Imagine watching The English Patient at the theaters the weekend it came out and then watching Wuthering Heights the next day at school. It is bound to make you Ralph Fiennes fan for life.
Although I am a romantic that loves happy endings, I had loved reading Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Bronte. It is perfect for any English class and it just absorbed me. It is haunting, depressing and captivating. Although boys might argue that girls might find this story more fascinating (and they may be right), this is definitely not a chick-flick type of novel. True, there is an obsessive and passionate love story at the very core, but the essence is much more than that. Social perceptions, expectations and norms affect lead character Cathy’s actions. But before Cathy started caring about this stuff, there is the jealousy that caused his brother Hindley’s actions that would also help shape his fate and others’.
Alright, before I get all society-criticizing on you, I should go over the plot. There is a big chance you read the book and/or seen one version of this movie but I’ll remind you anyway.
Catherine Earnshaw’s father one day brings a poor boy at home. He has no one, so he wants his daughter Cathy and his brother Hindley to treat this boy –Heathcliff- like a sibling. Cathy and Heathcliff do indeed become great friends. However Hindley (Jeremy Northam) despises him and he starts treating him like a worthless being as soon as the father dies. This doesn’t stop the inseparable duo from hanging out together. It’d be fair to say they are much more than friends, although they have never exactly acted on it. So Heathcliff (Ralph Fiennes) doesn’t leave Wuthering Heights no matter how badly he is treated. But one day Cathy (Juliette Binoche) has a little accident and is taken care of by the Lintons, a rich and well-respected family. Cathy becomes friends with the sister and brother (Edgar) Lintons. When she returns home, she seems spoilt and too ladylike for Heathcliff’s liking. She also spends less time with him and seems romantically interested in Edgar. What causes Heathcliff to run away, and change everyone’s lives forever is his hearing Cathy that marrying him would be degrading. When Heathcliff comes back years later, he is wealthy, bitter and ready to take on anyone who caused him to suffer so badly.
This movie/novel does a great job depicting the dark sides of human nature. Ralph Fiennes is superb as the passionate and star-crossed lover. He plays his role to such perfection that even when Heathcliff turns into a mean bastard, causing pain to people who didn’t even hurt him, you understand him. Ralph becomes Heathcliff and makes you feel every bit of his frustration, possession, desperation, loss of innocence and more.
Juliette Binoche is equally brilliant. With any lesser actress, Cathy could have come off as one-dimensional, superficial character. Although I never approved of Cathy’s decision of choosing Edgar over Heathcliff, you can’t help but understanding why.
I love this film, even though I usually hate depressing love stories. But hey, what kind of romantic- even with optimistic tendencies like mine- doesn’t like this film? Did you know that it is one of Johnny Depp’s favorite movies? When asked if he is a romantic, he answers “Well, I saw Wuthering Heights for like 10 times. What do you think?”
See it. Just make sure you are not expecting happiness and light mood. One of the best and most touching period pieces.
