WUTHERING HEIGHTS
(director/writer: Emerald Fennell; screenwriter: based on the novel by Emily Bronte; cinematographer: Linus Sandgren; editor: Victoria Boydell; music: Anthony Willis; cast: Margot Robbie (Cathy), Jacob Elordi (Heathcliff), Shazad Latif (Edgar), Alison Oliver (Isabella), Hong Chau (Nelly), Martin Clunes (Mr. Earnshaw), Ewan Mitchell (Joseph), Amy Morgan (Zillah), Jessica Knappett (Mrs. Burton), Charlotte Mellington (Young Cathy), Owen Cooper (Young Heathcliff), Vy Nguyen (Young Nelly); Runtime: 136; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Rosie Goodwin, Emerald Fennell, Josie McNaamara, Margot Robbie; Warner Bros.; 2026)
“Sexy modern-day adaptation of Emily Bronte’s classic.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
English actress and filmmaker Emerald Fennell (“Saltburn”/”Promising Young Woman”) offers a visually appealing and sexy modern-day adaptation of Emily Bronte’s classic Gothic romantic novel Wuthering Heights of 1847 (her only novel) but deadens it with a shallow script and too many sketchy subplots. It has been filmed before in 1939, 1970, 1992, 1998, and 2011, with the oldest Olivier-Oberon version being the best.
The story revolves around the heart-breaking childhood relationship between Catherine Earnshaw (Margot Robbie), the spirited and spoiled daughter of Wuthering Height’s widowed owner, Mr. Earnshaw (Martin Clunes), and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi), the brash young illiterate lad her father adopts off the streets.
Nelly (Hong Chau) is Cathy’s protective caretaker.
When the abusive and loutish Mr. Earnshaw suffers heavy losses from gambling and is in danger of losing his Yorkshire estate on the moors, his now grown-up daughter marries her wealthy businessman neighbor Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif). This greatly upsets the love-sick Heathcliff, who leaves.
He will return 5 years later as a man who has mysteriously become wealthy and buys the run-down estate, allowing the couple to stay on. Out of spite, he marries Edgar’s younger sister Isabella (Alison Oliver). Though he tries to convey his love to Cathy, the would-be lovers can’t freely express themselves like when they were children.
The pair never become close again. When she’s pregnant and becomes ill, Heathcliff rushes to her side, but it’s too late. The tale of forbidden romance is given an erotic charge but drops characters from other films that purist might object to.
The soundtrack includes original pop songs from Charli XCX.
REVIEWED ON 2/15/2026 GRADE: B-
dennisschwartzreviews.com