Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights (DVD, 2003)

The presence of two actors of the calibre of Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche in a film version of Wuthering Heights is a tantalising prospect. The viewer is not disappointed.

Juliette Binoche plays a dual role - as Catherine Linton (nee Earnshaw) and her daughter Catherine Earnshaw (nee Linton). The circularity of the notion is successful and gives credence to the extremes of passion that Heathcliff feels for mother and daughter in their different relationships to him.

Ralph Fiennes gives us a splendidly callous Heathcliff, dark, private and brooding - a perfect Ralph Fiennes role. Yet neither protagonist really succeeds in conveying the passion that Emily Bronte bestows in the original. Without knowing the book, the viewer might be baffled by the reasons for the destructive mutual passion of the film. Whilst each performance is masterly, the two fail somewhat in interaction.

Despite these flaws, this version of Wuthering Heights is well acted and well directed. Filmed in Yorkshire, it captures the feeling of the Moors and their bleak ruggedness. The contrasts between the gentility of the upper class and the setting, between Heathcliff and Edgar Linton, between politeness and passion are faithfully played out. It is a good film that succeeds in the difficult task of bringing something new to a well-known classic.