Wuthering Heights (2026) Movie Review: A Ravishing Descent Into Obsession That Refuses to Play It Safe

Emerald Fennell has built her reputation on pushing boundaries, and her latest effort, Wuthering Heights, continues that trajectory with an adaptation that feels both wildly contemporary and deeply rooted in the Gothic soul of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel. Set to be released on February 13, 2026, just ahead of Valentine's Day, this Warner Bros. production marks Fennell's third directorial feature, following Promising Young Woman and Saltburn. This time, the filmmaker brings her maximalist sensibility to one of literature's most iconic toxic love stories.

The film stars Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, supported by Hong Chau as Nelly Dean, Shazad Latif as Edgar Linton, and Alison Oliver as Isabella Linton. The production companies behind the venture are Lie Still, LuckyChap, and MRC Film, with the screenplay also penned by Fennell herself. Clocking in at 136 minutes and shot in sumptuous 35mm VistaVision by cinematographer Linus Sandgren, the film transforms the Yorkshire moors into a landscape of both beauty and brutality.

The premise centers on the tempestuous connection between Catherine and Heathcliff, childhood companions whose bond becomes warped by class barriers, jealousy, and years of poor decisions. When Catherine chooses to marry the wealthy Edgar Linton for financial security rather than follow her heart, Heathcliff disappears, only to return years later transformed into a wealthy man bent on revenge. What follows is a psychologically violent spiral of passion, manipulation, and destruction.

This adaptation arrives at a moment when audiences are hungry for bold reinterpretations of classic texts. Fennell's vision matters not because it faithfully recreates Brontë's novel, but because it captures the raw emotional intensity that makes the source material endure. The film had its world premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on January 28, 2026, before its wide theatrical release, including IMAX screenings.

Story and Screenplay: Trimmed Down but Turned Up

Fennell makes decisive cuts to Brontë's sprawling narrative, eliminating the entire second generation storyline and streamlining the cast of characters. This isn't a new approach for adaptations of Wuthering Heights, but Fennell wields the editing knife with particular confidence. The focus narrows to Catherine and Heathcliff's relationship, allowing the film to exist as a fever dream of obsession rather than a multi-generational saga.

The screenplay traces their bond from childhood innocence to adult devastation. Young Catherine, played with feral energy by Charlotte Mellington, names the orphan boy Heathcliff after he's brought home by her alcoholic father. Owen Cooper delivers a remarkably intense performance as young Heathcliff, bringing conviction beyond his years to lines like, "I will never go away. I will never leave you. No matter what you do."

The pacing accelerates through these formative years, perhaps too quickly for those craving more context. Once we reach the adult versions of these characters, the film settles into a rhythm of longing glances, explosive confrontations, and moments of genuine tenderness. The structure emphasizes emotional peaks rather than plot logistics, which means the narrative can feel more operatic than novelistic.

Fennell's most controversial choice involves amplifying the sexual dimension that Brontë could only hint at in 1847. The screenplay doesn't shy away from depicting physical desire, though the film remains surprisingly restrained in its execution. The most electric scene involves an act of voyeurism that haunts Catherine for years, establishing the film's interest in exploring how repression distorts intimacy.

Where the script stumbles is in its tendency toward repetition. Certain beats recur without adding new layers of understanding, and the 136-minute runtime occasionally drags when the emotional intensity plateaus. The film mistakes its own excess for depth at times, but this indulgence also feels intentional, as if Fennell wants audiences to feel suffocated by the characters' inability to escape their destructive patterns.

Acting and Characters: Chemistry That Combusts

Margot Robbie (A Big Bold Beautiful Journey) tackles Catherine with remarkable nuance, capturing both her wild entitlement and the genuine conscience buried beneath her selfishness. She makes Catherine's contradictions believable: a woman who knows she loves Heathcliff yet chooses security over passion, who craves freedom yet traps herself in a suffocating marriage. Robbie navigates Catherine's emotional recklessness with such conviction that even her most maddening choices feel comprehensible.

Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein) faces the more challenging assignment as Heathcliff. The character undergoes a dramatic transformation via time jump, evolving from a rough, lovesick youth with long hair and a beard into a polished, wealthy man whose heartbreak manifests as gilded cruelty. Elordi brings vulnerability to Heathcliff's defensive posture, revealing how deeply wounded he is beneath the swagger. His chemistry with Robbie is undeniable; when they share the screen, something genuinely combustible happens.

The supporting performances add essential texture. Hong Chau grounds the film as Nelly Dean, Catherine's lifelong companion who prioritizes her own survival above all else. Chau plays Nelly with quiet resentment, creating friction that feels organic rather than manufactured. Shazad Latif brings inherent goodness to Edgar Linton, making him sympathetic despite being the "safe choice" that stands between our protagonists.

The true revelation, however, is Alison Oliver as Isabella Linton. Fennell reimagines Isabella as a deeply repressed young woman whose crush on Heathcliff unleashes something feral within her. Oliver navigates this transformation with bravery, creating a character who is simultaneously funny, tragic, and genuinely disturbing. Her scenes provide some of the film's most memorable moments, particularly when she willingly degrades herself in pursuit of Heathcliff's attention.

Direction and Technical Aspects: Maximum Maximalism

Fennell directs with an eye for striking imagery that occasionally borders on the theatrical. Her visual language relies heavily on contrast: the decrepit, rock-hewn Wuthering Heights estate stands in stark opposition to the bizarrely decorated Thrushcross Grange, where flesh-colored walls replicate Catherine's actual skin, complete with veins and moles. These choices could read as gimmicky in lesser hands, but Fennell commits fully to her aesthetic.

Linus Sandgren's cinematography deserves special recognition. Shot on 35mm VistaVision, the film achieves a lush, textured quality that makes every frame feel painterly. The use of color is particularly effective: deep crimsons, misty grays, and shocking whites create a visual palette that mirrors the characters' emotional extremes. One sequence shows Heathcliff silhouetted against a blood-red sky as he departs, a ridiculously overwrought but undeniably gorgeous image.

The production design by Suzie Davies transforms spaces into psychological landscapes. Edgar's home feels simultaneously opulent and nightmarish, with crimson floors that reflect firelight like pools of blood and a fireplace constructed from plaster hands. The costume design by Jacqueline Durran leans into anachronism, dressing Catherine in gowns that would look at home on a modern red carpet. These choices signal that this is an emotional response to Brontë's work rather than a faithful period piece.

Fennell's direction excels at creating moments of visceral intimacy. She finds eroticism in unexpected places: runny egg yolks, mouthfuls of grass, rain-soaked embraces. Every kiss between Robbie and Elordi feels both desperate and final, their physical connection charged with years of longing and resentment. The film walks a careful line between suggestion and explicit content, rarely showing nudity but conveying intense sensuality.

The editing occasionally indulges in montages that stretch past their usefulness, particularly sequences showing Catherine's years at Thrushcross Grange. While visually striking, these passages sometimes feel like stylistic excess rather than narrative necessity. Still, the overall craftsmanship remains impressive throughout.

Trailer Wuthering Heights (2026)

Music and Atmosphere: Modern Sounds for Gothic Souls

Anthony Willis's score creates a beautiful foundation of yearning and dread, but the film's most distinctive musical choice involves original songs by Charli XCX. This decision could have been disastrous, yet the contemporary tracks integrate surprisingly well into the 19th-century setting. Songs like "Chains of Love" capture the sadomasochistic undertones of Catherine and Heathcliff's relationship without pulling audiences out of the period atmosphere.

The music doesn't merely accompany scenes but floods them with overwhelming emotion, transforming longing into something operatic. This approach bridges the gap between Victorian melodrama and modern anxiety, speaking to a generation grappling with repression and fear of vulnerability. The sound design emphasizes atmospheric elements: wind howling across the moors, rain battering against windows, the creak of rope and gasping breath.

Fennell opens the film with an audacious choice: the sounds of strained breathing over a black screen, initially suggesting sexual ecstasy before revealing itself as a public hanging. This establishes from the first frame that pleasure and suffering are inseparable in this world, that desire contains within it the seeds of destruction.

