“Wuthering Heights,” starring Margot Robbie, has garnered mixed reviews from film critics ahead of its debut later this week.
The Emerald Fennell’s adaptation was called out regarding its directing in addition to the performances of Robbie and her co-star Jacob Elordi.
Nevertheless, some critics also had much praise for the movie, which is a loose adaptation of Emily Brontë’s famous novel.
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Margot Robbie And Jacob Elordi Were Criticized For Their ‘Wuthering Heights’ Performances
Ahead of its official debut later this week, “Wuthering Heights” has drawn mixed reactions from film critics for its “lewd” and “exhausting sex scenes,” despite the initial anticipation many held towards the project.
Much of the criticism aimed toward Emerald Fennell’s adaptation has focused on the lead performances, with detractors expressing frustration over Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi’s turn as Heathcliff.
The Independent‘s Clarisse Loughrey, particularly, awarded the film a one-star rating and described the pair’s performances as “almost pushed to the border of pantomime.”
She reserved even harsher criticism for Elordi’s portrayal of Heathcliff, branding the character a “wet-eyed, Mills & Boon mirage.”
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Meanwhile, The Times‘ Kevin Maher directed his criticism at Robbie, dismissing her Catherine role as a “Brontë Barbie,” which appeared like a pointed reference to the animated doll she portrayed within the 2023 film, “Barbie.”
Collider blasted the intimate scenes within the film as “exhausting,” claiming that they “overstay their welcome.”
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Emerald Fennell Was Slammed For Her Adaptation Of The Classic Novel
Still in his review, Maher also called out Fennell’s directing, claiming she made a “vapid” film that “fails to reflect the complexity of the best gothic novel in English literature.”
Further criticism got here from The Guardian‘s Peter Bradshaw, who noted how Fennell’s loose adaptation of Emily Brontë’s book didn’t do justice to Elordi and Robbie’s talents.
“Emerald Fennell’s tackle Emily Brontë is an emotionally hole, bodice-ripping misfire that misuses Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi,” he wrote.
He added, “For Fennell, it looks like an opulent pose of unserious abandon. It’s quasi-erotic, pseudo-romantic, after which ersatz-sad, a club night of mock emotion.”
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The Each day Mail then compared Emerald Fennell’s direction with that of earlier adaptations, arguing that her version was far less “satisfying.”
“Fennell is under no circumstances alone in deciding to adapt a celebrated novel for the screen, then fidgeting with the story as if the unique wasn’t quite as much as snuff. Producer Sam Goldwyn famously insisted on a pleased ending to the 1939 version starring Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier,” the outlet wrote.
“But that is a way more satisfying film than this handsome but ultimately empty exercise in style over substance, cinematography over soul,” it further remarked.
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‘Wuthering Heights’ Was Praised By Some Critics For Being ‘Lurid, Oozy And Wild’
Despite heavy criticism directed on the filmmaker and solid, a segment of the movie buffs praised the variation.
The Telegraph‘s Robbie Collin heaped praises on the film, describing it as “resplendently lurid, oozy and wild,” alongside awarding a five-star rating.
He also hinted that viewers can be transfixed by the production, as he called it “an obsessive film about obsession, and hungrily embroils the viewer in its own mad compulsions.”
Identical to Collin, BBC‘s Caryn James showered the film with praise, with particular attention to Fennell’s directing.
“Fennell’s approach is an extravagant swirl: sexy, dramatic, melodramatic, occasionally comic and sometimes swoonily romantic,” James wrote.
Margot Robbie Opened Up About Starring In ‘Wuthering Heights’
In “Wuthering Heights,” Robbie and Elordi’s characters’ tumultuous love story unfolds against the backdrop of the Yorkshire moors, very like within the novel. Nevertheless, in response to the actress, fans should expect far raunchier scenes than those present in the 1847 classic.
“They never really kissed within the book, but we kiss rather a lot. We kiss in all places,” Robbie said in a recent interview, per the Each day Mail. “And there is so again and again where he just picks me up and puts me in a tree, or picks me up with one hand.”
Speaking about being lifted by her co-star, the “Barbie” star said she loved the experience each time it happened.
She added, “And I even have to say, it is admittedly nice, it makes you’re feeling, ‘Oh I’m light as a feather, I’m a tiny little thing.'”
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Margot Robbie Loved How Her Character Switched From One Emotion To One other
In the course of the interview, Robbie also revealed how much she enjoyed playing the role, despite it often requiring her to display intense emotions.
“My character essentially cries in each scene, but no, it was a joy,” the Oscar-nominated actress said.
She continued, “I loved playing a personality who sort of swings from one wild emotion to the opposite straight away.”