February 20, 2026
FILM: WUTHERING HEIGHTS
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY EMERALD FENNELL
STARRING: MARGOT ROBBIE, JACOB ELORDI, HONG CHAU
RATING: 2 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
First off, I’ve never read Emily Bronte’s book that Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights is based on, nor have I seen any of the previous film adaptations, so this review is only based on the new screen version starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. In other words, I’m a Wuthering Heights virgin. Given that, Fennell’s film is an interpretation of a piece of literature which seems to go without any of the depths that I think might be associated with the original literary work. It’s a basic story: boy meets girl, they’re kept apart, they find each other, and then tragedy strikes. Ok, I’m breaking this down to the narrowest of plot points but in the end, that is the arc. So, why do we need it today? Haven’t we read many other such novels and seen plenty of other such tragic/romance films? Yes, but we didn’t have Fennell, Robbie, and Elordi before this.
Fennell’s previous two films, Promising Young Women and Saltburn are not less than audacious in their aims, plot development, and sexual content. She won an Oscar for the former and achieved decidedly mixed public and critical acclaim for the latter, which did help in Elordi’s rise to cinematic fame (he’s currently nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Frankenstein.) The film begins when his younger self, played by Adolescence’s Owen Cooper is first encountering Cathy, with Charlotte Mellington in what will become Robbie’s role as an adult. Even at a young age, Cathy is flirty and domineering in getting the deeper-than-a-friendship relationship engine started with the boy she calls Heathcliff (Cooper.) There is then a leap ahead in time and both are now young adults and fires still burn internally for both, and jealousies emerge.
I’ve never been one to buy into narratives that begin with a childhood love that lasts well into adulthood. Call me unromantic but I’d think such an unrequited love would either be overgrown or consummated and then dispensed with as such characters hit their twenties. Surely, they’d meet somebody else that can meet their needs in a different way than a childhood friend could. Maybe I’m also cynical about such things.
Eventually Cathy does meet Edgar (Shazad Latif) and, much to Heathcliff’s chagrin, marries him. This leads to more jealous, ridiculous behavior that no doubt would have read as scandalous when the book was first released. Now, of course, we’ve had over a century of movies and soap operas that have included similar plotlines and even more outrageous shenanigans between loved ones that just can’t seem to come together.
Robbie and Elordi are fine in their roles, although Fennell directs them to often recite their lines almost in whisper. They both get their moments to emote, but the quietness of their deliveries doesn’t help the already slow-moving first half of the film. The production design and sets are also a bit less opulent than one might imagine, especially after what Fennell created for Saltburn. In fact, much of hour one of the film is shot rather darkly with little noticeable visual contrasts. Everything appears as misty fog. Frankly, all of this got me dozing a few times…
The film picks up when Heathcliff returns after a time away. He’s now become devilishly handsome and finely tailored. The tensions between he and Cathy are intense which allows for more highs and lows within the film viewing experience but still feels like an overly melodramatic, missed opportunity, romance.
Other characters include Alison Oliver as Isabella, a young woman with whom Heathcliff has a revenge affair with and Oscar-nominated Hong Chau (The Whale) as Nelly, who is scornful of Cathy’s proclivities and tries to keep Heathcliff away from her. Initially it’s not clear why she’s even in the film but her role does affect some major plot turns later.
There’s no doubt a film like this will have many long-time fans, just as the book has. It pushes and tugs and ultimately makes a viewer feel good about what they do have.
Wuthering Heights is playing in theaters everywhere.
FILM: WUTHERING HEIGHTS
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY EMERALD FENNELL
STARRING: MARGOT ROBBIE, JACOB ELORDI, HONG CHAU
RATING: 2 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
First off, I’ve never read Emily Bronte’s book that Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights is based on, nor have I seen any of the previous film adaptations, so this review is only based on the new screen version starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. In other words, I’m a Wuthering Heights virgin. Given that, Fennell’s film is an interpretation of a piece of literature which seems to go without any of the depths that I think might be associated with the original literary work. It’s a basic story: boy meets girl, they’re kept apart, they find each other, and then tragedy strikes. Ok, I’m breaking this down to the narrowest of plot points but in the end, that is the arc. So, why do we need it today? Haven’t we read many other such novels and seen plenty of other such tragic/romance films? Yes, but we didn’t have Fennell, Robbie, and Elordi before this.
Fennell’s previous two films, Promising Young Women and Saltburn are not less than audacious in their aims, plot development, and sexual content. She won an Oscar for the former and achieved decidedly mixed public and critical acclaim for the latter, which did help in Elordi’s rise to cinematic fame (he’s currently nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Frankenstein.) The film begins when his younger self, played by Adolescence’s Owen Cooper is first encountering Cathy, with Charlotte Mellington in what will become Robbie’s role as an adult. Even at a young age, Cathy is flirty and domineering in getting the deeper-than-a-friendship relationship engine started with the boy she calls Heathcliff (Cooper.) There is then a leap ahead in time and both are now young adults and fires still burn internally for both, and jealousies emerge.
I’ve never been one to buy into narratives that begin with a childhood love that lasts well into adulthood. Call me unromantic but I’d think such an unrequited love would either be overgrown or consummated and then dispensed with as such characters hit their twenties. Surely, they’d meet somebody else that can meet their needs in a different way than a childhood friend could. Maybe I’m also cynical about such things.
Eventually Cathy does meet Edgar (Shazad Latif) and, much to Heathcliff’s chagrin, marries him. This leads to more jealous, ridiculous behavior that no doubt would have read as scandalous when the book was first released. Now, of course, we’ve had over a century of movies and soap operas that have included similar plotlines and even more outrageous shenanigans between loved ones that just can’t seem to come together.
Robbie and Elordi are fine in their roles, although Fennell directs them to often recite their lines almost in whisper. They both get their moments to emote, but the quietness of their deliveries doesn’t help the already slow-moving first half of the film. The production design and sets are also a bit less opulent than one might imagine, especially after what Fennell created for Saltburn. In fact, much of hour one of the film is shot rather darkly with little noticeable visual contrasts. Everything appears as misty fog. Frankly, all of this got me dozing a few times…
The film picks up when Heathcliff returns after a time away. He’s now become devilishly handsome and finely tailored. The tensions between he and Cathy are intense which allows for more highs and lows within the film viewing experience but still feels like an overly melodramatic, missed opportunity, romance.
Other characters include Alison Oliver as Isabella, a young woman with whom Heathcliff has a revenge affair with and Oscar-nominated Hong Chau (The Whale) as Nelly, who is scornful of Cathy’s proclivities and tries to keep Heathcliff away from her. Initially it’s not clear why she’s even in the film but her role does affect some major plot turns later.
There’s no doubt a film like this will have many long-time fans, just as the book has. It pushes and tugs and ultimately makes a viewer feel good about what they do have.
Wuthering Heights is playing in theaters everywhere.