When Emerald Fenell’s “Wuthering Heights” hit theaters on February 13, it came with big stars and plenty of buzz, but also a lot of controversy. The period romance starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi has already sparked heated debate among critics and fans of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel. And while it’s visually striking, the film ultimately feels like a version of “Wuthering Heights” that forgot what made the original novel so powerful. 

I anticipated that the movie would be a loose interpretation of Brontë’s novel; the movie focuses intensely on the passionate relationship between Cathy Earnshaw and Heathcliff, cutting out nearly everything that comes after Catherine’s death and leaving huge chunks of the novel behind. The film was more about how the director felt reading the novel; Fenell told Town & Country, “I had to look to myself and my experience” when writing the script. 

In the book, the story expands into a bitter, complicated tale of revenge, class tension, and multi-generational ruin. The 2026 film stops short of that, trimming the plot to about only half of the novel’s structure. A book that was once a psychological storm about cruelty, obsession, and the destructive consequences of love is glossed over by the film’s desperate attempt to incite shock from the audience through multiple scenes of provocative actions that are inaccurate to Brontë’s only published work.

Even though we were robbed of a haunting gothic tragedy like “Nosferatu” and “Frankenstein”, which were earlier released in 2025, the sweeping moorland landscapes, dim candlelit interiors, and richly textured period costumes are undeniably stunning. 

I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys romance, dark comedy, and Georgian-era-inspired costumes.