Wuthering Heights (2026) Review: Emerald Fennell’s Beautiful, Miserable, Sex-Soaked Misfire
Emerald Fennell reimagines Wuthering Heights as an erotic gothic romance starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. Read our skeptical review of this beautiful but deeply unpleasant adaptation.
Wuthering Heights
Directed by Emerald Fennell
Written by Emerald Fennell
Starring Margot Robbe, Jacob Elordi
Release Date February 13th, 2026
A Gothic Romance That Thinks It’s Sexy, Not Sad
I am fascinated by Emerald Fennell.
She is a bizarre visionary, a risk-taker, a filmmaker who takes big, bold swings—fearless of failure and judgment. She is also someone who read Wuthering Heights and thought:
This would make a great bodice-ripping, spicy romance.
Say what you will about that take on one of the least sexy books ever written—it takes a very specific, very creative mind to conceptualize Wuthering Heights as part Fifty Shades of Grey, part Shakespearean tragedy, scored by Charli XCX.
Can you honestly tell me that isn’t fascinating?
And yet, for all its bravado, Fennell’s Wuthering Heights is a deeply off-putting experience—one that is as visually intoxicating as it is emotionally repellent.
Style Over Substance (But What Style)
The cinematography is breathtaking: bold, moody, lush.
The sets and costumes are impeccable—uncanny for the period, but so striking that historical accuracy is overwhelmed by sheer visual force.
This is a movie that looks incredible.
But looking beautiful doesn’t make something meaningful—especially when what’s being framed is so relentlessly ugly.
Catherine and Heathcliff: Monsters in Love
Here is Fennell’s vision:
• Catherine Earnshaw (Margot Robbie) is a selfish, narcissistic bully driven only by her own desires.
• Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) is brutish, emotionally stunted, cruel, and consumed by resentment.
They are miserable people in a lifelong dance of emotional destruction.
This is a love story.
When Catherine is young, her father (Martin Klunes), a violent alcoholic with a gambling problem, brings home a filthy, abused boy from the streets. Catherine names him Heathcliff and claims him like a possession.
Their childhood bond evolves into something far darker—a relationship rooted in mutual suffering and unspoken obsession.
Love, Class, and Cruelty
As Catherine grows older, she must choose between:
• Heathcliff, a servant with no money or future
• Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif), a kind, wealthy neighbor offering stability
In a pivotal scene, Catherine confides her choice to Nelly (Hong Chau), unaware Heathcliff is listening. He flees before hearing that Catherine’s heart still belongs to him.
She marries Edgar.
Heathcliff disappears.
And of course—he returns.
Where Fennell Goes Off the Rails
In Emily Brontë’s novel, Heathcliff returns obsessed with revenge.
In Emerald Fennell’s film, he returns hot, rich, bitter, and horny.
He buys Wuthering Heights, manipulates Catherine’s father into deeper alcoholism, and begins a torrid affair with Catherine—an affair depicted as grotesquely sensual.
Everything squishes.
Everything glistens.
Everything feels… sticky.
It’s less gothic tragedy and more prestige erotica.
Everyone Is Terrible (And Not in a Fun Way)
Catherine and Heathcliff are not tragic—they’re cruel, selfish, and emotionally sadistic. They enjoy destroying each other and everyone around them.
Most disturbing is Heathcliff’s treatment of Isabella (Allison Oliver). He seduces her solely to hurt Catherine. In one of the film’s most uncomfortable scenes, he icily proposes marriage to Isabella, bluntly and with menace stating:
• He will never love her
• He will be cruel
• He will use her to torment Catherine
And she agrees.
Because he’s sexy.
The film treats this dynamic not as horrifying—but as erotic.
Beauty Framing Rot
There are no good people here. No emotional anchor. No moral grounding.
Everything is stunning, and everything is vile.
Placing something rotten against a perfect backdrop doesn’t make it compelling—it makes it feel empty.
Wuthering Heights (2026) is visually exquisite, narratively cruel, and emotionally hollow. It wants to be provocative, but it mistakes toxicity for depth and cruelty for passion.
It is a beautiful, miserable experience.
Final Verdict
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)
A daring but deeply misguided adaptation that mistakes erotic misery for emotional truth.
Tags
Wuthering Heights 2026, Emerald Fennell, Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, gothic romance, movie review, film criticism, erotic drama, book to film adaptation, classic novel remake, controversial films, gothic cinema, toxic romance, modern adaptations
About the Creator
Sean Patrick
Hello, my name is Sean Patrick He/Him, and I am a film critic and podcast host for the I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast I am a voting member of the Critics Choice Association, the group behind the annual Critics Choice Awards.
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Comments (3)
Haven't seen it, but that is exactly what I assumed it would be. Nothing could remotely compare to the 1992 Fiennes/Binoche version. I did have high hopes for Margot, though and as much as I like Elordi, I think he was cast wrongly.
This is the third review of the movie I'm reading today and it seems people either hate it or love it. Great review, Sean, as always.
Looks likes this film made a poet out of you. Interesting review, not like your usual review.