By Alba Galvan

I had to use the bathroom for two straight hours, but I refused to go as the movie Wuthering Heights had me glued to my seat. 

The cinematography in this movie was perfect; if there were things in this movie that the director Emerald Fennell did right, it was the visuals, costumes, hair, makeup, lighting, and music that captured the dark gothic vibes spectacularly.

I have not read the book by Emily Brontë, published in 1947, but from what I gathered from TikTok, X and other social media apps, the general consensus of those who read it was disappointment in the movie adaptation. Critics claimed it was nothing like the book, but rather a self-insert of director Fennell’s personal fantasy, starring white-boy-of-the-month: Jacob Elordi.

The male protagonist, Heathcliff, played by Elordi, received backlash that the character got whitewashed, and in Hollywood, this is common with roles meant to be played by non-white actors. There were previous adaptations in which Heathcliff was played by white actors, but in the book, Heathcliff is described as dark-skinned. Elordi, on the other hand, is again, a white man — from Australia. Many of the book’s crucial scenes were cut, like the ghost scene, and there were also a lot of sex scenes that were not necessary, as they were not in the book, leading to disappointment from the readers because they felt the movie had sexualized the original plot of the book. 

As someone who didn’t read the book, I enjoyed Wuthering Heights for what it was: a tragedy. This movie had me in a trance, I fell in love with Heathcliff. Between you and me, I would make the same choices Isabella Linton did, but only because of how handsome Heathcliff was. Keep in mind that this movie is not to be romanticized. This movie is about two toxic people being horrible towards each other. The choices they made affected those around them in the most cruel ways possible. 

I wouldn’t call this the all-time best movie I’ve ever seen. Trailers for the film made me believe this would be a love story, especially because it was released on Valentine’s Day. Since I didn’t read the book, I only knew what was shown in trailers. 

If you plan to watch this movie with family, be warned, it has many, and I mean MANY, intimate scenes. I learned that the hard way by inviting my younger sister and mother to watch the movie with me. It was awkward. 

I left this movie crying. I entered with a full face of makeup and left the theater with a bare face. What I did like about this movie — other than the aesthetics and how handsome Jacob Elordi was — is the message at the end of the movie. Spoiler incoming, I liked how it showed how two people can love each other so much it hurts, and still don’t end up together. They manage to hurt each other because of pride and miscommunication — that is what made me cry; that is what has been weighing on me for days after I’ve seen the movie. 

This movie will be interpreted differently by everyone. I know my mom and I disagreed about what the message behind the movie was. If you have read the book, you may or may not like it and interpret it differently. In my personal opinion. I give this movie a 3/5 star review. 

Alba she/her, LumberJack reporter. Journalism major who loves to read and write. She’s very passionate about sharing and listening to different opinions and loves self-expression. Contact email: agg83@humboldt.edu