Wuthering Heights (Emerald Fennell, Margot Robbie)

Hiya Cathy, How's You?

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Opens at $34m in America after early projections aimed for $40-50m.

It did better internationally though. $44m outside US.
 
This was fine. Didn't love it. Didn't hate it. It's weird that Jacob Elordi has been cast as a mumbling simpleton in an adaptation of a gothic novel twice in one year. Is he being typecast or is that all he can do?

Also think they took the coward's way out with Isabella. Presumably decided audiences wouldn't vibe with Heathcliff if he became violent and cruel to a woman, so instead they made it so she's... into pup play? :D
 
I'm not familiar with the source material (book or any previous adaptation) so how much it strayed from that was never going to be an issue for me, but as someone who considers Saltburn the best film of 2023, I was underwhelmed. Jacob Elordi sucking on the fingers that Cathy had just been pleasuring herself with, and licking a wall was never going to cut it compared to grave humping and drinking cummy bathwater. If it toned down how freaky it was because of reactions from test audiences, GET BETTER TEST AUDIENCES.

I toyed between a 6 or 7 out of 10 but have settled on the lower side as I think giving it a 7 would be more because I went in wanting/expecting another 9 or 10 from Ms Fennell. My mind was wandering elsewhere a fair bit.

Highlights were Isabella, and the set-up when they were kids. When young Heathcliff was under the bed telling Cathy to go away and she kept refusing, I couldn't help but think 'careful love, he IS a child murderer'.
 
I found the whole thing fairly unpleasant. The costumes and sets were well done but the lighting made everything look weird. and I didn't feel much chemistry between the leads.

I loved Saltburn
 
Not going to pretend that I know the source material well. I saw the 2011 film and that supposedly had the atmosphere and casting right; but barely touched upon the story.

A quick AI comparison said that the 2009 TV version with Tom Hardy is apparently the most faithful to the book as far as the plot goes. That’s streaming on ITVx so I watched it on Sunday, but it felt like a standard costume drama, with a poorly cast Cathy and dodgy wigs all round. While the story was more complete, the revenge side was mostly missing and it didn’t feel gothic in the slightest. Also it seems that this is where Tom Hardy first tried out his Bane voice, and that was highly distracting.

All in all, what seems to capture the material best is THE KATE BUSH SONG!
 
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The 1978 TV series is quite a good version. Certainly BLEAK enough and does the whole story for once
 
Did Tom Hardy get the same amount of backlash for not being non-white? Or was that a new thing?
 
As if they wouldn't be LOSING THEIR SHIT if she had actually cast a person of colour to play Margot Robbie's pet incel.
 
cwej said:
Did Tom Hardy get the same amount of backlash for not being non-white? Or was that a new thing?
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The latter - nobody was especially woke then. And also it was a two-part 2009 ITV drama directed by Mel Giedroyc's sister, before Hardy was proper famous.
 
This isn't really about the current film, but BKR have done a typically interesting video about the 1939 version starring Merle Oberon.

 
Finished. So I liked when it went super stylised, it was often gorgeous, but I'd rather they went all in with it. I'd be in no rush to ever see it again.
 
Not to shoehorn my special interests into random topics, but Merle Oberon’s nephew Michael Korda turned her life story into a bonkbuster in the 80s :disco:

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I quite enjoyed this, it's more style than substance. The cinematography and set design were amazing, I'm glad I saw in on a big screen. The supporting actresses stole the show, but Robbie was very good as well. I haven't read the book and haven't seen any of the other movies/series, which is probably why I didn't have any issues with this adaption.
 
Drops out of the US Box Office top ten this week with $84m domestic and $236m global.

A hit!
 
According to the original writer of Basic Instinct, Emerald Fennell is being courted to direct his reboot :disco:

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