Saltburn director Emerald Fennell has announced that she’ll be adapting Emily Brontë’s beloved 1847 novel Wuthering Heights into a new movie.
Fennell is known for her love of all things British and gothic — and sexually tense — so this is a very fitting move for her. The story of Wuthering Heights follows Cathy and Heathcliff, two star-crossed lovers who grow up together on the English moors, but are kept apart by fate and their own stubborn personalities.
Fennell posted a black and white sketch-style drawing of two skeletons on X on Friday, along with the title Wuthering Heights and quote from the book: “Be with me always — take any form — drive me mad.”
The line is spoken by Heathcliff, in reference to Catherine (there is a younger Catherine in the book as well, but he’s referring to her mother). Heathcliff aforementioned phrase end with this: “Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I can not live without my life! I can not live without my soul!”
Needless to say, this movie will likely contain lots of male yearning, satisfying a demand that was ignited in fans of Netflix’s English period romance series Bridgerton.
Just like Wuthering Heights is a gothic tragedy, Fennell’s sophomore feature Saltburn, which came out last year following her 2020 directorial debut Promising Young Woman, had a very sinister yet deliciously gothic vibe.
Set in a huge, palatial English mansion, it follows two Oxford university students played by Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan. Elordi plays Felix, the heir to a fabulously wealthy family who invites Keoghan’s wayward Oliver to spend the summer at Saltburn. But things are not as they seem — and Oliver is not who he says he is.
More on Wuthering Heights and Emerald Fennell’s Sex Scenes
The possibilities for what Fennell — our recent cover star — will do with Wuthering Heights are delightful to consider. She’s known for very, ahem, interesting sex scenes — see the bathtub and grave scenes in Saltburn — so it’s reasonable to expect that this version of Wuthering Heights could be considerably more NSFW than previous adaptations.
The first adaptation of Wuthering Heights was a silent film in 1920 directed by A.V. Bramble. Though several versions of the same story exist under different names, the adaptations that use the book’s same title include a 1939 version with Merle Oberon and Lawrence Olivier in the title roles; the 1970 version starring Timothy Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall; and more notably, the 1992 version, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, starring Juliette Binoche as Cathy (both the older and the younger) and Ralph Fiennes as Heathcliff.
There was also a 2011 version directed by Andrea Arnold that starred Skins actress Kaya Scodelario as Cathy and James Howson as Heathcliff.
But while Fennell will most likely include a sex scene or two, she notably doesn’t use a lot of nudity in her sex scenes. Instead, she prefers to let the audience’s minds run wild.
“This film is, in many ways, about sex. But I think the thing that’s wonderful is that in almost all of the sex scenes whether they’re solitary or not, we never really see below the collarbone. But they’re so filthy,” Fennell said in November.
“I think it felt like if we used a copious amount of nudity in the sex scenes it would have been kind of uninteresting and relentless, and you know, it’s not real, too,” she said. “It’s not real with those scenes a lot of the time, which puts you in a bit of an uncomfortable position. But you know, when it’s just someone on their own, and it’s just their face, it feels very, very real.”
Fennell is also known for her acting roles, including playing Midge in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Queen consort Camilla Parker Bowles on The Crown. She was also in The Danish Girl and Call the Midwife.
You can see her tweet announcing the movie below.
Main Image: London, United Kingdom – February 18, 2024: Emerald Fennell attends the 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards at The Royal Festival Hall in London, England. Shutterstock.
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