Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights Has Critics Swooning: Lush, Romantic, and Unabashedly Steamy

Emerald Fennell is swinging for the Gothic fences with her take on 'Wuthering Heights,' and early viewers are basically fanning themselves. Think sweeping romance, big feelings, bigger craft, and yes, a level of thirst you probably did not experience in 10th grade English.

The buzz: swoony, steamy, and seriously gorgeous

Social reactions started popping up last week and hit full tilt this week as the social embargo eased. The throughline is clear: Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are dynamite together as Catherine and Heathcliff, and the movie looks and sounds spectacular. Multiple critics call the film intoxicating and hypnotic, with particular shout-outs to Linus Sandgren’s cinematography and Suzie Davies’ production design. The music is a big deal too: Anthony Willis scores, and Charli XCX brings original songs that several folks say slot right into the fevered mood.

There are a few light caveats in the mix. A couple reactions say it runs long and gets patchy in spots. Others note that it’s a grand, glossy reimagining of a story that was originally narrower and nastier in scale. But even the slight quibbles come packaged with praise for how the film lands as a full-bodied romantic tragedy.

"This is not the 'Wuthering Heights' you read in school, and you're either going to love it or hate it... and I loved it."

Performance-wise, the consensus is very much Team Chemistry: Robbie and Elordi’s push-pull is getting raves, with some calling it among Elordi’s best work and top-tier Robbie. Elsewhere: one reaction calls it the epitome of yearning; another just goes straight to scorching hot. The movie apparently embraces the story’s obsession and messiness, and that seems to be playing like gangbusters.

What the movie actually is

Fennell’s film adapts Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel about Heathcliff, an orphan taken in by the Earnshaw family on the moors. He and Catherine Earnshaw fall into a lifelong tangle of love and cruelty that curdles into revenge, especially once the neighboring Lintons enter the picture. Heathcliff disappears, returns wealthier and harder, and proceeds to methodically upend both families in a bid to reclaim what he believes was stolen from him.

• Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw (Barbie)
• Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff (Frankenstein)
• Shazad Latif as Edgar Linton (Star Trek: Discovery)
• Hong Chau as Nelly Dean (The Whale)
• Alison Oliver as Isabella Linton (Conversations with Friends)
• Martin Clunes as Mr. Earnshaw (Doc Martin)
• Ewan Mitchell as Joseph (House of the Dragon)
• Cinematography: Linus Sandgren
• Production design: Suzie Davies
• Score: Anthony Willis; original songs by Charli XCX
• Distributor: Warner Bros.; in theaters February 13, perfectly timed for Valentine’s weekend
• Industry wrinkle: Netflix reportedly offered Fennell around $150 million to make this, but she turned it down for Warner Bros.’ smaller ~$80 million deal that guaranteed a wide theatrical release and full marketing push. Netflix was said to be shocked, which tells you how committed Fennell was to the big-screen play.

How this fits into the 'Wuthering Heights' lineage

Bronte’s book is a screen magnet. Notable versions include the 1939 classic with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon; the 1970 take with Timothy Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall; the 1992 version starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche; and Andrea Arnold’s 2011 riff with Kaya Scodelario and James Howson. Fennell’s approach, based on the reactions, leans maximalist: grand scale, lush craft, and a frank embrace of the story’s desire and spite.

Bottom line

Early reactions can skew sunny, but this looks like another sharp, stylish swing from Fennell. Expect a swoony, bruising romance that goes hard on sensuality and style, with Robbie and Elordi doing exactly what you want out of Catherine and Heathcliff. If you’re into tragic longing with expensive wallpaper, you’ve got Valentine’s weekend plans.