When it was announced that Emerald Fennell, the visionary mind behind two of the most divisive films of the past decade, was tackling Emily Brontë's beloved Wuthering Heights novel, there was a sharp intake of breath. As is the case every time such feverishly adored material makes a screen translation, this project in particular felt destined to divide audiences - and divided we journey on to the Yorkshire moors...
A budding romance is cut short when fortune calls for Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff is unable to acclimatise to wealthy 18th century England -- but drawn together years later after a lengthy absence, it is not long before tragedy strikes the Yorkshire moors. Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi star as one of literature's most tumultuously ill-fated couples, alongside a supporting cast featuring Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, Alison Oliver and Martin Clunes.
It’s easy to understand why those with a particularly feverish adoration of Bronte’s source material would take particular umbrage with Fennell’s remarkable loose adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Seemingly formed through a collection of memories of the novel than assembled through thorough research, Cathy and Heathcliff's complex relationship exists merely as a starting point for Fennell to liberally breathe her own colour into their story, frivolously cutting and removing elements that many would deem crucial to such a dense and celebrated body of work. If you told me that Fennell's starting point for her interpretation was a fundamental dislike of the material she was staring in the face of, you wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.
But if crowd-pleasing was never on the cards, and you are more open to an artistically freeing vision, a far more engaging "Wuthering Heights" arises as a result. A lavishly-staged, intentionally provocative production that splashes luscious imagery across the screen, 2026's "Wuthering Heights" indulges in Fennell's already-distinct brand of kitsch with an alluring rendering that captures the essence of the novel while never feeling remotely chained by or to the source material it is refashioning.
It is an absolute joy to see a big-budgeted feature actually utilises the resources at its disposal, with every inch of "Wuthering Heights" sumptuously designed and evocatively conveyed. There is a keen focus on the sensory experience of "Wuthering Heights", and it's encouraging to see both Robbie and Fennell enthusiastic about the opportunities a theatrical release offered them. It is a film truly felt on every level -- from the daring costumes, which are outrageous in the face of period drama expectations, and tactile production design so striking that every set feels like a new playground for the film's themes and characters, every detail painstakingly executed for maximum impact. Captured so vividly by Linus Sandgren, whose cinematography is central to the sensual nature of "Wuthering Heights", the film visually deliver some of the most striking images the sub-genre has seen in a while. Enriched further by Charli XCX's atmospheric soundtrack, providing an abrasive sound which fantastically contrasts and challenges, "Wuthering Heights" is a feast for the the senses.
Staging "Wuthering Heights" with such ostentatious proportions is where most of its magic lies, this overblown concoction helping set the stage for a mirage - one that frees Fennell to interpret as she sees fit. In the same way that the years-long absence has affected Cathy's memory of Heathcliff before his return, softening him in her mind, the same can perhaps be said for Fennell, whose decision to adapt Wuthering Height reportedly came before she revisited the novel in preparation: it is a distorted recollection, through the prism of adolescence offered by those formative first readings, where one was more prone to projecting their own feelings and beliefs on to the material, resulting in some parts being exaggerated, others discarded. It's off-kilter, preposterous and excessive - but enrichingly so.
What is refreshing about Fennell’s interpretation is her acceptance that, at their core, these characters have bitter streaks that threaten to boil over into full-blown villainy; the behaviours on display from both Cathy but particularly Heathcliff are undoubtedly toxic, their relationship a meeting of those almost depraved minds that somehow, seemingly deserve each other. We see carnal desperation and fatal obsession on full display, and it's never justified -- but we somewhat understand it, mostly because of the harsh way the society around them is depicted, and the throbbing, foreboding sense of fatality that hangs over their story. Whether this, juxtaposed with the somewhat kinky (if not steamy enough) antics and the closing love-for-the-ages montage, is enough to fully grapple with the questionable dynamic, is not something that can be confidently, completely answered -- but it's a take revisionist enough to confront for the shortcomings others have struggled to contend with.
Margot Robbie is tremendous here, and this is another strong step in a strengthening career as both an actor and producer. As Cathy, Robbie delivers a resoundingly committed performance that combines both the character's bratty jealousy and internal fragility, in a turn that captures the complexity needed for the overwhelmingly epic scope to still feel grounded in emotion. Opposite Jacob Elordi, who himself delivers a brooding performance that suitably dials into the darkness of Heathcliff's psyche, the pair curate a chemistry that scintillates with a feral, almost animalistic passion that intensifies on the way to the inevitable tragedy that envelopes them all.
But there are arguably two supporting performances that eclipse our two leads; Alison Oliver is absolutely exceptional as Isabella Linton, taking a potentially one-note role and imbuing it with a sophistication that provides her portrayal with such depth that she becomes one of the film's most fascinating characters. While introduced under the guise of comedic fodder, Oliver develops the role into a transfixing examination of power and submission, one elevated by some devilishly smart yet subtle acting choices that turn a vulnerable character into one with autonomy. Another standout, rather surprisingly, is Martin Clunes, who delivers a compelling performance as the Earnshaw patriarch, whose abusive streak serves as the foundation of the love Cathy both gives and receives.
With such jaw-dropping visual prowess afforded by luxurious costume and production design, one of the industry's strongest working cinematographers in Linus Sandgren, and an ability to imbue invigorating decadence into the Yorkshire moors that blur the line between reality and memory, Emerald Fennell blows the dust off the cover with her provoking interpretation, one whose ostentatious proportions allow it to stray on to a more artistically liberating course. While you can debate the morality of taking such rich source material and recalibrating it to your own desires - as well as the immense level of privilege of being able to do so - it nevertheless and, at least in my mind, inarguably provides audiences with a far more interesting "Wuthering Heights", one that utterly fails as a basic adaptation but truly thrives as a cinematic undertaking delivered with the upmost conviction by its creatives.