If you’re anything like me, your social media feed has probably been suffocated by analyses, hot takes and take downs about the 2026 film “Wuthering Heights.” I, for one, was very interested in seeing what all the hubbub was about, so I zipped to an AMC the day the film came out and watched for two excruciating hours as one of my favorite classics met its fate in Hollywood.
Adapted from Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel, “Wuthering Heights” was directed by Emerald Fennel, following her 2023 thriller “Saltburn.” While this isn’t the first movie adaptation of “Wuthering Heights,” it’s undoubtedly becoming the biggest and most polarizing, especially with the media coverage that’s blown the film well out of proportion. A majority of the film’s criticism is a result of how far it deviates from the source material, and upon watching “Wuthering Heights” for myself, I can’t help but agree.
While much of what I have to say in terms of plot isn’t exactly charitable, I won’t pretend like I didn’t find “Wuthering Heights” to be visually alluring. The Gothic architecture against the eerie Yorkshire Moors made for a perfectly dreadful setting, especially mixed with Fennel’s macabre artistic liberties. There were a couple of scenes that looked like they could’ve come right out of “Alice In Wonderland,” or perhaps a Tim Burton film. The brightly colored walls of Thrushcross Grange and the infamous “skin room” felt adequately uncanny, even though they weren’t necessarily book accurate. My favorite parts of “Wuthering Heights,” however, were the costumes that Catherine Earnshaw wore. Each and every one of her dresses were stunning, and my personal favorite was the candy wrapper dress. Visuals aside, many of the choices made towards the story would have Emily Bronte rolling in her grave.
By far, Fennel’s most egregious creative decision was casting Jacob Elordi as the canonically non-white Heathcliff. Not only was her choice blatant whitewashing, it also eliminated a large part of why Catherine and Heathcliff’s relationship was all the more taboo. Elordi’s performance was fine, but it certainly doesn’t make up for the representation that was lost to casting a buzzworthy actor. There are thousands of talented non-white actors who would’ve honored “Wuthering Heights” for what it was meant to be, and ultimately given a more convincing performance of Heathcliff.
In terms of bewildering casting choices, however, Heathcliff was only the tip of the iceberg. Fennel also decided to cast the 35 year old blonde Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw. In Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights,” Catherine’s character is under 18 and depicted with long wavy brown hair. Margot Robbie, on the other hand, doesn’t exactly look like a teenager, and her pin-straight bleach blonde almost looks like it was ripped off of a Barbie doll. Fennel clearly has a habit of replacing any depiction of meaning with fan-ficky cliches, because in addition to dulling Catherine and Heathcliff’s appearances, she gutted any nuance from the story line. What was meant to be a tragic tale about cycles of abuse, was turned into an edgy forbidden love story. I would’ve liked to have seen more of the social commentary from the “Wuthering Heights” novel fleshed out on the big screen, instead, the only things with their flesh out were Robbie and Elordi. “Wuthering Heights” was never meant to be a romance. Fennel deliberately left out the most harrowing aspects of the novel to make room for garish slop and dragging depictions of Catherine and Heathcliff’s affair.
The worst part? Robbie and Elordi’s on-screen chemistry wasn’t all that convincing. The actors seemed to have attempted to make up for their incompetence with a press tour that felt like a rip off of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s sensational Wicked tour, complete with rumors of off-camera romance and uncomfortable PDA.
No amount of scandalous press could make up for what was lost from Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights.” In fact, I would argue it’s barely “Wuthering Heights” at all. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a book purist, and I don’t believe all film adaptations need to be a xerox of their source material. But, is it too much to ask for the changes the adaptation makes to actually add something meaningful to the story? “Wuthering Heights” had potential; it’s based off of a consequential story with some very gripping characters. Unfortunately, however, “Wuthering Heights” 2026 doesn’t ask its audience to think that hard. For that reason, Catherine and Heathcliff deserved better.
