Before its expiration date on Netflix Watch Instantly, I made time to watch the Masterpiece Theater adaptation of the novel. I read the book during my junior year of college (for fun) and, despite almost all of the characters being completely despicable people, I really enjoyed it. The writing was beautiful and the story quite dramatic.
See. Look at those dramatic faces. Heathcliff has an excellent pout.
This adaptation, from what my pathetic memory can recall, does a really good job sticking to most of the salient points. The characters, for the most part, look just like what I had imagined them to, although I imagined Linton the elder being more sickly and ugly, but oh well. Heathcliff and Catherine did a great job, especially.
It's hard to hate Andrew Lincoln after his cuteness in Love Actually.
The biggest difference I noticed between the book and the movie is that they removed the frame story with the man who moves into the neighboring house and is told this story. Getting rid of this is a really good choice, because it really adds nothing to the tale and would likely just be boring and confusing for the film's audience.
Honestly, the reason I know they changed things, though I know not what, is that most of the characters were at least a little bit sympathetic at times, which they super were not in the novel. I'm pretty sure they glossed over a lot of the completely awful things Heathcliff did, especially as a child, instead focusing on the way he was abused by the other guy.
This movie ALMOST made me ship them.
But then I remember the crazy.
I am sure other things are missing, but, all in all, it seemed like a really good adaptation. It runs just about two and a half hours.
Yeah, in the book Heathcliff got on my nerves. As I read (soooo long ago) I couldn't help but think, "WHY do you linger on this jerk. Move on!" I never saw this movie/show though. I think I would enjoy it all the same. I liked the book well enough.
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