Wuthering Heights, ITV style

Another year, another Wuthering Heights adaptation (I know I'm a little late to the party as it's been sitting on the PVR since August). Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre must have more screen adaptations than any other novel (except perhaps Oliver Twist), but I've never been completely happy with any of them. In fact, I think it's nigh on impossible to do either of them justice on screen, but they keep on trying... I'd love to see an adaptation of Villette, however, as I think the novel is brilliantly cinematic and as it hasn't been done to death, something really interesting could be unearthed with a sensitive, intelligent screenplay. I really, really enjoyed Peter Bowker's work on Desperate Romantics. While it was far from being impeccably accurate, it had so much heart and energy and was delightfully acted, which made me see past historical accuracy (though being a pedantic nineteenth century-ist, I feel a bit guilty about doing so). This was a disappointingly watered-down, rather than a full-blooded take on Emily's story. It felt like the Laura Ashley version of Wuthering Heights- there was hardly any emphasis on the Gothic, everything was spotless, the moors were indistinguishable from any other bit of countryside and it was much too sunny (that wasn't anyone's fault and I'm sure any other director would have been thrilled to have such good weather, but that doesn't work so well for WH where stormy and miserable is much more suited to the mood).

Wuthering Heights is not a romance and it always surprises me when it's labeled as such. Heathcliff and Cathy have to be the most miserable, self-destructive protagonists in literature. Tom Hardy has a credible go at Heathcliff (everyone seems to find him gorgeous, but I don't think he's attractive at all- not that Heathcliff has to be good looking). Aidan Turner, recently seen as Rossetti in Desperate Romantics, would make a brilliant Heathcliff (although I find him absolutely gorgeous, he plays selfish and pathologically destructive so well). Although they made Heathcliff more demonic than he usually is (they included the bit when he digs up Cathy's body), they tried to make Cathy more sympathetic in a way that isn't true to the book. Charlotte Riley might be the prettiest Cathy I've seen, but they take out the line about how marrying Heathcliff would be a degradation, making it look as if she marries Edgar on the rebound because Heathcliff has disappeared. 

One of the reasons why Wuthering Heights struggles on screen is because the layered narration is so tricky. Lockwood (non-existent in this version) is hearing the story from Nelly, who relies on various other accounts, and it all becomes very messy (in a good way!) and one doesn't know who to believe. If handled well, I think such a narrative could be really interesting. I also firmly don't believe that Heathcliff and Cathy ever had sex. Only about half an hour is devoted to the second generation (which is where Heathcliff really shows the full extent of his brutality) and the full extent of Heathcliff's physical and emotional cruelty towards Isabella is glossed over.

I wonder what next year's big screen adaptation will be like. Gemma Arterton as Cathy is great casting, but so much hinges on the screenplay... In January 2008, I saw a stage adaptation by Heartbreak Productions that stuck to the book like glue. It was magical. When you have such a fantastic story, why would you want to change it?

When I took my copy of the book off my shelf, I found this rather beautiful bookmark inside. The thing is, I don't remember making it, or anyone giving it to me. A mystery.

                                            

Lost Q&A (SPOILER ALERT)

This post will contain spoilers up to the Lost season 5 finale

The fact that I'm a Lost fan seems to come as a surprise to a lot of people. I've never had much of an interest in science fiction-y stuff, and I tend to be slightly allergic to popular culture. Last summer, my brother decided he would introduce me to his Favourite TV Show Ever, and I found myself enthralled. I needed something new to get my teeth into, and this crazy, epic, sprawling show certainly delivered. Being the kind of person I am, it has to be the characters who intrigue me most (I was glad to hear that Damon and Carlton feel the same way- it's as much about the monster inside the character than it is about the monster in the jungle), but the mythology is truly fascinating as well, though sometimes I feel one needs PhDs in philosophy, literature, history, classics, physics and anthropology to keep up. Since fairly early on, my favourite character has been Sayid Jarrah. He's the most incredible, multi-layered character who's done some appalling things, but I firmly believe that he's a Good Person at heart (whoever would have believed in a sensitive, romantic torturer?) Plus, he's the most attractive, mesmerizing man I've ever seen, who just radiates intelligence and sensuality.

Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse and Jack Bender clearly know they're onto something good (how could they not?), but nevertheless all seem like really funny, approachable, charming gentlemen, who genuinely enjoy meeting the fans and don't take themselves too seriously (lots of snark about bad wigs and unsuccessful new characters). These events aren't just a duty for them. To get everyone into the spirit, panel moderator Andrew Collins (film editor on the Radio Times) asked us to all sing the theme tune, as is apparently the norm at TV conventions. The thing is, Lost's doesn't have any lyrics or much of a tune either. mmmMMMMmmm!

The show looks incredible on the big screen, I wish we could always watch it like that. There wasn't a dry eye in the house during Charlie's death (it was Dominic Monaghan's idea to cross himself as he floated away- they talked about Charlie an awful lot...), Desmond and Penny's phone call (it was nice of them to commend Henry Ian's performance, and all great British actors!) and Juliet detonating the bomb. I loved hearing about the creative process- no one was expecting the show to catch on and therefore didn't want anything to do with it, so they had lots of freedom to make about a dozen episodes as well as they could, and hoped it would get bit of a cult following. When it had a huge reception, Damon came into Carlton's office in tears and their immediate reaction was, "Fucking hell, how are we going to keep this up?" It was during season 3 that they got a bit stuck as they didn't know how long the show was going to last, and the bear cages that Kate and Sawyer were imprisoned in became a metaphor for how they felt ("Only we didn't have sex with each other." "No, we just ate a lot of fish biscuits." "That must be a euphemism for something..."). Knowing what they had to aim for changed everything. A good way to keep people interested is to have characters you can't make up your mind about. That's true about practically all the characters to an extent, but I'd have to single out Juliet. I had no idea what to make of her for a while and now I adore her. There was a raise of hands for those who think Ben can still be redeemed. Mine was partially raised.

I really think that Lost is under represented in this country. It sounds like a strange thing to say, but I doubt the first or last episode of season 6 will get a Radio Times cover, while Doctor Who (a programme for children) gets one practically every week (plus, Naveen Andrews, Josh Holloway and Henry Ian Cusick could eat David Tennant for breakfast, in my very humble opinion). Part of the problem is that it isn't on any of the public channels (we don't get Sky, so we have to resort to other methods to watch it). It's such a shame. There's still the preconception that it's just the show on the desert island with the polar bears that the writers are making up as they go along. It simply isn't true. It's incredibly complex and well-thought out, that deals with all sorts of issues and questions whilst being entertainment. That isn't easy to pull off.

An interesting anecdote is that Sawyer's bookish nature wasn't exactly planned. They needed things for people to do while not on exciting missions (being held hostage by the mad French woman in the attic, building a raft, etc), and it grew out of that. I found him so repulsive as a human being in those early days that I didn't find him attractive at all (Josh Holloway is so much more than a pretty face- I'm really miffed that he was snubbed out of an Emmy nomination for The Incident). The thing that kept me intrigued was the fact that he was surprisingly cultured and literate despite his selfish, misogynistic, 'redneck' facade. If Sawyer has helped to make reading 'sexy,' then that has to be a good thing.

Roll on January 2010! While fan theories are fun, I feel confident that we're in the hands of master storytellers who'll deliver something pretty special. They want the ending to be 'fair.' Sounds fair enough to me.