The trailer for director Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of “Wuthering Heights” teases a love story. The promotional video for the new movie, which is being released Feb. 13, is filled with clips of actors Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie, who play Cathy and Heathcliff, gazing longingly at each other in the lush English moors. Text reading “be with me always,” “take any form” and “drive me mad” pop up on the screen and advertise the film as “inspired by the greatest love story of all time.”
However, passion is only one part of “Wuthering Heights.” The 1847 novel by Emily Bronte goes further, experts told Northeastern Global News, exploring themes of race, class, intergenerational trauma and revenge — just to name a few. But some of this is missing from this adaptation, based on early reviews of the film.
“The power of the landscape and the passion between these two characters is attractive for film,” said Lori Lefkovitz, a professor of English and Ruderman professor and director of Jewish Studies at Northeastern University. “But there is so much (more) to it. I would urge people to read the novel because of its literary complexity and deep exploration of psychological and social issues. (It has) a depth that may or may not be in the film.”
