A professional accent coach has delivered her expert verdict on the Yorkshire accents adopted by Australian stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in Emerald Fennell's highly anticipated cinematic adaptation of Wuthering Heights. The film, which releases in UK cinemas on February 13, features the two Australian leads portraying the iconic star-crossed lovers Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff against the dramatic backdrop of Yorkshire's landscape.
Dialect Coach's Critical Assessment
Sarah Valentine, a dialect coach who trains professional performers in speech and regional accents, provided an exclusive analysis to Heart Bingo Online. She acknowledged that neither actor's accent was perfect, but highlighted a clear disparity in their performances. Margot Robbie's portrayal of Catherine Earnshaw received mixed feedback. Valentine noted that the character's social ascent within the narrative provides some justification for accent variation.
Margot's character starts out in Yorkshire, but by the time we see her in the film, she's moved up in society. Naturally, people adapt their accents to fit in, especially in that context. She wouldn't still sound like a working-class Yorkshire girl once she's married well and entered high society, Valentine explained. However, she observed Robbie's accent tends to falter during emotionally intense scenes.
Actors tend to slip up with their accents during moments of heightened emotion, like when a character is crying or arguing, and that's where I noticed her dip out of it slightly in the trailer. Her accent isn't perfect. I wouldn't say that her accent is amazing but in heightened moments I noticed it dip out, but it's good, and overall, it makes sense for the character. It just wavers on certain words, the coach elaborated.
Jacob Elordi's Accent Praised
In contrast, Jacob Elordi's performance as Heathcliff garnered significant praise. Sarah Valentine confessed she was unaware of Elordi's Australian origins until conducting research, a testament to his skill. Personally, I think his Yorkshire accent is great. There are so many different Yorkshire accents, but there will be Yorkshire folk who don't like it because it doesn't sound like them, which is fine, she remarked.
Valentine further contextualised the challenge of mastering regional UK dialects. To be honest, I didn't even realise he was Australian until I looked it up, which says a lot about how good he is with accents. With UK accents, especially in places like Yorkshire, there's so much variation from town to town that absolute accuracy is hard to pin down anyway, she added. The core criterion, according to the coach, is maintaining the audience's immersion.
What really matters is that the accent doesn't pull you out of the film, and a good actor makes sure it never does. I'd need to watch the whole film to judge properly, but if it doesn't break the illusion, then it's doing its job, Valentine concluded.
Director's Stance on Adaptation Fidelity
The article also notes the film's title appears in quotation marks, a deliberate choice by director Emerald Fennell. In an interview with Fandango, Fennell clarified this reflects the inherent challenge of adapting Emily Brontë's complex novel faithfully. The thing for me is that you can't adapt a book as dense and complicated and difficult as this book. I can't say I'm making Wuthering Heights. It's not possible, she stated.
What I can say is I'm making a version of it. There's a version that I remembered reading that isn't quite real. And there's a version where I wanted stuff to happen that never happened. And so it is 'Wuthering Heights', and it isn't, Fennell explained, underscoring the interpretive nature of her cinematic vision.
Wuthering Heights arrives in UK cinemas on February 13, offering a fresh take on the classic tale of love and heartbreak, now scrutinised through the lens of dialect authenticity and directorial interpretation.
