Director
Andrea Arnold’s adaptation is a daring new look at Emily Bronte’s 19th Century literary classic. The novel though hailed
as a powerful, compelling read was critiqued as strange with characters so
disagreeable that readers just couldn’t relate to them, and their behaviours so
brutal and grotesque that they were thought beyond believability. A couple
centuries on and the harsh realities of what human beings are capable of has
been so thoroughly explored that we are better equipped to embrace and
understand Bronte’s complex characters.
Arnold is no stranger to exploring such
territories; just see Red Road or Fish Tank and you will see modern versions of
equally disagreeable and somewhat un-relatable characters, committing
questionable acts. But does she do justice to this beautiful and tragic story?
Wuthering
Heights is the story of a young boy (later named Heathcliff) found on the
streets of 18thCentury Liverpool and taken home to join the
Earnshaw family where he develops a relationship with Catherine, the younger of
the Earnshaw siblings. What follows is a whirlwind of love, broken hearts,
jealousy and revenge as Heathcliff is left to vie for Catherine’s attentions
against the respectable neighbours - the Linton’s – to devastating consequence.
Despite being just over two hours long Arnold has
cut the film down to its bare bones, omitting the next generation as well as
much dialogue.
And what of
the first black Heathcliff? At first sight I thought he (James Howson) didn’t
quite look the part – as enamoured as I am with Tom Hardy’s dashing, yet
visibly disturbed and dishevelled portrayal - Howson just looked too well to be
the mad, passionate Heathcliff and despite a few uses of the N word and a
slight slavery connotation the story was unaffected by Heathcliff’s colour.
The title screen graphic that follows is
reminiscent of something from Skins or Shameless and I was both worried and
excited. This was going to be bold and very new.
This version
focuses on Heathcliff’s perspective and the heavy use of handheld cameras,
close ups, first person shots and darkness force you to feel what Heathcliff
feels. The first few dark, hazy shots make you empathise with Heathcliff’s
uncertainty though he appears undaunted and able to hold his own. The handsome
Solomon Glave is a convincing young Heathcliff, who is the strong, shrewd and
silent type even in youth while Shannon Beer grows more beautiful by the scene
and portrays young Cathy’s innocent wildness, budding sexuality and fickle and
feisty nature excellently. The bond between the two is built up in a quiet,
tender and unassuming way, although slightly unsettling, a couple of scenes are
ambiguously sexual despite the age of the young couple being hard to determine.
By the time Howson reappears as the adult
Heathcliff you're ready for the film to pick up pace, the back story was well
explained but fans (of the book or other adaptations) will be yearning for a
passion that could only be relayed with the dialogue that had been missing so
far.
Howson’s
verbal delivery is great; sincere and passionate but the chemistry between him
and Kaya Scodelario (adult Cathy) was lacking. A big fan of Scodelario I felt
she gave a sound performance but would have liked to have seen her given
something meatier to get her teeth into.
The unspoken words (more often between Glave and
Beer) have far more impact than the stilted monologues which at times lack
emotion and conviction. Although the silent moments are amongst the best in the
film by the time you’re little way past the halfway mark you may begin to find
this tedious and I began to wonder how well someone less familiar with the tale
would be following the plot and more so coming to understand the characters
beyond just Heathcliff.
Typical of Arnold this version is gritty and
realistic and her style can be felt in the attention to details (things like
lack of music with a natural soundtrack and focus on certain body parts like
hands or faces). The movie lacks the verbal poetry of the book but it is
included visually through metaphor and analogies to nature; where the dogs are
lowly and wild, the birds high up and free and the moors reflect the ever
changing state of Heathcliff’s feelings. Heavy rain falls every time Heathcliff
is about to have his heart broken and he is represented by the animals and
vegetation - in the form of mistreated sheep, broken rabbits, stripped birds,
rotting fruit and wilting flowers.
Ultimately this movie is a filmmaker’s film,
beautifully shot, bold in intent yet subtle in delivery. It is a movie to be
really seen not merely watched – where you must read the implications to get
the full power of the plot. As visually appealing as the film is it desperately
lacks the mind bending passion that drives the crux of the story and even a
teenage Romeo and Juliet got a sex scene. This is a film that will grow on me
the more I watch it but I still consider the ITV’s 2009 adaptation to be my
favourite.
What did you think?
