Andrea Arnold is one of the most well respected, up-and-coming female directors of the past few years and for good reason. Though Red Road still alludes me, having seen Fish Tank I can’t help but think it too is nothing short of a masterpiece. But we’re not here to muse over how outstanding her career is shaping up to be but rather to share some news which frankly, have me a little surprised.

Arnold has built a reputation for herself by telling stories of strong, female protagonists so it may not come as too much of a shocker that she’s been hired to adapt Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights.” For those who may not have read the classic it’s the tragic love story (many argue it’s actually a tale of revenge) which follows the life of Heathcliff, a mysterious gypsy-like person, from childhood to his death in his late thirties. Heathcliff rises in his adopted family and then is reduced to the status of a servant, running away when Cathy Earnshaw, the young woman he loves decides to marry another. He returns later, rich and educated and sets about gaining his revenge on the two families that he believed ruined his life.

It’s a rough book, one I really disliked the first time I read it but I can see why it would be appealing to Arnold. It’s a difficult love story which, at its very center, focuses on something at the core of both of her films: class divide. I’m a little disappointed to discover that Arnold isn’t adapting the novel herself but rather taking on a script written by Olivia Hetreed. Either way this is starting to shape into a not-to-be-missed period romance and knowing Arnold, one that doesn’t rest solely on its good looks but which will also provide more than a few uncomfortable moments.