Wuthering Heights (2009)

Among the classics, Wuthering Heights has always been one of my favorites. I was contemplating reading it again on my Kindle, however, later I thought it'd be best to download a movie adaptation. Among so many adaptations of the novel, there were two that caught my interest - one starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche (1992) and a newer version starring Tom Hardy as Heathcliff. I settled for the 2009 version as I've become a recent fan of this actor. And he didn't disappoint in the role.

He is an orphan. I found him on the streets of Liverpool where he'd have died with his mother. He'll not tell me his name, so I'm going to name him myself....Cathy, Hindley, this is Heathcliff.

One of the best characters ever created, an antihero driven by vengeance, Heathcliff has been well portrayed  by Tom Hardy, specially after he returns a rich man. Though some of the other characters do not really fit as per the novel, if my memory serves me right. Charlotte Riley also does well to bring out the flaws in Catherine's original character. Her jealousy after seeing Heathcliff return, while she's married to Edgar (Andrew Lincoln), has been played really well, which makes Isabella (Rosalind Halstead) remark upon her as a dog in the manger. There definitely is that element of tension all the time in the movie, just as it was in the novel.

I'm not too sure of the ending though and why would they want to tweak the story. As I remember the novel, Heathcliff dies after hallucinating about the ghost of Catherine and not by committing suicide, like the movie makes us believe. And that's what I confirmed from the web too. I guess, after all, I'll have to read it again!

Rating - 7/10