Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights hit theaters on February 13th, 2026 as a loose adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 34 chapter, 1847 novel. The film only covers half of the book, with many events and parts of the story left unelaborated which has led audiences to either love it or hate it. Some calling it an ‘insult’ to Brontë’s original work, others voiced it as a much needed extension to the tragic universe she’s created. Starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, a 10/10 soundtrack by Charli xcx, a budget of $80 million and a runtime of 2 hours and 16 minutes, this film universally held high expectations by all.
Wuthering Heights is rated R for sexual and violent content, which is shown in the opening scene. The film opens up with a public execution taking place in the middle of the town as Charli xcx and John Cale’s drone track House plays. The film follows the same exaggerated and intense tones, as well as chiming in with playful and satire lines, as well. Very early in the movie, we get a backstory explanation to Cathy and Heathcliff’s relationship and childhood. We see the romantic tension the two have between eachother slowly start to build as Cathy teaches Heathcliff to write and speak, Owen Cooper and Charlotte Mellington put on amazing performances as the younger version of the two, Cooper perfectly portraying Heathcliff’s silencing trauma and Mellington with Cathy’s teenage girl enthusiasm about having a new “friend”. As the story unfolds, we learn more about the complicated family dynamic taking place.
Robbie and Elordi had both developed an intense “codependent” bond while filming took place, describing their connection as a “mutual obsession”. Working closely under director Fennell, they built deep trust and great on-screen chemistry, with Robbie admitting to feeling lost when Elordi wasn’t on set. “We have a mutual obsession. I think the thing is if you, regardless of plot or screenplay, if you have the opportunity to share a film set with Margot Robbie, you’re going to make sure you’re within five to ten meters at all times.” Elordi explained in an interview with Fandango. Even fans online became skeptical, mistaking Elordi’s common manners and gentleman mannerisms as flirting. Elordi going as far as filling her dressing room on set with red roses to celebrate Valentines day; a very Heathcliff thing to do. Robbie later confirmed they had exchanged gifts later in the day, her gifting him a bouquet as well as a poetry book. It’s no doubt that Fennell had the right vision to bring Cathy and Heathcliff to life with such great actors with even greater chemistry.
One of many fans’ main concerns with the movie is the costume choices. the film is supposed to take place roughly between 1771 and 1802, but that fact apparently didn’t come across very clearly. Oscar winning costume designer Jacqueline Durran designed the costumes. Known for her work on Little Women and Barbie, Durran created a stylized, non-historical wardrobe that mixes eras such as Georgian, Victorian, and modern influences, to create a bold and romantic look. But was supposed to come off as “bold and romantic” ended up coming off as borderline futuristic, combining senses of space age fashion and neo-Victorian style, seen in movies like Yorgos Lanthimos’s 2023 Poor Things. Cathy at times was seen wearing items such as a red latex dress that Durran designed to symbolize passion and rage with inspiration coming from modern Gothic styles, or her pink chrome dress, designed to have almost an icy look to symbolize her clear love for both Edgar and Heathcliff. Nonetheless, even the fans that disagree with the costume choices, they can’t deny how on point the designs fit the characters at the time in the movie. Different scenes describing different feelings go hand in hand with the emotion of the dress or the suit.
Nothing about this movie was a mistake, everything being hand plucked by Emerald Fennell herself from the actors to the costumes. Another thing that Emerald Fennell knew to choose wisely was an artist that could perfectly encapsulate the general feeling of the movie as well as they could. Charli xcx created a full 12 track, 34 minute concept album for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaptation as she felt immediately inspired by the script, craving a creative pivot after the burnout from her 2024 album brat. She aimed for a “raw, wild, gothic” sound that contrasted with her previous work, producing it with Finn Keane, also known as EASYFUN. The opening scene alone captures this haunting, sinister feeling with the opening track to her album playing, a drone inspired song that features Welsh artist John Cale. Songs from the album play in different parts of the movie, each song complimenting the scene it plays in. Senior Brynn Fowler shares her opinion, “The soundtrack throughout Wuthering Heights was great as a whole and as soon as the first Charli song came on and it was like, a montage of Heathcliff and Cathy I believe, my jaw was on the floor, like, it was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard and witnessed in the movie theaters. Her voice really just tied the movie together and with her voice and vocals and soundtrack throughout the rest of the movie, it really just made it.”
“I loved it and I honestly think it’s a good example of how most relationships work today with like, miscommunication being the biggest issue.” Senior Emma Dominguez says, “Cause Cathy and Heathcliff’s biggest problem was like, not expressing how they both felt about eachother. At least on Cathy’s end, she didn’t really want to admit that she was in love with him. She kinda just wanted him to like, keep following her around, and that’s exactly what he did and it ended in her literally dying from heartbreak.” Dominguez quotes. That seems to be viewers biggest express with the movie, it ended only half accurate to the book in regards to Cathy’s passing. When Cathy passes and she whispers something into Nelly’s ear, that part was purely an addition by Fennell, as well as Heathcliff not passing. What made the ending so tragic was that Cathy never knew how Heathcliff felt about her in her last few days. It had been revealed that the whole time, Nelly had been burning Heathcliff’s letters that had come for Cathy, which was also not book accurate, just another twist of the knife by Fennell.
Emerald Fennell clearly took risks with her remake. And whether it was casting mainstream actors for the lead roles or having Charli xcx score the film, even though it turned out to be great, criticism was definetly taken from the start. It was never meant to be a front to back copy of the original novel, instead a steamy reimagination of Emily Brontë’s universe. So whether the risks were worth it or not, it really just depends on the viewer.
