The first trailer for the new Wuthering Heights movie adaptation has been released and it’s clear that Emerald Fennell’s take on the classic novel is set to be a very provocative one
Emily Bronte fans have been left divided as the first look at the latest Wuthering Heights movie adaptation has been revealed. The iconic dark romance is set to get the Hollywood treatment with Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in the leading roles.
Saltburn director Emerald Fennell’s hotly anticipated movie adaptation set on the lonesome Yorkshire Moors has been given a saucy makeover, with many fearing it is a far cry from the classic book. The opening scene sees a man ejaculates while being executed, with other risqué scenes teased.
In the new trailer, Charli xcx’s hit Everything Is Romantic acts as a soundtrack as viewers are introduced to Margot and Jacob as Catherine and Heathcliff.
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Those who have already seen the full movie are said to have described Oscar-nominated Fennel’s take on Bronte’s classic novel as “aggressively provocative”, with mixed reviews coming out of advanced screenings.
And the first trailer has certainly sparked some conflicting opinions from social media commentators too. The teaser kicks off with a sweeping shot of a grand estate nestled in the West Yorkshire moors, followed by a stunning close-up of Margot. Suddenly, we’re treated to an intimate shot of two female hands kneading bread.
What follows is a montage of more traditional images interspersed with provocative shots: a bare, glistening back; a shirtless Jacob handling hay in a stable; more bread kneading; fingers tracing through egg yolks; Margot’s Catherine slipping her fingers into Jacob’s mouth; a woman having horse tack placed on her face; and, naturally, a finger probing the mouth of a fish.
“It’s worse than you could ever imagine,” one Twitter (X) user penned in reaction to the trailer going live. “This looks and feels garish & tacky as sh** lmao god bless,” another added as a third fumed: “someone take away emerald fennell’s directing license i’m so serious.”
But some are excited to see the latest adapation of Wuthering Heights when it lands in cinemas on Valentine’s Day next year. “It looks stunning and erotic. (In the best way),” one fan quipped, as another gushed: “Margot Robbie + Jacob Elordi in a gothic Valentine’s release? That’s gonna pack theaters.”
At the first test screening for the film last month, one viewer describe Fennell’s take as “aggressively provocative and tonally abrasive”. Following the screening, it was reported that the movie opens with a public hanging in which the “condemned man ejaculates mid-execution”. The throng of people watching the execution then react orgiastically, and a nun “fondles the corpse’s visible erection”.
Speaking about the upcoming movie earlier this year, Jacob gushed: “The performances from everyone – it’s breathtaking,” he said. “It’s an incredible romance. It’s a true epic. It’s visually beautiful. The script is beautiful. The costumes are incredible.”
Jacob being cast as Heathcliff initially sparked some controversary, due to the character being described as hating dark skin in Bronte’s book. Casting director, Karmel Cochrane, defended the decision to place a white man in the role earlier this year.
“There was one Instagram comment that said the casting director should be shot,” she said. “But just wait till you see it, and then you can decide whether you want to shoot me or not. But you really don’t need to be accurate. It’s just a book. That is not based on real life. It’s all art.”
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