The most recent film adaptation of Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel, “Wuthering Heights”, written and directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, has sparked a considerable amount of controversy, but also praise. The movie was released February 13, 2026 but I was lucky to see it a day before it was released to the public. The story line follows the complex relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw on the Yorkshire moors. The movie is dark, revengeful, obsessive, steamy and tragic. 

Before going into the movie I had mainly heard unpleasant things about it. The movie drew backlash due to the casting of white actor Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, which critics believed was taking away a huge point of the book–racial prejudice. Other themes that sparked controversy was that the movie did not align with the plot of the book, stylistic choices, and other nuanced details that ignited rage to literary scholars.

After seeing all of the marketing and press tours that preceded the movie, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued by Margot Robbie’s beautiful outfits and Jacob Elordi’s beautiful face. I decided to go and get an opinion on it for myself. In my opinion, the “Wuthering Heights” adaptation was extremely enchanting. The set, the costumes, the soundtrack, the small details and the emotional story line all made me leave wanting more. The actors did a breathtaking job of depicting a tragic love story. The movie was filled with symbolism and key details that made the movie so complex. Many have claimed that the movie’s inappropriate nature consumes the plot, with scenes so unwatchable that you have to shield your eyes. However, these scenes are definitely not the whole plot. 

At the very end of the movie, the entire theater was left in tears. Fennel built a captivating, tragic love story that the audience was able to connect with on an emotional level. This contradicts the claim that the movie is solely visually appealing. However, art is subjective and everyone is entitled to their own interpretation of the adaptation. I believe that Emerald Fennell’s interpretation of “Wuthering Heights” was so elaborate, and not only visually stunning, but emotionally stunning. Overall, I do think that maybe the movie could have been a standalone instead of marketed as an adaptation of Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights”.