Emerald Fennell's upcoming adaptation of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights has sparked intense backlash, with critics and fans lambasting everything from casting to costumes. The film, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, has been described as 'this year's most divisive film' even before its release.
Objections began in July 2024 when Fennell, known for Promising Young Woman and Saltburn, was announced as director. Critics accused her of prioritising style over substance, with The Spectator's Lara Brown calling it 'a disturbing exercise in pointless destruction'. The controversy intensified in September when Robbie (35) and Elordi (28) were cast as teenage lovers Cathy and Heathcliff.
Further criticism focused on Robbie's blonde hair, contradicting the novel's 'brown ringlets', and Elordi's casting as Heathcliff, described in the book as a 'dark-skinned gipsy'. Some accused Fennell of whitewashing the character, a step back from Andrea Arnold's 2011 film which cast black actor James Howson as Heathcliff.
Test screenings in August 2024 reportedly described the film as 'stripped of emotional nuance and full of salacious detours'. The trailer, released in September, showed Robbie's character engaged in suggestive breadmaking and corset scenes, reinforcing fears that Fennell had prioritised shock value over fidelity to the source material.
Despite the backlash, casting director Kharmel Cochrane dismissed the criticism, stating: 'It's just a book. That is not based on real life. It's all art.' The film is set for release next week.
