Welcome to Part 11 of looking at various adaptations of Wuthering Heights and seeing if they can capture the spirit of the book by Emily Brontë. Today, I’ll be looking at the 2022 movie starring Bryan Ferriter as Heathcliff and Jet Jandreau (credited as Jasmine Jandreau) as Catherine.
It’s been an interesting journey watching Wuthering Heights adaptations. I especially like how each version tries to be more transgressive than the previous ones. But like everything else, this odyssey has to come to an end. I’m happy that I’m ending with the 2022 movie directed by and starring Bryan Ferriter because it’s the worst version of the story I’ve seen. Period.
Where do I begin? Let’s start with the costumes. If you’ve been reading my Wuthering Heights adaptation reviews, you probably would’ve noticed that I don’t often mention the costumes. This is so because there are people out there who are better at critiquing that than I am. Personally, while I will note if outfits are historically inaccurate (like the Victorian-era costumes in the 1939 movie), it’s more important that they look good on the actors. All in all, the clothing in this version not only doesn’t reflect the 1700s, but they also look cheap. The dresses the women wear came straight out of the Renaissance era. I actually agreed with Heathcliff when he calls Catherine’s dress “a silly frock” when she goes to see Edgar. I’ll never look at Gunne Sax gowns the same way, and yes, I’m aware that they range from $200 to $900. Also, Hindley wears a tuxedo shirt. That truly took me out of it. It was as if their moms went to the store and bought outfits that they thought would be appropriate for the movie. Say what you want about the costumes in the 1939 film, at least they looked good. Even the 2026 movie‘s clothing makes sense in context. If you want someone else to critique the costuming in depth, check out this article from Frock Flicks.
Next, the sound was atrocious. The mixing was terrible. There were times that I could barely understand what the actors were saying, even when it was clearly dubbed. Even regular Joes could pick up on that. The fact that the film did more telling than showing made it even worse. For example, when Catherine is out in the rain yelling Heathcliff’s name, Nelly’s narration tells viewers that Catherine was searching for him in that kind of weather. Instead, blue skies are shown, but the rain is heard. Also, Jet Jandreau, who plays her, appears dry in one shot and wet in the next. It was like a low-grade picture book talking about the things that happened without displaying them.
Finally, the acting was like what if Tommy Wiseau directed a bunch of high schoolers in a production of Wuthering Heights and cast himself as Heathcliff. At best, it’s decent. At worst, it can be either nonchalant or overindulgent. They were also going in and out of their accents a lot. I’m from the Midwest, so my ears perked up when I heard them pronouncing their Rs. Mary Riitano as Nelly is the best performer because she is emotive, but she isn’t performing to the back of the room. Jandreau as Catherine isn’t inspiring. She’s capable of playing the mean-girl aspect of that character, yet she’s mostly expressionless. This is apparent when Edgar proposes to her. While I can see that as a deliberate choice, it would have been more effective if she pretended to be joyous. Ryan Pfeiffer is over-the-top as Hindley and not always in the best way.
And then, there’s Bryan Ferriter. He’s the main reason why this movie is overindulgent. He decided that it was a good idea to cast himself as Heathcliff and to direct the film as well. Ferriter portrays the man as if he’s a romantic hero, but it ends up self-serving, especially when there are shots of him walking with a white horse. It looked straight out of a perfume commercial. It’s the most indulgent when Heathcliff stretches the word “soul” after Catherine dies.
It’s the equivalent of Wiseau saying, “You’re tearing me apart, Lisa!” in The Room. I understand that this was Ferriter’s directorial debut. I want to give him slack because of that, but the direction and acting are so amateurish that I simply can’t.
Although there are some adaptations that I enjoyed more than others, I always admire at least one thing from each, and this one is no different. I thought that it was interesting to see Hindley drink before Frances died. Once she does, Heathcliff immediately pours a glass for Hindley. That’s an inspired shift from Heathcliff being abused to becoming the abuser. In addition, I admire that this is the only truly faithful adaptation of the story structure-wise. Not only does it include Nelly telling Lockwood about what happened prior, but it also has two catching up at a later time. No other version had done that.
The Wuthering Heights 2022 film is undoubtedly the most incompetent version of the story. The costuming looks cheap. The sound mixing was poor, and the less we say about the acting, the better. I could make some excuse about its budget, yet the 1950 teleplay’s one was limited as well, and it still appeared professional (even if it had similar problems). Above all, I’m not sure why this adaptation exists to begin with, other than being the most faithful structure-wise. It does things that the others executed much better. The only way I would recommend it is to watch the other Wuthering Heights versions first.
Now, let’s see how this one fits into the ranking.
- Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights 1992 Movie
- Wuthering Heights 2009 Series
- Wuthering Heights 1939 Movie
- Wuthering Heights 1958 Teleplay
- Wuthering Heights 2011 Movie
- Wuthering Heights 1967 Series
- Wuthering Heights 1998 Television Movie
- Wuthering Heights 1970 Movie
- Wuthering Heights 1950 Teleplay
- Wuthering Heights 2026 Movie
- Wuthering Heights 2022 Movie
Stay tuned next month when I give my concluding thoughts about all eleven Wuthering Heights adaptations.
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Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything 