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Margot Robbie and Frankenstein’s Jacob Elordi star in the latest adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, and the first reviews of the movie have just arrived online. This version is scripted and directed by Promising Young Woman and Saltburn filmmaker Emerald Fennell, whose take on the romance classic is loosely adapted and particularly stylized, featuring some over-the-top imagery and original songs by Charli XCX. The reviews are mixed, especially for those with loyalty to the source material, but you’ll have to see it to judge it for yourself.
Here’s what critics are saying about Wuthering Heights:
How is Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of the book?
With flair and bombast to spare, Fennell reaches such great “Heights” that this feels like the first must-see movie of 2026, an enthralling retelling of an all-time love story through an accessibly modern lens.
— Brian Truitt, USA Today
Fennell’s take is bold and engaging… [She] has her way with the iconic characters, as anyone might expect such a flashy director to do.
— Peter Debruge, Variety
Her take on the novel is that of a transcendent love story, which aims to have as dizzying an effect on its audience as it does on Cathy and Heathcliff.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Fennell’s approach is an extravagant swirl: sexy, dramatic, melodramatic, occasionally comic, and often swoonily romantic.
— Caryn James, BBC.com
Her vision is intoxicating, transcendent, tantalizing, bewitching, swoon-worthy, and hypnotic…what the filmmaker engages with adds an innovative, exhilarating, and anachronistic spin on the time-honored source material.
— Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
It is glossier, louder, occasionally anachronistic, but also fiercely committed to the raw, obsessive love that has made Brontë’s story endure for nearly two centuries.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
I have to wonder if Fennell has ever actually read the novel… If you strip this movie of its title and change the characters’ names, this isn’t anything close to Brontë’s story.
— Therese Lacson, Collider
It’s depressingly uninspired—a devolution into simplistic drama…an immature reimagining devoid of its source’s nuance and complexity.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
(Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)Is it overly stylized?
It’s ridiculously overripe, but exquisite, the sort of indulgence that sets some viewers vibrating and others rolling their eyes.
— Peter Debruge, Variety
The anachronistic soundtrack and knowingly exaggerated sensuality will split audiences, but there’s no denying the commitment to creating a sensory experience.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
There’s a melodramatic grandiosity to much of this, a touch of the overwrought, which you either go with or you don’t. I found it fun, not gonna lie.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
At times, the film’s over-the-top choices seem kitschy… but overall, Fennell uses stylised images well.
— Caryn James, BBC.com
Wuthering Heights effectively deploys a heightened aesthetic to complement the heightened emotions of its performers.
— Matt Singer, ScreenCrush
It’s all in a frantically, exhaustingly Baz Luhrmann-esque style, and the movie begins to resemble a 136-minute video for the Charli xcx songs on the soundtrack.
— Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
Wuthering Heights exemplifies Fennell’s gleefully self-conscious, attention-craving style. Unfortunately, that approach is an awkward fit for Brontë’s roiling, tormented saga of passion, cruelty, and doom.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Wuthering Heights is stylistically bold for no reason… a fever dream of a film, and not in a good way.
— Therese Lacson, Collider
How does it look?
Wuthering Heights is a beautiful film. Linus Sandgren’s cinematography means every scene pops off the screen.
— Therese Lacson, Collider
Cinematographer Linus Sandgren brings such lushness to the cinematography, with some breathtaking use of color when called for.
— Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
One of the most sumptuous, lovely, eye-catching movies of 2026. This is a dazzling feast for the eyes, and that’s just exclusive to Jacqueline Durran’s costumes, Suzie Davies’ production design, or the beauty of Elordi and Robbie themselves.
— Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
The colors are vibrant, the costumes are extravagant…Entire essays could be written about the way the color red seeps into and then out of Cathy’s clothes.
— Matt Singer, ScreenCrush
The film’s aesthetic is boldly theatrical, almost feverish at times, with garish colour palettes and grandiose set pieces that feel closer to a dark pop opera than a traditional literary drama.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
In Fennell’s hands, the Earnshaw estate, which gives the work its title, looks like something Tim Burton might have dreamed up… whereas Thrushcross Grang could have been decorated by the American Horror Story crew.
— Peter Debruge, Variety
[It has] an aesthetic that’s akin to a cross between a pop-up book, a dollhouse, a snow globe, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Alice in Wonderland-themed music video for “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” and a 5th Avenue department store Christmas display.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
(Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)Will fans of the book like this version?
Fennell’s adaptation takes some liberties with Emily Brontë’s original 1847 Victorian-era novel, but unless you’re a devout superfan, you likely won’t be too mad.
— Brian Truitt, USA Today
Literary purists may object, but Fennell seizes on something passionate in the material that was always there but never made explicit.
— Peter Debruge, Variety
Fennell makes some bold changes to the narrative, but not as many as you might think, and none of the intense moments of sensuality she adds feel out of line with Brontë’s original text. Instead, they only enhance what came before.
— Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
She seems to have decided [it’s] The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, not so much the tortured psychology of it… Your enjoyment of the movie might be impacted by your affection for the novel.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
If you embrace the film’s audacious style and think of it as a reinvention, not an adaptation, this bold, artful Wuthering Heights is utterly absorbing.
— Caryn James, BBC.com
This isn’t just unfaithful to Brontë’s work; it’s as degrading to it as Heathcliff eventually is to Isabella.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Is it the right version for today’s audience?
This feels like a Wuthering Heights for our current era. One that is both contemporary yet hearkening back to a classic filmmaking style.
— Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
Often teetering on the verge between silly and clever, it’s Wuthering Heights for the Bridgerton generation, guaranteed to moisten tear ducts and inflame young hearts.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
(Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)How does it compare to Fennell’s other films?
It’s arguably the writer-director’s most purely entertaining film.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
She’s crafted her best film to date – one that feels like a decadent homage to the sweeping melodrama of golden era Hollywood.
— Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
It’s the director’s filmmaking that’s striking, showing new depth from the woman who made the delicious Promising Young Woman and out-there Saltburn.
— Brian Truitt, USA Today
The film this adaptation most reminded me of was Fennell’s own Saltburn…Between the two, though, I greatly prefer Wuthering Heights.
— Matt Singer, ScreenCrush
There’s little of Saltburn found in this movie (if that’s why you’re going, prep for disappointment).
— Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
Wuthering Heights risks smothering those whom Saltburn struck as too much.
— Peter Debruge, Variety
Wuthering Heights doesn’t have the live-ammo impact of Fennell’s earlier films Saltburn and Promising Young Woman.
— Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
Is it really horny?
Fennell raises the temperature whenever possible, as when Heathcliff sits on a pile of eggs (placed in his bed, as a prank, by Cathy) and then runs his fingers through the sticky yoke.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Fennell treats it as an erotic [fantasy], leaning into all that is sensual: a bed full of broken eggs, a stable tryst involving whips and bridles, Catherine pleasuring herself en plein air. The list goes on.
— Peter Debruge, Variety
It’s always glorious to watch a period drama which knows that the only reason we’re here today is that our ancestors couldn’t keep it in their pants; from the servants to the rich, everyone is full of desire, and accordingly, this movie finds eroticism in everything from a runny egg yolk to a mouthful of grass.
— Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
The sex… is present yet tame in comparison to other movies like the more recent Pillion.
— Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
Sex scenes are steamy and tastefully lensed.
— Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
While purists will be shocked about the level of, uh, interaction between the two (“not text!!”), other audience members might be let down. All the smutty stuff is in the film’s frankly very good trailers.
— Kate Erbland, IndieWire
(Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)Are Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi well cast?
The leads are captivating, and their chemistry sizzles.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Their chemistry is volatile, unsettling, and undeniably electric.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
Robbie and Elordi’s chemistry ignites the screen.
— Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
The two of them have an unmatched chemistry.
— Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
Robbie and Elordi manage merely flickers of chemistry.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
How is Elordi as Heathcliff?
Elordi inarguably is the standout. Even after showing the monstrousness of which Heathcliff is capable, he ensures we still see a broken heartthrob driven by love and madness into the abyss.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Elordi is the total package. He’s compelling, charismatic, romantic, and dastardly, playing the clash of chivalry and cruelty with command.
— Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
It’s fascinating to see Elordi play this monstrous brute so soon after embodying Frankenstein’s creation, and surprising that there’s less flesh on display here, but no fewer scars.
— Peter Debruge, Variety
Elordi is solid in the role that Fennell has crafted, and cinematographer Linus Sandgren makes him look as gorgeous as everything else around him.
— Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
(Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)What about Robbie’s Cathy?
Margot Robbie nimbly captures the depths of Cathy’s sometimes-petty heart at any age, a trust fall of a performance the movie doesn’t fail.
— Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
Robbie is in full bloom, walking a tightrope between infuriating recklessness and devastating regret.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Robbie crafts a refined, perfectly-pitched performance.
— Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
Her performance is magnificent.
— Caryn James, BBC.com
Robbie gives a completely unremarkable performance.
— Therese Lacson, Collider
Robbie is faintly ridiculous as the incorrigible Cathy, pulling faces in the film’s early going like a clumsy rom-com heroine.
— Rocco T. Thompson, Slant Magazine
Does anyone else make an impression?
As is so often the case, it’s Chau who steals every scene, using her character’s stillness and alert gaze to great effect.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
The MVP is Alison Oliver as Isabella Linton, the shy, doll-crafting ward to Edgar Linton. Oliver is a master at giving Isabella a dark humor…that warrants a longer movie all its own.
— Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
It’s Oliver who is the film’s MVP. She’s a true revelation, all at once effervescent, charming, and provocative.
— Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
Whatever wavelength Oliver is operating on best suits Fennell’s apparent aims with her take on the story, and its absurdity alone recommends the film.
— Kate Erbland, IndieWire
Martin Clunes is genuinely thrilling as Mr. Earnshaw.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
(Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)How is the soundtrack?
Charli XCX’s song contributions fit beautifully with the quasi-tragic/quasi-toxic tone here — incorporated heavily into the soundtrack, they feel purely additive, like Fennell magically found the exact right needle drops for these scenes.
— Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
The modern needle drops will raise eyebrows.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
The music swells and roars.
— Matt Singer, ScreenCrush
The movie offers a bunch of original Charli XCX tunes, spawning a soundtrack much better than the singer’s own lackluster mockumentary.
— Brian Truitt, USA Today
Between Anthony Willis’s score and Charlie XCX’s songs, Wuthering Heights doesn’t leave a moment wanting for overbearing sonic accompaniment.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Are there any major complaints?
When it falters, it veers toward indulgence and silliness. Even so, the film never feels timid.
— Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
While there’s a laundry list of mistakes that Fennell makes throughout the film, the largest takeaway is that this is closer to an original story than anything that Emily Brontë ever wrote.
— Therese Lacson, Collider
There’s a real segmented element to the script and editing that cuts the movie far too cleanly into specific sections.
— Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
It’s an adaptation that never reaches the heights it seeks—and, on numerous occasions, crashes and burns.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Wuthering Heights opens in theaters in limited release on February 13, 2026.
English (US) ·