On February 14, 2026, just in time for Valentine’s Day, director Emerald Fennell unveiled her much-anticipated and hotly debated adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. Starring Margot Robbie as Catherine and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, the film has quickly become the talk of the season—though not always for the reasons one might expect. Fennell’s take is anything but a faithful retelling of the 1847 literary classic; it’s a visually sumptuous, erotically charged, and narratively divisive reimagining that has left critics and audiences deeply split.
From the outset, Fennell made it clear that her adaptation would not be bound by the conventions of Brontë’s original. As she explained to Entertainment Weekly, “I wanted to make something that was my response and interpretation to that book and to the feeling of it,” rather than a page-by-page translation. This personal approach is evident in nearly every frame of the movie, which transforms Brontë’s haunting gothic tale into something altogether more modern, soapy, and sexually daring.
The story, as told by Fennell, centers almost exclusively on the tumultuous relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff, with little regard for the novel’s broader generational saga. The film opens on the Yorkshire Moors, where young Catherine, living with her alcoholic and abusive father (Martin Clunes), meets Heathcliff, an orphan boy her father brings home. Catherine names him Heathcliff and treats him, at first, more like a pet than a companion. Over time, their bond intensifies, but the nature of their affection remains ambiguous and undefined.
As the years pass, Catherine and Heathcliff grow into adulthood but continue to behave like children, frolicking around the dilapidated estate. The plot takes a sharp turn when Catherine, faced with the loss of her family’s fortune, sets her sights on Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif), the wealthy neighbor. Heathcliff, heartbroken upon overhearing Catherine’s intentions to marry Edgar, leaves in despair—only to return years later, mysteriously wealthy and transformed. The reunion between Catherine and Heathcliff ignites a torrid affair, even as Catherine remains married to Edgar and secretly expects his child.
But here’s where Fennell’s adaptation diverges most dramatically from the original novel. According to USA Today, the film ends with Catherine suffering from sepsis and a miscarriage, dying in her bed before Heathcliff can say goodbye. The child, Cathy, who plays a central role in Brontë’s novel, is never born. Instead, Heathcliff cradles Catherine’s lifeless body as a montage of their passion-filled moments flashes by—a cinematic flourish that underscores the movie’s focus on physical and emotional intensity over narrative fidelity. As Fennell herself noted, “It begins where it ends and ends where it begins. And that’s the thing about love, and it’s the thing about the book, right? It’s that it’s forever and it’s cyclical, and so there’s no stop—even when there’s a terrible, sad, tragic stop, it’s not really a stop—because that’s what the book feels so much about.”
This radical reworking means the entire second half of Brontë’s book—where the next generation grapples with the trauma left behind by Catherine and Heathcliff—is excised. Fennell told USA Today she views her film as “a one-off,” with no plans for a sequel. “There’s a world where this is a miniseries and you really get into deep, deep detail of every single thing that happens,” she said. “But for me, the thing I connected to as a reader was always (Catherine and Heathcliff). I also don’t know if I’d be very good at sequels!”
For some, this intense focus pays off. As one reviewer admitted, “Robbie and Elordi have the chemistry on screen that a story like this requires... it went a long way in selling the film’s emotional core among the sensuality.” The film’s visual strengths are undeniable: sweeping outdoor landscapes, lavish period sets, and stunning costumes create a cinematic experience that’s as breathtaking as it is immersive. Even the soundtrack, curated by Charli XCX, though initially jarring, ultimately won over some viewers for its boldness.
Yet, for many fans of the novel and critics alike, the film’s excesses and liberties prove hard to swallow. According to Keith & the Movies, Fennell’s adaptation is “more in love with itself than with anything Emily Brontë put to page.” The review laments the film’s “overheated and underdeveloped” narrative, its fixation on pseudo-erotic spectacle at the expense of character development, and its “choppy storytelling” that leaves relationships feeling “undercooked” and character shifts abrupt. Particularly galling for some is the disappearance of Edgar Linton, who vanishes from the story without explanation, seemingly to clear the way for Catherine and Heathcliff’s repeated trysts.
Other critics have pointed out that the film’s running time feels unnecessarily long, with the romantic tension between the leads becoming repetitive and, at times, bordering on the absurd. As one observer put it, “By the time we’ve seen our leads go back and forth a few times, sneaking around sticking fingers in each others’ mouths and repeatedly saying ‘this is wrong’ alongside ‘I love you’s, it does get, dare I say, a little stale to watch.”
Despite these criticisms, even detractors concede that Fennell’s technical prowess is on full display. The film is “visually sumptuous,” with cinematography and design that rival her earlier work in Saltburn and Promising Young Woman. However, the consensus seems to be that style has overtaken substance in this latest outing. The review from Keith & the Movies ultimately awarded the film just two stars, concluding that while “its attempts at eroticism often feel silly and performative, the movie is visually sumptuous in ways that highlight Fennell’s impressive technical savvy.”
For those hoping for a faithful adaptation of Brontë’s masterpiece, Fennell’s Wuthering Heights is likely to disappoint. But for viewers open to a bold, if divisive, reinterpretation—one that foregrounds passion and spectacle over tradition—there’s plenty to savor. The film may not be everyone’s idea of a great date night, but it’s certainly sparked conversation, debate, and more than a few gasps in theaters this Valentine’s Day.
Emerald Fennell’s latest film cements her reputation as one of the most daring and visually inventive directors working today—even if, this time, her vision leaves some longing for the haunting depths of Brontë’s original tale.