After a stellar opening weekend for the latest Jane Eyre adaptation, directed by Cary Fukunaga, the Brontës are back (if they ever went away). If Jane whet your appetite, fear not—a new Wuthering Heights adaptation isn’t too far down the pike.
Edgy British director Andrea Arnold* (Fish Tank) wanted to get back to basics with the film by hiring actors of the right age—and, possibly, racial background. Emily Brontë described Heathcliff using words like “dusky” “swarthy” back in 1847, so Arnold cast the first black actor to play the role. Newcomer James Howson is the famous orphan, plucked from the streets of Liverpool to shake up the Earnshaw family for generations. Kaya Scodelario, the just-turned-19-year-old star of “Skins” (the popular British TV show which was just adapted for a US audience) is the doomed Cathy.
The film was shot on the Yorkshire moors last fall, and it sounds like the atmosphere is as spot-on as the recent adaptation of Jane. Will you check it out?
*and yes, Arnold’s hiring meant that original director Peter Webber’s casting of Ed Westwick and Gemma Arterton was out.
Tony will be so disappointed. He is all about the Gemma Arterton…
Ha. Convince him to watch Tess of the D’Ubervilles with you instead!
Hmm I look forward to checking it out.
I think I would love to see a movie on this book; I rather found all the “mishing” of characters kept me confused at times throughout the story – making it difficult for me to stay focused at times!
However, as I am re-reading all the classics, I tend to see a similar pattern. Perhaps it is all those years of learning to write more succinctly that is causing my head now to spin on all this character development!
Thanks for sharing the read – and the movie info! A