'I liked Cathy. My mum hates her.'

The Yorker reviews Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights:

Rarely do adaptations of Emily Brontë's classic novel do justice to the original's dark, gloomy tone. The 1939 Hollywood version for instance, widely regarded as the definitive version, is certainly a very well-made and enjoyable film, but has the standard classical Hollywood tone that feels at odds with the bitter, cynical subject matter. This latest adaptation of Wuthering Heights could hardly be more different, portraying a constant feeling of foreboding misery, featuring no music and a relatively unknown cast who mostly hardly speak a word. [...]
This new Wuthering Heights film may be a hard film to love, with its unlikable characters, grim, uncomfortable imagery (particularly of animals) and its difficult camera-work, but it certainly deserves praise and admiration for its innovation, whilst offering a faithful yet genuinely unique take on the infamous love story. (Stephen Puddicombe)

The director, Andrea Arnold will be tomorrow (November 19, 3:00 PM) at Brighton (Duke of Yorks picture house) for a screening plus Q&A.

The Irish Times features Kaya Scodelario:

Bright, opinionated and wise beyond her years, Scodelario made it through the casting process where other more recognisable stars, notably Natalie Portman and Abbie Cornish, failed to stay the course. Her achievement is all the more impressive when you consider she failed to show up for her audition. Believing she was wrong for the part, Scodelario stayed away, turned off her phone and hid.
“The script had been going round for about two years before it went into production,” she says. “And a lot of people were attached to it like Gemma Arterton and Natalie Portman. I was intimidated by that. They’re both very beautiful, both very talented. And I felt too young.” It took Arnold to convince her otherwise. [...]
“I didn’t think I was qualified but once I got there I really enjoyed it,” says Scodelario. “I am quite an emotional person anyway. So I found it emotional just doing the work. The scene where Heathcliff and Edgar are fighting, that really freaked me out because my boyfriend had been in a fight. I wanted to open up every feeling inside me. I didn’t have that much screen time to show her losing it. I had James stand behind the camera and shout abuse at me. That took me back to the playground at school. All those things you bury came floating up.” [...]
Arnold’s gamble has paid off with one of the most powerful films of the year. Her Wuthering Heights is a landmark literary adaptation, one that fits neatly with the new grimy kitchen sink revival in British cinema.
“ Wuthering Heights has taught me not to judge a genre,” says Scodelario. “And not to think only certain people can do certain things. Maybe if Andrea Arnold directed a rom-com I might do it.”
So will she ever get around to Emily Brontë? “I’m waiting for all the fuss to die down so I can come to it fresh. I want to wait until I can read it without thinking about the film. I liked Cathy. My mum hates her. She thinks she’s a horrible character. I like her honesty. If you feel something then say it. Ultimately she knew Heathcliff would kill her. He was like a disease. But she couldn’t resist. She could run or settle for the nice guy. I can’t judge her for that.” (Tara Brady)

In The Times, Richard Morrison discusses David Starkey's comments on Heathcliff's skin colour:

As Andrea Arnold’s new film of Wuthering Heights reminds us with its bold casting, Emily Brontë imagined Heathcliff as “dark-skinned”. But our isles were enlivened by “dark-skinned” cultures long before that.

The Telegraph applies Andrea Arnold's film to its politics section:

What, exactly, is it about Robert Peston, the BBC’s business editor, that annoys his colleagues so much?
This week alone, Eddie Mair and James Naughtie have had pops at the pompous presenter. If it’s because of his tortuous broadcasting style, perhaps the best solution would be take out of a leaf out of the book of Andrea Arnold, the director of the new Wuthering Heights film adaptation? She chose one actor to play Heathcliff on account of his looks and then another to dub his voice. (Tim Walker)

In the light of this adaptation and Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre, X Media Online wonders, 'Film Adaptations: enriching our screens or appropriating our literature?'

Kate Bush either enriched or appropriated Wuthering Heights with her song, which is mentioned by The Quietus:

Thanks to Wuthering Heights, Kate Bush will always be connected to Emily Brontë, the author of the novel whose story Bush retold in her debut single. Her tenth studio album, however, is driven by a preoccupation shared with Emily's younger sister. At the beginning of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, the eponymous heroine is found poring over Bewick's History of British Birds, fantasising about the “forlorn regions of dreary space” around the fringes of the Arctic in which seabirds congregate. This “reservoir of frost and snow” fascinates the bleakly meditative Jane, and sets the reader up for a story in which a thaw is rarely apparent; similarly, 50 Words for Snow sees Bush devote herself entirely to the impressionistic evocation of winter scenes. (Joe Kennedy)

HitFix reflects about Jane Eyre and the Academy Awards:

“Jane Eyre” managed to earn much respect earlier in the year. The question still remains if it will be able to translate any of that into awards success at the end of the year. I’m not sure. That having been said, after Michael O’Connor’s costumes, Will Hughes-Jones’s helming of the art department would seem its best chance. Early 19th Century England does tend to pique the fancy of this branch from time to time (“The Young Victoria” and “The Duchess” jump to mind from recent years). (Gerard Kennedy)

People's Daily Online (China) mentions the 2009 stage production of Jane Eyre:

NCPA keeps a database that tracks all ticket sales and provides a trove of information. The sales trend for its own production of Jane Eyre, for example, is a testament to the power of positive word-of-mouth.
For its first run, in June 2009, 20 percent of tickets went out 50-40 days before it opened; then 20 percent more the next 10 days; and finally 30 percent. For the second run, the following December, 30 percent of tickets were snatched up in the first 10 days of advance sales, reflecting a heightened eagerness among potential theatergoers. By the time the play opened, the house was sold out.
A different June show sold 90 percent for its first run, with two extra shows added at the last minute. But when it returned the next year, in late October, attendance dropped to 60 percent. Marketing director Wang wouldn't identify the show.
Wang noted that there are seasonal fluctuations, with the months after Chinese New Year and the end of March the slowest. "Some venues would simply close for the time," he said. (Raymond Zhou and Zhang Yuchen)

The Orange County Register shares gift ideas for book lovers. Among them is,

The Heroine's Bookshelf: Life Lessons, from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder, by Erin Blakemore, explores how classic heroines and their authors can influence and encourage women even today. Whether the reader is a fan of Charlotte Brontë or Alice Walker, each spirited character can be inspire long after the story is over. List price: $13.99 (Roxanne Hack)

Chuck Miller writes an account of Week 11 of the $2,000 2011 Elbo Room Trivia Tournament where,

The final category was on fashion.
We decided to go with the bet-two-points strategy and see if it worked.
“What popular sisters are the creators of the Elizabeth and James fashion line?”
I don’t know. Serena and Venus Williams? The Kardashians? Charlotte and Emily Brontë?
No matter. We guessed the Olsen twins and handed in our slip.
Well, apparently we guessed right. It was the Olsens.

Liverpool Student Media, Cultural Tales of Two Cities, Helen Abraham Photography and onyanserat (in Swedish) review Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights. Vulture reviews the two Brontë film adaptations of 2011: Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. View from Fairview focuses on Jane Eyre 2011. Poise on Arrows posts about Wuthering Hights, the novel. The Lurking Librarian posts about The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.