A New Wuthering Heights Sparks Debate Over Style (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: People are so mad about Wuthering Heights. It's one of the biggest films of the year so far, and it's probably Emerald Fennell's most controversial to date. They are upset about the casting, the costuming and period accuracy. People have a real fondness and a reverence for Emily Brontë's classic Gothic novel, and they've been pretty scared that Fennell is going to ruin something that is so dear to their heart. But I think the best way to think about this film is to understand that she's interested in not sticking to the details, but looking at the big feelings overall. She's heavily visually inspired by melodramas and soundstage musicals, an era of cinema that just doesn't really exist anymore. I worked with Oscar-winning costumer Jacqueline Duran. When they were both in London recently, they talked about how they really wanted the costumes of this film to still feel costumey. We see Margot Robbie in some synthetic high-shine fabrics that would not have existed in the time. The film actually probably has more in common with the 1939 adaptation by William Wyler than it ever does with Emily Brontë's original classic. The film is an ostentatious, romantic, windswept melodrama, and there's a real shared visual language between the two movies, particularly when you look at costumes. I think once you understand that the film has more to do with its own cinematic lineage than it does with the Brontë parsonage, maybe it will be an easier watch, but I guess you just have to watch it for yourself.