WUTHERING HEIGHTS (2026)

Starring Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, Alison Oliver, Martin Clunes, Ewan Mitchell, Amy Morgan, Jessica Knappett, Charlotte Mellington, Owen Cooper, Vy Nguyen, Millie Kent, Vicki Pepperdine, Paul Rhys, Robert Cawsey, Gabriel Bisset-Smith, Louie Benjamin Potts, Treyston Braine, Jaydon Eastman, Matt Green, Ian Mitchell and Erin Barker-Jones.

Written by Emerald Fennell.

Directed by Emerald Fennell.

Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. 136 minutes. Rated R.

The novel Wuthering Heights – the only book written by Emily Bronte was one of the masterpieces of British literature of the 1800s, which as AI explains is “known for its passionate, dark, and tragic story of love, revenge, and obsession between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, set on the bleak Yorkshire moors.” (Emily’s sister Charlotte wrote several novels as well, including the similar period classic Jane Eyre.)

I have to admit, though, I have not read Wuthering Heights since high school or college and honestly, going into Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of the book I only had a very vague memory of what actually happened in the novel. Frankly, I probably remember more of the story due to Kate Bush’s song of the same title based on the novel than I remember from the novel itself.

Still, after seeing Fennell’s Saltburn, I had to wonder what the edgy filmmaker would make of such an old-fashioned, slightly staid Victorian novel of unrequited love, hate, obsession and repression. After all, Wuthering Heights takes place in an era that was immortalized in song by Cole Porter with the couplet, “In olden days, a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking.”

Which brings up an interesting conundrum – older novels like this can be a little slow-moving when they are adapted to film. Well this version of Wuthering Heights is many things, but it is never, ever dull.

In many ways, Fennell does drag the novel into the modern day – particularly in the second half of the film – although generally in a slightly repressive way. Added to the storyline are scenes of heaving bosoms, masturbation, many (modestly shot) scenes of lovemaking and even, surprisingly, more than a few scenes of light BDSM. Emily Bronte may be turning over in her grave for what her characters are getting up to.

Of course, when I say light sadomasochism, the acts themselves were not necessarily light, it was just filmed rather discreetly, either off camera or in a non-explicit angle. We see what is happening, essentially, and know what is going on, but the movie does not rub your face in it – like the director did in some similar scenes in Saltburn. Not just the discipline scenes, this could pretty much be said about most of the sexual dalliances in the film, they are filmed rather discreetly.

Like many film versions of classic novels, Wuthering Heights does not take on the entire book, instead focusing on the relationship between the tempestuous Catherine and the dashing Heathcliff. This is undoubtedly the heart of the story, but Wuthering Heights the novel went on for a good bit after the portions dramatized here.

Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are – needless to say – stunningly beautiful as the star-crossed potential lovers whose lives are intertwined, but never quite intersect. They also have a powerful chemistry which helps you to overlook the fact that Robbie is probably a bit old to be playing Catherine, who was a teenager through much of the novel. Also terrific at Hong Chau as the complicated lady in waiting Nelly, Alison Oliver as the gentlewoman who always seems to be getting passed over by men in her life for Cathy, and Owen Cooper from Adolescence as Heathcliff as a  young boy.

It is interesting to see how – despite their reputation as desperate star-crossed lovers – honestly both Catherine and Heathcliff were both pretty despicable people in many ways, and both were honestly pretty horrible for each other. Their relationship was more one of obsession and desire than what one would consider true love, although I suppose they did love each other desperately, at least as much as either one of them could love anyone.

However, both of them were users, both of them were terrible to people around them, both of them broke other people’s hearts on a whim just in their pursuit of a relationship which could undoubtedly never have worked out.

These things, of course, do stem from the source novel, which in its time was rather scandalous. And Fennell does a good job of bringing the story up to date, somewhat, while also allowing it to breathe as an example of its period.

Special kudos, by the way, for electronic dance music artist Charli XCX’s atmospheric soundtrack for the film, which is pretty stunning and rather different than her normal work. (As another critic at the film screening pointed out, it sounded more like the Celtic new age music of Enya than Charli XCX’s normal fare.) I was a bit disappointed that Charli XCX did not decide to do a cover of the Kate Bush song “Wuthering Heights,” as well, because it would have fit in musically with the rest of the soundtrack, but I suppose that I can see why it was not done – Bush’s song is based on a part of the novel that comes a bit later on in the book than where this film’s climax leaves off.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2026 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: February 11, 2026.