Margot Robbie & Jacob Elordi Star in a Controversial Movie Adaptation of Wuthering Heights

The sign for Wuthering Heights, at the Roosevelt, a local move theater. Photo by Caleb Tysz '26

Emerald Fennell’s 2026 movie adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, “Wuthering Heights”, has invited a lot of scrutiny since its first casting announcement in September 2024. 

This movie is not the faithful retelling that Brontë fans would have expected, as Fennell takes a more stylistic approach to this recreation. Consequently, it becomes a quite personal reimagining of the story and the gothic romance genre as a whole, fit for a modern audience.

Fennell makes many bold and untraditional choices regarding the movie’s soundtrack, themes, aesthetics and even casting. The most notable and controversial decision was to cast Jacob Elordi as the lead, Heathcliff, a character whom Brontë strongly suggests to be a person of color. This is shown through descriptions in the book that refer to Heathcliff as a “dark-skinned gypsy” and “a little lascar.”

Speculators widely agree that Elordi, a white man, was not the right fit for this role, and it is an example of the whitewashing of stories being told in the media. Heathcliff’s race is a significant component in the mistreatment he experiences from those around him. People often call him “dirty,” refer to his skin as “Satan-ish”, and shun him from any form of aristocracy.

Along with this, other aspects of Elordi’s and Margot Robbie’s character, Catherine, have been changed. Healthcliff is supposed to be a brooding, monstrous man whose vengeance takes up the vast majority of the novel and his character. 

Fennell’s interpretation adds a layer of sensuality to him and softens his cruel nature and overall character. His sensuality is shown more physically in the movie, rather than being shown through his passionate, all-consuming obsession with Catherine, as done in the novel. 

As for Catherine, her character is polished in comparison to her novel counterpart; she is much more untamed and a youthful force of nature in the novel. She is supposed to be volatile and self-centered, but passionate and very loving at the same time, and her young age played a huge role in that. Brontë illustrates these traits with lines like, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff, now; so he shall never know I love him,” and “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

She is much older and more polished in the film, to better suit the aesthetic and allow the character to explore her sexuality with her love interest, Heathcliff. Irrespective of this, Fennell still keeps Catherine’s general immaturity and untraditional disposition.

Fennell strays far in terms of character tweaks in order to create a more intense look at the two as a romantic pair than their toxicity.

The themes the movie explores include toxic relationships, obsession, revenge, classism and an added psychosexual layer. 

Catherine and Heathcliff’s relationship is in no way stable, as shown by Catherine’s reluctance to marry him due to his social status, and her subsequent love affair with him while she is married to another man. 

With her decision to marry someone else, she and Heathcliff create an air of tension that drives the conflict in their relationship. Heathcliff’s toxicity is exhibited in his decision to marry another woman solely to torture and provoke Catherine.

Both characters are obsessed with each other and go about their feelings in destructive ways that they consequently suffer for.

Noticeably, the pair shares sexual intimacy significantly more than in the book. Brontë only mentioned a singular shared kiss, but in Fennell’s version, Catherine goes through a sexual awakening in which she continues to explore with Heathcliff throughout the movie. 

This bold creative decision furthers the visceral and physical feeling of love, depravity and obsession the two feel for each other and the fulfillment they get from being together. These scenes are supposed to be seen as any other romantic scene.

Steamy scenes are not all that this movie entails, as there are many jarring events that occur, which are dramatized by the soundtrack. Hyperpop artist Charli XCX created the entire soundtrack for this movie, adding to the modern changes Fennell made to the gothic romance genre. 

Her menacing and brooding tracks play over scenes and elicit an inescapable feeling of dread that follows the audience throughout. It serves as a reminder of the misfortune and misery that all of these characters experience.

It adds to the eerie atmosphere that the gothic romance genre should have. The tortured characters, forbidden love and revenge plot are emphasized by these tracks. Certain scenes become uncomfortable and this is Fennell’s goal: to take the traditional elements of the genre and accentuate them so they are felt more dramatically.

This movie is in no way a faithful adaptation of its novel counterpart. It is a contemporary reimagining of a classic that is more personal to the director and is best looked at as a standalone piece due to the drastic changes in the storytelling.