Review of Wuthering Heights (2011) by Andy W — 21 Oct 2012

In "Wuthering Heights," Mr. Earnshaw(Paul Hilton) brings back an orphan boy(Solomon Glave) from his most recent trip who promptly gets spit in the eye by Earnshaw's young daughter Cathy(Shannon Beer). However, soon she warms to the boy, now named Heathcliff, comforting him after a baptism gone horribly awry. Earnshaw's teenaged son Hindley(Lee Shaw) hates Heathcliff and makes no bones about it. So his father sends him away for sensitivity training. After his father dies, Hindley returns with a young bride, Frances(Amy Wren), and a vengeance, banishing Heathcliff to the stables.

As far as "Wuthering Heights" goes, I read the novel a long time ago and have seen the 1939 and 1970 versions. So, I was curious what iconoclastic director Andrea Arnold would do with this venerable story and it's a mixed, interesting bag to say the least. Overall, with a reliance on handheld cameras and a lack of music until the very end, this actually feels like a documentary recording of life on the moors in the 19th century in all its beauty and ugliness. As far as the colorful metaphors in the movie go, Lenny Bruce did not invent them, just brought these old words to the surface. The most striking detail here are the early and sudden deaths that leave children no parents to guide them away from their juvenile cruelties. And while Earnshaw may be on the right side of the debate, he is vicious towards those who would cross him and no role model. Sadly, the movie fails to achieve relevance by not being able to connect the general inhumanity to slavery(is that a brand amongst the other scars on Heathcliff's back?), as it gets bogged down towards the end of each half(Kaya Scodelario and James Howson play the adult leads in the second half) that are barely connected, with the second half seeming much brighter, actually.