The overall atmosphere oscillates between Gothic horror and swooning romance. Misty moors and approaching lightning storms serve as visual metaphors for the characters' brooding emotions. The film never lets audiences forget the violence simmering beneath the surface, whether it's the literal scars on Heathcliff's back from Mr. Earnshaw's abuse or the psychological wounds that never heal.

Strengths and Weaknesses

What Works Well:

• The central chemistry between Robbie and Elordi creates genuine heat and tension that drives the entire film. Their performances feel fearless, fully committed to the emotional extremes required.
• Cinematography and production design transform familiar material into something visually arresting and distinctive. Every frame demonstrates meticulous attention to composition and color.
• Alison Oliver's performance as Isabella provides unexpected depth and dark humor, creating one of the film's most memorable supporting characters.
• The integration of Charli XCX's music works far better than anticipated, adding contemporary resonance without destroying period atmosphere.
• Fennell's willingness to explore the sexual and psychological dimensions of the story brings fresh perspective to overly familiar material.
• The childhood sequences featuring Charlotte Mellington and Owen Cooper establish the foundation of Catherine and Heathcliff's bond with emotional precision.

What Doesn't Work:

• The 136-minute runtime feels indulgent at times, with certain emotional beats repeating without adding new layers of understanding.
• Excessive montages occasionally prioritize style over substance, particularly in sequences showing Catherine's time at Thrushcross Grange.
• The rapid pace through the childhood years may leave some viewers wanting more context and character development in those formative sequences.
• For those expecting more explicit content based on marketing, the film's restraint might disappoint, as most intimate moments remain suggestive rather than explicit.
• Purists devoted to Brontë's novel will object to the significant narrative cuts and character eliminations, particularly the removal of the second-generation storyline.
• The decision to age up the characters and cast actors visibly older than the book's teenage protagonists may strain credibility for some viewers.

Final Verdict: Excessive, Exquisite, and Utterly Absorbing

Rating: 4/5 stars

Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights succeeds as a bold, singular vision that prioritizes emotional truth over faithful adaptation. The 4-star rating reflects a film that achieves remarkable craft and ambition while occasionally stumbling under the weight of its own excess. This is filmmaking that demands audiences surrender to its heightened reality, and those willing to make that leap will find themselves swept up in its torrent of feeling.

Regarding Oscar prospects for the 2027 ceremony, the film stands strongest in technical categories. Best Cinematography feels almost inevitable given Sandgren's extraordinary work. Best Production Design and Best Costume Design are strong contenders given the film's distinctive visual identity. Best Original Score and Best Original Song (for Charli XCX's contributions) represent solid possibilities. Acting nominations seem less certain, though Oliver's supporting performance could surprise.

This film will satisfy viewers who appreciate operatic romance and aren't afraid of messy, complicated characters. Fans of Fennell's previous work will recognize her maximalist approach and willingness to provoke. Those drawn to Gothic atmospheres, lush cinematography, and performances that swing for the fences will find much to admire. Audiences seeking a sexy, stylish reinterpretation of classic literature that speaks to contemporary anxieties about desire and repression will be richly rewarded.

Conversely, viewers seeking faithful literary adaptation should look elsewhere. Those who find Fennell's aesthetic choices in previous films too bombastic or self-conscious will likely have similar reactions here. The film's length and deliberate pacing won't appeal to audiences wanting brisk storytelling. Anyone expecting explicit sexual content based on marketing will be disappointed by the film's relative restraint. And viewers uncomfortable with morally complicated protagonists who behave toxically toward everyone around them should prepare accordingly.

Ultimately, Wuthering Heights represents audacious filmmaking that refuses to play it safe. Fennell has created something deeply personal rather than universally palatable, an interpretation that captures the corrosive power of thwarted desire. The film understands that Catherine and Heathcliff are wrong for each other, toxic and cruel, yet cosmically right in their bone-deep connection. To love fully is to risk annihilation, and Fennell makes audiences feel every moment of that beautiful, terrible truth. For those with appetites for big emotions and bigger cinema, this swooning descent into obsession delivers.