Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett has criticised Emerald Fennell's new film adaptation of 'Wuthering Heights', arguing that it reduces the novel to a mere love story and strips it of its core themes of class struggle, racism, and abuse. Writing for The Guardian, Cosslett states that while she is not a purist, she found the film 'boring' and 'sad' for its narrow focus.
Cosslett points to casting choices as red flags, noting that Margot Robbie is 'simply too old' for the teenage Cathy, and Jacob Elordi is 'simply too white' for Heathcliff, who is described in the book as having darker skin and being of uncertain origin. She also criticises Fennell's portrayal of the abusive relationship, particularly the handling of Isabella's violent marriage to Heathcliff, which is played for laughs in the film.
Fennell has defended her casting, saying: 'You can only make the movie that you sort of imagined yourself when you read it.' Cosslett interprets this as a reflection of Fennell's privileged upbringing, which she believes limits her understanding of class struggle. She compares this to Fennell's earlier film 'Saltburn', which also centred on class tensions.
Cosslett concludes that the real takeaway is about who gets to make art and whose voices matter, lamenting that the film discards the political context that made the novel groundbreaking. She notes that for many readers, especially those from less privileged backgrounds, the class and racial dynamics of 'Wuthering Heights' are impossible to ignore.
