shahbaz

very arthouse and grotesque in the best possible way. the visual language is very tasteful as is tilda swinton in her roles. however i do wish that the political narrative had been established deeper and the coven’s presence as a political entity was explored further. regardless quite fun and confusing.

went into this without reading the book but knowing a little about it. i just couldn’t get by how the greatest love story ever written was only justified when both the leads were white given how the obstacles in their way (nelly and edgar) were both poc. in fennells mind, the greatest love story too is reserved for them.    for me, the film felt flat with little to no depth. cathy came across as a teenager who is newly coming to terms with her own sexuality and continues to be immature. given how sexually charged the film was, i thought it could have been interesting to see how heathcliff, who once was meant to be cathy’s pet per the film, exhibits those feelings of abuse and that class/power imbalance and maybe holds some secret resentment towards her given his childhood. exploring more of his inner conflict rather than just washing it down to a sexual fantasy maybe could have helped. i also wished there were difficult conversations had in the film or some acknowledgment of that imbalance, instead of it just being used as a device to move the plot forward. also if you were leaning into freakiness, then let’s do freaky. this was mild.  i think fennell is more interested in spectacle more so than what it leaves you with. there’s some shock value here but that’s basically it. i don’t understand the use of exaggerated moments when they don’t carry any thematic significance. this build up with charli xcx songs in the background and fog (so much of it) just for it to attempt to produce something beautiful, even if it is completely empty and diluted. i was bored by the same old setting after the first few times because it was presented the same way. whenever a charli song came on, i was instantly detached from the film. even the costumes felt tacky. like -  what i did like was alison and her character in the film. i think that was definitely the standout for me and maybe more character developments would have led to more well rounded characters. had this been packaged as a comedy i would enjoy it because the comedic beats worked for me. but i can see how passionate and nightmarish and tense this could have been which leaves me feeling upset and disappointed.

somebody turned a knife and took my guts inside out

they casted the right child actor for this he was so precious