“Wuthering Heights” (2026)    Running time: 2 hours, 7 minutes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Whatever our souls are made of … his and mine are the same… Why did you leave me… Why did you betray your own heart?”

Director/Screenwriter: Emerald Fennell

Principal Cast: Margot Robbie (Catherine Earnshaw), Jacob Elordi (Heathcliff), Hong Chau (Nelly Dean), Shazad Latif (Edgar Linton), Alison Oliver (Isabella Linton), Martin Clunes (Mr. Earnshaw)

Review

Those speech marks around the title may be the most important and savvy piece of punctuation action in Hollywood since the famous * used in Thunderbolts! It effectively lets writer and director Emerald Fennell off the hook with the Brontë purists — as the trailer puts it, “inspired by the greatest love story of all time”.

If you are a Brontë fan — or someone over a certain age (maybe 30-ish) — you may feel a growing sense of prudishness as it all gets down and dirty on the moors, in the shed, in the rain, on the billiard table etc etc. After a period of “will they or won’t they” sexual tension, there is a 15-minute section where it never stops. Oh, my Vicar!

Two gripes here early doors… surely Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are far too good-looking as the two leads to relate to meaningfully unless you are gorgeous, talented and/or sport a six-pack. If you have, well done and my apologies. This is not to say that I disliked the movie. It is just that I couldn’t really see who it was pitched at/to. Robbie and Elordi give fine, heartfelt performances in their own ways, but do they have to be so damn good-looking on a movie set hundreds of years ago? Mmm.

The Story

This adaptation focuses on the obsessive, destructive love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff.Orphaned Heathcliff grows up inseparable from Catherine on the Yorkshire moors. Their intense childhood bond deepens into a passionate but volatile attachment. When Catherine chooses to marry Edgar Linton for social security rather than love, Heathcliff disappears — only to return wealthy and determined to exact revenge.

His vengeance destroys both families, while Catherine’s emotional turmoil leads to tragedy. The film ends on a bleak, gothic note, emphasising obsession and ruin rather than redemption.

How It Differs From the Book

While the film captures the stormy passion of Emily Brontë’s novel, it departs in several key ways.Most notably, it abandons the novel’s intricate framing device — in which Mr. Lockwood hears the story through Nelly Dean — opting for a more direct, linear narrative. It also drastically reduces the second-generation storyline, sidelining the redemptive arc of Cathy and Hareton that gives the novel its faint glimmer of hope.

Finally, the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff is rendered far more overtly sensual and romantic, shifting the emphasis from Brontë’s metaphysical, almost spiritual bond to a heightened, physical passion that feels distinctly modern.

Critical Reaction

Critically, it is turning into a bit of a marmite movie — those who like it really like it; those who don’t, boy oh boy…

The Telegraph called it: “Resplendently lurid, oozy and wild… an obsessive film about obsession.”

David Sims of The Atlantic described it as: “A heaving, rip-snortingly carnal good time.”

The BBC (via Brontë Blog) noted its:“…extravagant swirl: sexy, dramatic, melodramatic…”

On the other hand:

The Guardian called it: “An emotionally hollow, bodice-ripping misfire.”

The New Yorker described it as:“…extravagantly superficial.”

Adrian Horton in The Guardian said it shows: “Great interest in production design but very little in character.”

Style & Final Verdict

Brontë’s novel is deeply interior — filled with emotional psychology, symbolism and social critique. Whereas Fennell’s film prioritises: Lush cinematography (the moors and the surroundings are romantically heightened and beautifully explored), stylised set design (the Linton’s house is more like an OTT mini Palace of Versailles and Robbie costumes are mind-bendingly out there), emotional spectacle (the violence, the sexual tension, the — ahem — comings and goings), and sensory immersion (various close-ups and the great Charli XCX and folk soundtrack).

Perhaps the greatest compliment I can give it is that the 2-hour-plus running time passed very quickly in a pleasant way — to not paraphrase the Elvis song, a little less action and a bit more conversation may have raised my score.

Score 7/10.

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