Wuthering Heights

The good news about the third feature from Fish Tank director Andrea Arnold is that she puts her own unique stamp on Emily Brontë's brooding classic, while the not-so-good news is that it marks her least satisfying film to date. Arnold starts by turning Heathcliff (Solomon Glave) into an escaped slave, presumably of Caribbean descent, who materializes on Yorkshire's moors without the benefit of a back story. Devout farmer Earnshaw (Paul Hilton) takes him in "because it's the Christian thing to do." Life at Wuthering Heights isn't easy, but the teenager finds a saving grace in Earnshaw's daughter, Catherine (Shannon Beer). After their father's death, however, her brother, Hindley (Lee Shaw), takes over the household, and sends Heathcliff to sleep with the livestock. Although Heathcliff and Cathy share a bond, she eventually accepts a proposal from the respectable young man who nursed her back to health after an injury, and Heathcliff leaves town. Returning six years later with money in his pocket, Heathcliff (now played by James Howson) tries to win back Cathy (Kaya Scodelario), but faces several roadblocks, even as their mutual attraction remains strong. Instead of a swoon-worthy story, however, Arnold emphasizes brutality over any other concern. Heathcliff and Cathy have a sadomasochistic relationship (and Heathcliff has a propensity for strangling small creatures to death), and both are immune to the feelings of anyone but themselves, making it hard to care about what happens to either one. Still, given the source material and Arnold's critical cachet as a director, this should be considered a strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include a video essay by film critic David Fear (20 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an offbeat adaptation of Brönte's classic.] (K. Fennessy)