Wuthering Heights

Story: Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights is both spellbinding and unsettling, steeped in dark, desolate imagery and a haunting sense of hopelessness. Though her adaptation strays from Emily Brontë’s literary classic, the film captures the novel’s storm-lashed spirit, one that lingers long after the final frame.

Review: In a rather unusual casting choice, Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi play Catherine and Heathcliff, the doomed lovers at the heart of Bronte’s brooding universe. Here, Catherine is in her mid-thirties rather than a teenager, described as being “well past her spinsterhood” by her father. While this shift may feel relevant to modern sensibilities, it doesn’t fully align with Catherine’s emotional impulsiveness or limited self-awareness, making the change seem more stylistic than substantive.

What the film does get right is its bleak atmosphere rooted in agony, repression, and thwarted desire that curdles into destructive obsession. This all-consuming anti-love story lingers, despite its contemporary and somewhat one-layered interpretation that focuses primarily on the twisted sense of belonging between Catherine and Heathcliff.

Elordi may initially appear to be cast for his smoldering presence, but his performance is surprisingly restrained and mature. Robbie, adorned in exaggerated blush and restrictive corsets, is often framed in lingering close-ups that verge on theatrical excess — yet she embodies Catherine’s entitlement and inner turmoil with conviction. Their chemistry moves beyond surface-level seduction, gravitating toward shared anguish rather than pride or dominance, which gives the film emotional weight.

Visually, the film is gorgeously shot. The stark landscapes and gothic undertones heighten its tragic beauty and deepen its oppressive mood.

While not faithful to the novel, Fennell’s adaptation does not lose the brooding essence that defines Wuthering Heights. If you’re drawn to dark, intense love stories steeped in atmosphere and obsession, this haunting retelling is worth a watch.