Wuthering Heights Film Adaptation Sparks Critical Divide Ahead of Release
Emerald Fennell's highly anticipated adaptation of Wuthering Heights has generated a dramatic split among film critics, with some branding the movie "astonishingly bad" while others celebrate its "swoonily romantic" interpretation. The film, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as literature's iconic star-crossed lovers Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, premieres this Friday amidst a storm of conflicting reviews.
Scathing Criticism and One-Star Reviews
The critical backlash has been particularly harsh, with several prominent publications delivering devastating assessments. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw awarded just two stars, describing Fennell's take as "an emotionally hollow, bodice-ripping misfire that misuses Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi." He further criticized the film as "quasi-erotic, pseudo-romantic and then ersatz-sad, a club night of mock emotion" presented in "a frantically, exhaustingly Baz Luhrmann-esque style."
The Independent was even more brutal with a shocking one-star review from Clarisse Loughrey, who claimed that "Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi's performances are almost pushed to the border of pantomime" while branding Heathcliff a "wet-eyed, Mills & Boon mirage." The review also accused the film of problematic social commentary, suggesting it "seems to define the poor as sexual deviants and the rich as clueless prudes."
The Times mirrored this sentiment with another two-star rating, with critic Kevin Maher labeling the film "vapid" and claiming it "fails to reflect the complexity of the greatest gothic novel in English literature." Maher specifically criticized Elordi's performance, stating "the less said about Jacob Elordi the better," while describing Robbie's portrayal as combining "Barbie and BDSM" in what he termed a "Brontë Barbie" interpretation.
Accusations of White-Washing and Unfaithful Adaptation
Beyond the critical reception, the film has faced controversy regarding its casting choices and departure from the source material. Director Emerald Fennell has been candid about not creating a loyal adaptation, with Daily Mail critic Brian Viner noting she has "pared back the story, either tinkering with characters and sub-plots or removing them altogether."
This approach has included casting decisions that have raised eyebrows, particularly Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff—a character traditionally described with gypsy heritage, dark hair, and dark eyes. Additionally, at 35 years old, Margot Robbie is significantly older than the teenage Cathy of Brontë's novel, further distancing the adaptation from its literary origins.
Collider delivered one of the most damning assessments, declaring "Emily Brontë is absolutely rolling in her grave" and calling the film "a jarring, vapid, and ultimately insulting experience" that fails to capture the novel's Gothic essence, themes of class and race, or Yorkshire moor setting.
Positive Reception and Five-Star Praise
Despite the torrent of negative reviews, several prominent critics have embraced Fennell's bold reinterpretation. The Telegraph awarded a full five stars, with Robbie Collin praising the film as "resplendently lurid, oozy and wild" and "an obsessive film about obsession" that "hungrily embroils the viewer in its own mad compulsions." The review highlighted the lead actors' chemistry and Fennell's understanding that "style can be substance when you do it right."
The BBC similarly offered five stars, with Caryn James describing Fennell's approach as "an extravagant swirl: sexy, dramatic, melodramatic, occasionally comic and often swoonily romantic." James praised how the director "surfaces the sexual desire Brontë could only hint at" while creating "a very long tease" between the central characters, and specifically commended Robbie's "magnificent" performance that makes Cathy "wild and selfish but with a conscience."
The Irish Times provided a more balanced three-star assessment, with Donald Clarke noting that while the film doesn't deliver the aggressively lewd moments rumored during production, it succeeds at "nodding politely to the original text while snubbing its nose at slavish faithfulness." Clarke described certain scenes as having "more bawdy mischief than pornographic subversion" and suggested the approach was "closer to Carry on Heathcliff than The 120 Days of Sodom."
Mixed Assessments and Industry Context
Empire magazine's Beth Webb offered another three-star review, acknowledging that "there is notably more plot to Brontë's novel than in Fennell's reimagining" and suggesting the film "could benefit from feeling more grounded—especially when Cathy and Heathcliff fight and fornicate like teenagers, ricocheting between lust and loathing."
The Daily Mail review placed Fennell's adaptation in historical context, noting that producer Sam Goldwyn famously insisted on a happy ending for the 1939 film version starring Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier. However, the critic concluded that while that earlier adaptation was "a much more satisfying film," Fennell's version represents "this handsome but ultimately empty exercise in style over substance, cinematography over soul."
As the film prepares for its Friday release, the polarized critical reception ensures it will be one of the most discussed cinematic events of the season, with audiences left to decide whether Fennell's provocative reinterpretation represents bold artistic vision or disrespectful departure from literary tradition.
