This 2009 adaptation of Wuthering Heights appears to be the most popular, at least at the time of this writing. It's not hard to see why: Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley have fabulous chemistry as the ill-fated lovers, and the locations used are just gorgeous. The atmosphere is great with an almost eternally gray sky and lots of desaturated color, making the few rich tones used really pop.Tom Hardy is easily the best cinematic Heathcliff I've seen to date. He's brooding, passionate, angry, and manipulative. He's a monster, yet also strangely sympathetic. The supporting cast is fantastic. I love Andrew Lincoln as Edgar and the actors who portrayed Cathy II and Hareton were adorable.Still, there are a few weak points which keep this WH from being great. Charlotte Riley is not a great Catherine, as she plays it too sympathetic. Catherine is selfish and even cruel, and Riley does not come across that way. The writing deserves part of the blame for that as well, giving Catherine some of Nelly's lines about how Heathcliff should not seek vengeance, as that's God's place. Could you see the Catherine of the novel doing such a thing? Also, the structure is confusing, especially for those who've never touched the book. We skip from the middle of the second generation to the first and then back, which is jarring.This one's popular for a reason. Wuthering Heights fans will likely enjoy it.

I've seen the '39, '92 and another TV series of Wuthering Heights. Each has it's qualities and flaws. When I watched the 2009 version for the first time, I was very pleasantly surprised that it was a very modern take on the situation between the characters. Heathcliff and Cathy were childhood sweethearts, with all that it entails, sex too. The relationship between Hetahcliff and Isabella Linton is also well pictured, even though the idea that Heathcliff tried to love Isabella (as he says) is really not at all in the book, nor characteristic of Heathcliff. Cathy is a very modern woman, who marries a man for his money and the comfort that it brings (at least that's the message I got, I never saw Cathy's love for Edgar), but loves and above all, desires, the rough, tough and wild bad boy Heathcliff. Actyually, Heathcliff is the one here that won't sleep with her later on, because she's married and she has slept with Edgar, thus betraying him. In the end, the story depicted becomes much too modern for my taste...it's going too far away from the book. Everything is too simple and superficial, the story is about a woman that made a bad choice and married the wrong man, and dies of heartbreak because of this, leaving the 2 guys to mourn for her. Heathcliff is upset of her betrayal and punishes her in his way, while also taking revenge on those that wronged him, but his character is a lamb compared to the devil Heathcliff is in the book. Cathy is also very different from the book, where she was strong, almost a tyrant with Heathcliff and Edgar, feared and loved. Here she's a teenage girl who doesn't know exactly what to do, is prone to her emotions, and at the mercy of Heathcliff and his whims. The series itself is not bad at all, acting, scenery, directing, and music are very good...but it's not a faithful adaptation of Wuthering Heights, more of a a "based on" thing. It's a "what if" kind of story (what if Heathcliff was in fact not that bad? what if Cathy was not that strong?). Kind of a good fan fiction... So, interesting to watch, probably won't be liked by the fans of the book.

A big fan of Masterpiece Theater and of classic novels, I was excited to find out there was a new adaptation of Wuthering Heights. I actually bought this on Amazon without having ever seen it, and after viewing it, I am so happy that I bought it. The film does a great job of showing the passion between Heathcliff and Cathy, and Tom Hardy in the role of Heathcliff is a perfect blend of swoon worthy and terrifying. My only complaint is that Part Two doesn't have the same pop as Part One; it's a little bit shorter, and feels more rushed. But overall, this is a wonderful adaptation that I would definitely recommend to all classical lovers.

True, it doesn't always follow the overall structure of the novel by Emily Bronte, and there are one or two slow moments. But it is beautifully done, and does a competent job of adapting a truly complicated book to screen. I don't think it is the best adaptation of the book, but it definitely not the worst. The adaptation was lovingly designed with stunning locations and exquisite costumes, and the photography was excellent. The performances were excellent, the two leads Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley were both superb as Heathcliff and Cathy, and Andrew Lincoln and Sarah Lancashire give able support. The scriptwriter Peter Bowker, who wrote the script for the wonderful BBC drama Occupation, does a good job with the dialogue, which was in general well written and well crafted. All in all, as an adaptation it is beautifully done, not always faithful to the novel, but the performances and the visual design compensates. 8/10 Bethany Cox