"Wuthering Heights" - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Well, I’ve gotta hand it to Emerald Fennell, she takes a swing from one film to the next. It’s been six years, and too long since I last saw Promising Young Woman to fully remember it, but I recall it being quite something. Saltburn, on the other hand, was a very memorable feature, and as a blistering piece of darkly hilarious social satire. I got a kick out of it. So when it was announced she was taking on Emily Brontë’s sole novel for a new film adaptation, I figured, “Why the hell not?” at the very least it’ll be worth checking out. But then Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi were cast, and the title came in with curiously used quotation marks, with posters more befitting of a 1960s Hammer gothic-style horror film, and my excitement slipped a bit into concern. Watching the film, I’m left more stupefied than disappointed or excited. 

Before I get into the weeds, I’m not the biggest fan of the novel. I read it once over twenty years ago as part of a horrifyingly intense and exhausting class on 19th-century English literature. Long story short, I simply enjoyed my time more when reading Jane Austin and Mary Shelly. What I remember of the novel was fine, but I didn’t love it and found it a rather tiring read (admittedly, we were burning through roughly one novel a week, if not more). Outside of 20th Century Vole’s Semaphore Version, I never really cared for any of the film adaptations either. The 1970 James Bond version was fine, but it needed more gadgets and ski-chase shootouts. 

With that, I’ll say Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” is an experience - and not one I expected. The film sets its borderline-farcical tone early, when the town erupts in celebration after a hanging. Through lavish production design, a lush score from Anthony Willis, and Charli xcx songs, we’re thrust into the strange lives of Mr. Earnshaw (Martin Clunes), his daughter Cathy (Margot Robbie), her maid/companion Nelly (Hong Chau), and Earnshaw’s adopted son Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi, and to clarify, he’s not playing the cartoon cat). As the Earnshaw name falls into disrepute, the spark between Cathy and Heathcliff will ignite an unspoken lust…at least it’s unspoken for a few minutes anyway. When that carriage is a rock’n, don’t come a knock’n! 

Having gathered a number of takes from sources I trust and opinions from those I know personally, I would say my feelings about this latest adaptation are squarely split between those who loved it and those who hated it. More than anything, I’m confounded by it. Is it supposed to be funny? Is it supposed to be trashy? Both? But I have to say, as soon as Robbie’s adult Cathy busts into Elordi’s full-grown, hunky Heathcliff's room…well…I just had a hard time taking this seriously. It’s not that the performances from our leads are bad; they’re just playing the hand they were dealt, and it’s a strange deck of cards that slips into high camp. If that’s intentional - mission accomplished.

As the quotations in the title imply, and from what Fennell said herself, this “Wuthering Heights” is more loosely inspired by Brontë’s novel than a literal adaptation. Every adaptation takes liberties from its source - you simply can’t make a page-for-page film of a novel this dense. It’s the kind of liberties taken, from the casting to the non-period-specific clothing and set design to the breathy, lustful performances that will win or lose the audience. In essence, the film plays like an attempt to adapt high literature into a dime-store romance novel with a Millennial-infused soundtrack. If that's what you're looking for, you'll have a good time.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
Slushing through the moors, “Wuthering Heights” comes home to physical media as a single-disc 4K UHD + Digital release from Warner Bros. and SDS. Pressed on a BD100 disc, the disc is housed in a standard black case with identical slipcover artwork. The disc loads to a static-image main menu with standard navigation options.

I mean, say what you will about the adaptation's intent, it’s one hell of a great-looking feature, and it’s a genuine beauty in 2160p Dolby Vision. Right from the get-go of all the faces watching a man slowly strangled to death dangling from a rope with an erection, the film is a looker! Facial features, the non-period-specific semi-timeless costumes, the set design work, the locations - it’s a well-adorned film. As the fine details of this transfer would testify, I would not be surprised to see a few related Oscar nominations next year. Shot on 35mm and finished as a 4K digital intermediate, it has a lovely filmic appearance throughout. The Dolby Vision grade greatly enhances the brooding atmospheric halls of the Earnshaw home while highlighting the bold colors with healthy skin tones. Whites are crisp. Black levels are deep and inky, with excellent shadow separations for a very strong sense of depth. Linus Sandgren shot one hell of a beautiful-looking feature, and this transfer does that work justice.

On the audio side of the A/V coin, the Dolby Atmos track is its own big game in this production. As I previously mentioned the score from Anthony Willis and the songs from Charli xcx, the soundscape is certainly aggressive! Between the tension of the rope creaking above to the howls of the crowd, the whole spread of channels is delivered. If it’s not a crowd scene, then it’s pouring rain with thunder rumbling around. If it’s not doing that, then there’s something happening within that sound design, no matter how subtle, to keep the channels active and engaging. Dialog is clear throughout, though some of the accents can get a little muddy. Otherwise, I felt no need to adjust levels on the fly. All around a dynamic mix for this very eccentric retelling. 

On the extras side, we have about half an hour of featurettes against a commentary track with Emerald Fennell. And, if nothing else, these materials buttress the almost Wisseauvian level of go-for-broke, throw the baby out with the bathwater, "gonna do it my way" approach to this story. Fennell’s commentary kicks off to an interesting start, describing how difficult it was to capture the opening sound effects that could sound like passionate masturbation but revealed to be a man hanging to death… and yeah, it goes on like that. The featurettes are short, but they certainly get into the reasoning for why certain aspects of the project were approached the way they were. 

• Audio Commentary featuring writer/director Emerald Fennell
• Threads of Desire (HD 6:51)
• The Legacy of Love and Madness (HD 5:32)
• Building a Fever Dream (HD 12:09)

Say what you will, love it or hate it, or be completely bewildered by it, “Wuthering Heights” is an experience. Between watching the film and then listening to the commentary as I worked on this review, I’m even more perplexed by it. I understand what it’s doing; I hear and appreciate the approach, but the "why" behind doing things the way they were done eludes me. As reasons given boil down to “because we can,” I kept reacting, “But should you?” like I’m Jeff Goldboom from Jurassic Park. It’s not that the film takes swings just with the story; it swings with the costume design, the set design, and the music choices. Bold, certainly, but whether or not they’re successful will depend on the individual. I wasn’t horrified, I wasn’t enthralled, I was captivated as much as I was confused. But then, I never did have any skin in the game. I’m not a fan of the novel, really, but I respect its accomplishment as a seminal work for women writers. Likewise, I may have seen two or three different adaptations (that weren’t Monty Python) and none of them really lit a fire for me. Good or bad, this “Wuthering Heights” is certainly going to spark some interesting conversations. 

How ever you may feel about the film itself, it scores a banger of a 4K disc. The Dolby Vision transfer is often stunning, capturing the full visual range this approach has to offer. Just as impressive is the robust Dolby Atmos track providing the perfect sonic accompaniment to the visuals. Bonus features may be thin, but it’s fascinating listening to various personalities explain the choices made. So on that note - not a fan, but it’s a film I’d encourage folks to see for themselves. Worth A Look