, privileged white bigoted birds of a feather flock together!
ReplyDeleteAre you referring to the casting of Nelly and Edgar?
DeleteCrap is crap.
ReplyDeleteSeems like you've been followed here from Pajiba, Jason. So weird.
ReplyDeleteI have purposefully avoided looking at the comments on my WH review at Pajiba because I knew it'd be a shit-show, given how crazy EF makes people and how clearly divisive this movie was going to be. Even before it was out people were prepared to hate it. I saw somebody on Bluesky screaming about how it's Fennell's own fault that she gets to make movies over POC and I'm just like... what are we even doing here?
DeleteThis is my least favorite Jacob Elordi. Clean shaven, waxed chest, ugly haircut... I just don't find him appealing at all. He looked great in On Swift Horses.
ReplyDeleteHis chest isn't waxed in this. In fact he's showing more chest hair in WH than any other film.
DeleteFennell is divisive for a reason - she makes empty, shallow, rather hollow movies. there's nothing inexplicable about that, except her winning a writing oscar for promising young woman, which personally, I thought was a pretty terrible experience. she might cause less controversy if had more talent. but that's only my opinion. I'd rather just watch someone else's movies.
ReplyDeleteif had more talent = if SHE had more talent. (left a word out)
DeleteWH was boring as fuck. And for a movie that was marketed as "outrageous", the sex was so dull. MR and JE had zero chemistry and there was no nudity. I didn't see any redeeming qualities in the film (and did not find it fun or entertaining). Also interesting that the whitewashing of Heathcliff seems to be getting a pass from so many people. And no, casting POC as villains and obstacles to the white main couple doesn't make up for it
ReplyDeleteI will never get the hype over Jacob Elordi😅
ReplyDelete