A consistent criticism of many current actresses is that they simply look too “modern” for any kind of period drama. That’s especially true of many American actresses, and I would argue that British actresses tend to look more period-piece ready (think Kiera Knightley, Mia Goth, Anya Taylor Joy, Olivia Colman, Helen Mirren, etc). There’s always a social media discourse about “Instagram Face,” as in… if you look like a filtered Instagram influencer, you’re probably not going to get cast in a Jane Austen adaptation. I often think this discourse is unfair to actresses because people are projecting their own bullsh-t unto who can and cannot “pull off” a period role or period costume.

Well, all that being said, I think the “too modern for period drama” discourse is completely fair in Margot Robbie’s case. She looks like what she is: a modern woman, a 21st century blonde who grew up on an Australian beach. Every clip or glimpse I’ve seen from Wuthering Heights just shows that Margot was badly miscast as Cathy. I would even argue that Jacob Elordi comes close to pulling off Heathcliff (minus the whitewashing controversy), and that Jacob actually has that thing where he looks convincing in period pieces and period costume. But not Margot.

I bring this up because of these photos from the Paris premiere of Wuthering Heights. Margot has been trying to wear Wuthering-themed dresses and style herself with a mid-19th-century vibe for the premieres and it’s not working!! My God, it’s really not working. Margot’s dress here is a custom Chanel, and I assume it was customized to have a 19th century feel. She also wore a Lorraine Schwartz diamond necklace with over 100 carats. Sigh.

It looks like real reviews of WH have been embargoed until closer to the release, but I keep seeing tweets from people who have seen some early screenings and they’re mostly disappointed rather than shocked and turned on.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.