Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights”: A Divisive Take on a Classic

Emerald Fennell’s 2026 adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on January 28, 2026, and was released in the United States and United Kingdom on February 13, 2026, by Warner Bros. Pictures. While billed as a reimagining, the film has sparked debate, with critics questioning Fennell’s choices to prioritize a sensationalized love story over the novel’s complex themes of class, race, and revenge. The film has grossed $89 million worldwide on an $80 million budget.

A “Fantasia,” Not a Faithful Adaptation

Fennell has described her film as a “fantasia,” an attempt to interpret a “tiny piece” of Brontë’s novel rather than a strict adaptation. However, this approach has led to criticism that the film strips the story of its core tensions, and complexities. The film’s opening scene, depicting what appears to be sexual ecstasy but is revealed to be the aftermath of a public hanging, sets a tone of ostentatious perversity that some critics find misaligned with the novel’s bleakness.

Neutering the Monsters

A central critique of Fennell’s adaptation is the portrayal of Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff. The novel’s characters are deliberately monstrous, inflicting pain and suffering driven by passionate, obsessive love. Fennell’s version, however, presents them as conventionally attractive and largely blameless, resembling characters from a melodramatic romance. This “neutering” of the characters, as described by some critics, removes the crucial tension between their passion and cruelty that defines Brontë’s operate.

Shifting the Focus: Nelly Dean as Villain

The film significantly alters the narrative role of Nelly Dean, the novel’s primary narrator. In Brontë’s novel, Nelly is a complex figure whose reliability as a storyteller is debated. Fennell’s adaptation casts Nelly as the true villain, portraying her actions as motivated by spite and jealousy. This interpretation recasts the tragedy of Wuthering Heights as a result of Nelly’s interference rather than the characters’ own destructive choices. The film as well alters Nelly’s race, presenting her as a woman of color, a choice some critics have found problematic.

Departures from the Source Material

Beyond the character portrayals, Fennell’s film takes several liberties with the original story. The film consolidates characters, such as combining Catherine’s father and brother, Hindley. Heathcliff’s backstory and the social implications of his origins are downplayed, and the novel’s exploration of class and race is largely absent. The film also emphasizes the physical and sexual aspects of the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff, a departure from Brontë’s more restrained approach.

A Lost Second Novel?

Emily Brontë died at the age of 30, leaving behind only Wuthering Heights and her poetry. There is speculation that she was working on a second novel at the time of her death. Correspondence between Brontë and her publisher suggests a second work was in progress, but the manuscript has never been found. A persistent rumor claims that Brontë’s sister, Charlotte, destroyed the manuscript to protect Emily’s reputation, fearing it would be even more shocking than Wuthering Heights.

Critical Reception

Wuthering Heights has received mixed reviews. While the performances of Robbie and Elordi have been praised, the film’s overall direction and thematic choices have been widely criticized. Many reviewers argue that Fennell’s adaptation sacrifices the novel’s depth and complexity in favor of superficial sensationalism. The Guardian described the film as a misinterpretation of the novel’s core themes of class and race.