Wuthering Heights (2026) Film Review: Literary adaptation is extravagance without substance
- reeltalkin'
- 53 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Set against the backdrop of late18th-century Yorkshire, Wuthering Heights (2026) explores the intensely passionate, yet destructive relationship between the privileged, wild Catherine Earnshaw (Margot Robbie) and the darkly mysterious Heathcliffe (Jacob Elordi).
This cinematic adaptation of Emily Brontë's classic novel, originally published in 1847, is written and directed by award-winning British filmmaker Emerald Fennell (Saltburn, 2023; Promising Young Woman, 2020).
Her filmography has become quite controversial over the years, dividing spectators with her preference for bold, overly stylised productions and explicit sexual content.
Fennell's latest venture into romantic drama, 'loosely' based on one of the most recognisable, beloved novels of all time, exhibits much of her signature style. Lavish colours, striking imagery and a rousing musical score from Anthony Willis all contribute to a motion picture intended to stir deep emotion in its audience.
However, even with all of this visual/auditory splendour, the film ultimately fails to make a largely positive impression, falling victim to an underwritten screenplay and too much reliance on its aesthetic appeal over an enticing story with rich, complex characters.
To illustrate the positives, the movie does benefit from an array of attractive costume designs, especially for Robbie's Cathy, who models many stunning period gowns, as well as taking advantage of its on-location shooting in the Yorkshire moors.
Fennell is able to capture this gothic love story well through these damp, foggy or sun-drenched landscapes and dark, chilly homes, which effectively immerse viewers in this unique time period. The film genuinely appeals on a technical level regarding its pretty visuals and well-staged shots, which both enhance and drive forward the narrative.
Although, this overindulgence in style leads to a noticeable lack of subtlety in communicating the film's ideas and themes.
For example, Fennell demonstrates a fascination with the colour red, which features on many of Cathy's audacious outfits as well as the large decorative carpet in her husband's home, which clearly overstates the story's association with intense emotions like lust, passion and sexual desire.
Eroticism plays a significant part in the film's marketing and presentation; however, Fennell is surprisingly tame when it comes to directing the sexual encounters between Heathcliffe and Catherine, especially regarding her reputation built from previous works.
The notorious bathroom scene from Saltburn easily comes to mind here; yet, the supposedly hot and steamy sex scenes in this movie ring hollow due to a severe lack of meaningful emotional connection with the two leads.
Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are both excellent actors in their own right; however, there is unfortunately a noticeable lack of real spark or natural chemistry between them.
Elordi arguably delivers the standout performance out of the two, handling the charming, alluring qualities of his Heathcliffe with ease, whilst impressing with the heavier, tragic side of the character's tale.
His valiant attempt at the Yorkshire accent is a little distracting, but his delivery of some of the novel's most memorable lines is certainly swoon-worthy for all the members of the audience won over by his dashing good looks and laid-back confidence.
One of the film's major issues is its inability to make us truly care about its characters and whatever fate decides for them. Both leads do eventually become quite unlikeable with their deeply selfish motivations and actions, going to extreme lengths to be together.
Of course, one could argue the romanticism of this, but the toxicity and unhealthy co-dependency of their ill-fated relationship is not given as much attention as it perhaps should have. Fennell remains frustratingly surface-level regarding the heavy complexities and moral implications of the story she is adapting, resulting in shallow leads with bland, underexplored traits.
The movie is admittedly quite damaging for younger teenage audiences due to its over-romanticising of what is actually an incredibly dark, tragic tale of revenge and social hierarchy imbalances. Much has already been said about the blatant whitewashing of Heathcliffe, who is allegedly depicted as 'dark-skinned' in the book.
The star-crossed lovers presented here, complete with typical melodramatic misunderstandings and an immense desire to be physically intimate with each other, are presented with an overwhelmingly rosy lens, distracting from the obviously unhealthy and dangerous side of their doomed relationship.
On the plus side, shoutouts must go to Owen Cooper and Charlitte Mellington, who play Heathcliffe and Cathy as children when they first meet and form a strong connection from the outset.
This first quarter of the film does an admirable job at setting up their future romance, with both actors giving wonderful performances whilst believably capturing that rare, magical feeling of young love, with Heathcliffe quickly becoming a noble protector of his girl.
Ironically, Martin Clunes' deliciously diabolical, thoroughly entertaining turn as Mr. Earnshaw ends up stealing the show. A nasty, drunk and abusive father could have been a much different story in other hands; however, this role provided some much-appreciated comedic levity with his over-the-top malicious persona and gradually deteriorating physical appearance.
All in all, Emerald Fennell's take on Wuthering Heights unfortunately ends up feeling underwhelming and perplexing with its glaring lack of substantial depth in its characters and narrative.
The film is overlong with a distinctly empty, meaningless quality to its extravagant visuals. The movie underutilises and misuses the talent of its leads and squanders its potential to thoroughly explore the darker themes of its source material.
An admittedly semi-decent outing for this Valentine's weekend, but there are perhaps better choices for a more wholesome romantic watch...
Check out the trailer for Wuthering Heights (2026) below, and please let me know your thoughts in the comments!
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