Wuthering Heights: Drama or Romcom? Has Emerald Fennell honoured Emily Brontë's novel—or reinvented it?

Image credit:  Warner Bros. Pictures

On February 13th, 2026, Emerald Fennell’s long awaited book adaptation of Wuthering Heights arrived at cinemas, sparking several debates on the director’s choices and questioning whether or not the movie really honoured Emily Bronte’s original novel. While some audiences appreciated it as a stylish, emotionally charged romance, others questioned whether it fully captured the perversely dark spirit that has made “Wuthering Heights” one of literature’s most famous classics. 

While some reviewers argue that the production has become the “new classic romcom”, others comment on the Oscar winning filmmaker behind "Promising Young Woman" and Saltburn. Fennel is known for her provocative storytelling, impactful visuals and critiques of class, power and obsession. Those same elements are unmistakably present in Wuthering Heights- but they also represent a significant divergence from Bronte’s vision. 

Emily Bronte’s writing style focused on the gothic and sublime atmosphere that contrasted the wilderness of the countryside with the refined, elegant manor where the characters lived. Moreover, the author uses viscous, animalistic language to describe her characters and the relationship between each other, giving the story a dark twist of obsessive romanticism that steps out of the typical love stories that were written at the time. By portraying Cathy and Heathcliff’s relationship as one driven less by romance than by obsession, revenge and self destruction, Bronte presents a memorable tragedy where passion consumes those involved. 

On the other hand, Fennell is a filmmaker who prioritizes subversive satire, hyper-stylized aesthetics, and a provocative reimagining of class and power dynamics. The director used her signature "candy-coating" technique which replaced the dark, brownish and grey colors that Bronte described with bright pastel tones that shifted the gothic tragedy into a lighter, mainstream genre felt like a departure from the book's core mood. The result is visually striking, however, for many viewers it shifts the film away from a gothic tragedy towards a more mainstream modern romantic drama. 

Additionally, both female artists have worked with productions that talk about obsession in a context of high society and inequality. But while Bronte treated the story of Cathy and Heathcliff as a tragedy where love is replaced by revenge and obsession, Fennell used obsession with a sharper, more satirical, and voyeuristic lens, focusing on the sheer absurdity and drama of high society. 

The first big critique was the decision of Margot Robbie, a 35 year old woman, to play the role of Cathy, a teenage girl. Although critics praise the actress' performance, the character was given a more “adultist, knowing” tone, instead of the “ever-dreaming, wild” teenager that is described in the book. While Robbie’s performance has been widely praised, many critics argue that her age completely changed the character. Bronte’s character is impulsive, naive and emotionally immature, qualities that make her tragic, as Victorian expectations force her to abandon her childhood identity. In comparison, Margot Robbie’s Carhy appears more self aware and emotionally controlled, making her choices feel deliberate rather than youthful or impulsive. This difference becomes especially apparent in Cathy’s marriage with Edgar Linton. In the novel, Cathy’s decision is rooted in her desperate attempt to protect Heathcliff from her brother using the money and power that Linton would give her. The film, however, presents the relationship with a more calculated vibe, painting Cathy as a conscious manipulator of both men, in pursuit of social status and power. As a result, the emotional motivations behind one of the novel’s most important decisions is drastically altered. 

Furthermore, the casting of actor Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff proved to be even more controversial. Throughout the novel, Heathcliff is repeatedly described as dark skinned, and even racially ambiguous, with his outsider status forming a central part of both his identity and complicated relationship with society. His affair with Cathy is not only shaped by differences in wealth but also by prejudice and exclusion. 

So, when Fennell chose a white actor to play the role, many viewers argued that the adaptation removed one of the novel's most significant social dimensions. Without Heathcliff’s racial characteristics, much of the tension surrounding his controversial relationship with Cathy becomes rooted almost exclusively in class, diminishing the true complexity of Bronte's original novel. 

Journalist and author Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, writing for The Guardian following the film's release in February 2026. She directly addresses the impact of casting Jacob Elordi:

"Admittedly, this one came with a fair few red flags, from the casting of Margot Robbie (simply too old, Cathy is a teenager) and Jacob Elordi (simply too white, Heathcliff, while his origins are uncertain, is described as darker skinned)... Even at 14, most students understand that the novel is not really a love story, let alone 'the greatest love story of all time', and is about far more besides. Namely: revenge, class struggle, power, whiteness, the violence of a system that worships it and generational trauma."

Ultimately, Fennell’s film found box office success as a visually ambitious and emotionally relatable movie, attracting audiences who enjoy romance, a bewildering spectacle and melodrama. Nevertheless, for many readers of Bronte’s novel, the film proved to be a less faithful adaptation, and more a bold reinterpretation shaped by Fennell’s cinematic identity.

For those who enjoy dramatism and romanticism, Fennell's Wuthering Heights will be able to satisfy those interests. But for those who are hoping to encounter the raw, and unsettling world Emily Bronte imagined, the novel remains the definite, and far more haunting, version of Cathy and Heathcliff’s story. 

Rating: ★★★★☆