Emerald Fennell is a director who is sure to speak of himself: his adaptation of Tempestrous Peaks has been at the cinema for a week and has unleashed rivers of digital ink. With a chat cast, a soundtrack signed by Charlie XCX and the visceral sensibility we learned to expect from the English director, the film released on February 12 definitely caught the attention of the public. Is it all smoke or is there really something juicy? If you haven’t seen him yet, it’s worth investigating together.
Cime tempestose: un amore travolgente
Cathy was born in Cime Tempestose, a estate in ruins in the English countryside where he lives with his father — a noble alcoholic and ludopathic decay — the lady of Nelly company and the few remaining servants. His life changes forever when his father meets Heathcliff, an orphan and mute finder, and decides to welcome him into the house. The two cross together childhood and adolescence, developing an indissoluble bond and an attraction that do not dare to confess to anyone.
When the wealthy Mr. Linton, a wealthy bachelor merchant, acquires the estate next to the Tempestrous Peaks, his interest in Cathy could be the only chance for the girl to rise from the ruin of her family. But the attraction between her and Heathcliff is too powerful because the two can really separate themselves..
Chiacchiere online vs realtà
Since Tempestrous peaks have been in the halls for about a week, and the online discussion is very polarized. On the one hand, there are those who criticize him because it is not a faithful adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel; on the other, he defends him with a sword because it actualizes the starting material by approaching him to more pop and contemporary aesthetics and sensibilities. What is lost in this discussion is the question whether and how much the film works or not for itself, regardless of the original material. The answer, honestly, is no.
Anche l’occhio vuole la sua parte
If you can say something undeniable about Emerald Fennel is that he is a director with a very strong sense of iconism. The images that run on the screen of Tempestrous Peaks are all of a very strong impact: rich, nervous compositions, rich in tension. Which would be great if it wasn’t that the film ends up completely lost in its own pictoriality: it seems to look at a series of music videos, a collection of moodboards held together by a melodrama a little too stressed and a somewhat simplistic sensibility. A great sin, because if the characters showed more or less human emotions and interactions, we could have been in front of a contemporary classic. It can still be worth seeing, as long as you know that you are entering the hall for mere aesthetic fulfillment.
Il cast
Margot Robbie is Catherine “Cathy” Earnshaw, the last descendant of a family of kindness now fallen into disgrace. Jacob Elordi is Heathcliff, who is taken home by the Earnshaws and grows to become a faithful all-rounder. Hong Chau is Nelly, company lady of Cathy with whom he has a tumultuous relationship, while Martin Clunes is Mr. Earnshaw, Lord of Tempestrous Peaks who is dragging his family into ruin. Shazad Latif is Edgar Linton, a rich textile merchant who moves to the nearby estate, while Alison Oliver is her protected Isabella, a frivolous girl who conceals a hidden side.
L’articolo Timely peaks: a timely retrospective – The review comes from Dituttounpop.it.
