While I did not hate this movie, my feelings aren't nearly as positive as the average reviewer. That's because although it is a lovely film to watch and has such beautiful music, I just can't get past the performance of Laurence Olivier. While he has a fantastic reputation as an actor, I felt his performance was just "too earnest"--in other words, there were too many pained looks and stares. His Heathcliff just seemed awfully wussy and perhaps constipated. Perhaps part of this is the result of the direction he received or it was just the style of the day, but I really don't feel that his performance translates well to the present day. Otherwise, the only minor quibble was the stupid tacked on ending (making it HAPPY)--I know this was NOT approved by William Wyler (the director) and it was later added by a studio hack to satisfy the execs' demand for an upbeat ending. How you could do this AFTER Heathcliff came to hate her so intensely is beyond me!
Review of Wuthering Heights
