120: Wuthering Heights

US  103m  Dir: William Wyler  Key Cast: Laurence Olivier

Wuthering Heights is one of the few classic British novels that I am not familiar with. My main knowledge of it is the famous Kate Bush song which remained in my head for the rest of the day after watching this. 

A traveller caught on the Moors and takes refuge in the house Wuthering Heights but his host Heathcliff (Lauren Olivier) is surly. A maid tells the story of how Heathcliff was brought to the house as a homeless boy and quickly formed a close bond with daughter of the house Cathy. As they grew up the relationship deepened by the course of love did not run smoothly and Cathy eventually died as the husband of another man. 

As I understand it, this film cuts out a large portion of the novel. In many cases I would be critical of this but here it feels like a good decision. The second generation of characters, i.e. Heathcliff and Cathy's children are not brought into this film adaption and so the film takes place over a much shorter timescale. I might perhaps felt differently if I knew the book well but here it felt like an effective way to adapt a sizeable novel into a story that could told in one film whilst still not losing most of the key moment. 

I felt like the film does a great job of portraying the atmosphere of the novel. In some ways and certainly earlier in the film it's quite a romantic story and feels like one but it gradually becomes darker and more gothic. Wuthering Heights really feels like an isolated house on a dark and dangerous moor in this film. 

Laurence Olivier is also fantastic as Heathcliff here with the success of the film falling heavily on his shoulders. He manages to capture Heathcliff as a romantic hero but also as a dark, brooding and even dangerous man. He totally makes it convincing that Cathy could fall in love with this man but also why they didn't end up living happily ever after. 

This did for me what I think a good adaption of a classic novel should do- told the story really well and made me want to read the book and spend more time getting to know these characters.