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It’s one of the year’s most-talked about movies, so it’s only right that Wuthering Heights has seemingly divided opinion.
The highly-anticipated flick is finally in cinemas, starring Australian duo Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff.
Before its release, Wuthering Heights faced backlash for alleged ‘whitewashed’ casting, while the fans of the classic were left outraged by the erotic undertones in the trailer.
Directed by Saltburn creator Emerald Fennell, Wuthering Heights is an adaptation of the 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, though the movie features some key differences from the book.
To allow for these subtle changes to the story, Fennell included a small detail in the poster for Wuthering Heights.
Wuthering Heights stars Margot Robbie and is directed by Emerald Fennell (Kate Green/Getty Images for Warner Bros)
The title is displayed with quotation marks around it, allowing film fans to recognise that it is simply one version of Brontë’s novel and not a direct reflection of it.
Fennell – who has also explained why there’s no nude scenes in the movie – addressed her decision to include quotation marks in the title, revealing that she believes ‘any adaptation of a novel’ should come with them.
She told Fandango: “But the thing for me is that you can’t adapt a book as dense and complicated and difficult as this book.
“I can’t say I’m making Wuthering Heights. It’s not possible. What I can say is I’m making a version of it.
“There’s a version that I remembered reading that isn’t quite real. And there’s a version where I wanted stuff to happen that never happened.
“And so it is ‘Wuthering Heights‘, and it isn’t.”
The director reiterated her point while speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the film’s LA premiere last month.
“The thing is that it’s my favourite book in the world,” Fennel said.
“Like many people who love this book, I’m kind of fanatical about it, so I knew right from the get-go I couldn’t ever hope to make anything that could even encompass the greatness of this book.”
She added: “All I could do was make a movie that made me feel the way the book made me feel, and therefore it just felt right to say it’s Wuthering Heights, and it isn’t.”
The racy scenes included in Wuthering Heights have been a major talking point, with one specific moment even being compared to the famous bathtub scene in Saltburn.
The scene in question sees Catherine masturbating on a rock, with Heathcliff watching before he tries to kiss her, leading her to put grass into his mouth. He then lifts her to his eye level with one hand by her corset.
The movie poster features quotation marks around the title (Warner Bros.)
Fans have been debating whether the scene is really that raunchy, but Robbie has since shed light on its creation and intended purpose.
While chatting with Greg James on BBC Radio 1 on Tuesday (10 February), the Australian actress said: “Love it. The first scene, I think, really sets the tone for the film.”
James then pointed out that the masturbation bit wasn’t included in the original book, leading Robbie to tease more details about it.
“We called that section something else, which I won’t repeat on the radio,” she said. “I’ll tell you what we used to call that rock when we were shooting when we’re off the air.”
Wuthering Heights is in cinemas now.
