Bronte Expert Condemns Fennell's Wuthering Heights as Superficial Sex Romp
Emerald Fennell's highly stylized take on Wuthering Heights has sparked intense debate, with audiences divided over its modern aesthetic and critics lambasting its departure from Emily Bronte's classic novel. Among the most vocal detractors is Joelle Owusu-Sekyere, Editorial Director at Penguin Random House and a dedicated Bronte enthusiast, who delivers a scathing assessment of the film as a "daddy issues sex romp" that fails to capture the book's moral and thematic depth.
A Beautiful but Hollow Spectacle
Owusu-Sekyere acknowledges the film's visual appeal, describing it as a "beautiful piece of art" with stunning production design, cinematography, and costumes. However, she argues that style consistently overshadows substance, reducing the gothic masterpiece to a "TikTok and Pinterest" inspired collage of erotic scenes. The adaptation, she notes, cuts swathes of the original text, resulting in a messy narrative that prioritizes moody romance over the novel's intricate politics, history, and moral complexities.
"For those with short attention spans who prefer aesthetics and moody romance over moral complexity? Four stars. For people who've read the book? Deep frustration. Two stars," Owusu-Sekyere told the Mirror. She emphasizes that while the film is emotionally manipulative—with women seen wiping away tears during its soaring score—it lacks the haunting supernatural elements and psychological torment that define Bronte's work.
Flattened Characters and Erased Themes
A central criticism focuses on the film's treatment of Heathcliff, portrayed by Jacob Elordi. Owusu-Sekyere contends that by removing the context of racism, classism, and systemic cruelty, Fennell reduces Heathcliff to a "two-dimensional, horny brute with daddy issues." The casting of Elordi, despite Fennell's defense based on her childhood imagination, whitewashes a character explicitly described as "dark-skinned" in the novel, stripping away vital racial undertones.
Furthermore, the film erases key characters like Hindley Earnshaw and omits the entire second half of the book, including the ghostly elements and cyclical revenge arcs. "This is not the greatest love story of all time," Owusu-Sekyere asserts. "It is a story of obsession, revenge, class, race, social exclusion and toxic emotional dependency." She criticizes the transformation of Isabella, a victim of domestic abuse in the novel, into a "quirky BDSM sub," calling it a baffling choice that sanitizes the story's brutality.
Strong Performances Amidst Narrative Failures
Despite the film's flaws, Owusu-Sekyere praises certain performances. Jacob Elordi "shines as a leading man," sporting a decent Yorkshire accent and embodying the role's brooding physicality. Supporting turns from Martin Clunes, Alison Oliver, and Hong Chau—who brings grounded depth as Nelly—are also highlighted. However, she argues that these strong performances cannot mask the film's fundamental issues, particularly its "relentless cherry-picking" of scenes that favor erotic charge over narrative coherence.
Marketing Misrepresentation and Cultural Impact
Owusu-Sekyere takes issue with the marketing of the film as an adaptation rather than an inspiration, noting that Fennell's use of quotation marks around the title signals a divergence from the source material. She suggests this is a "cop out," and that Fennell should have either committed to a faithful adaptation or reimagined the story under a new title. The film's release coincides with the 2026 National Year of Reading, which may drive new readers to Bronte's novel, but Owusu-Sekyere questions whether Fennell has misinterpreted its themes.
In conclusion, she describes the film as a "sanitised, commercial, TikTok-friendly romance" that prioritizes reactionary filmmaking, sexual shock factor, and colorful costumes over substance. "I left the cinema asking a simple question: what was the point—and who, exactly, was it for?" she remarks, echoing Aretha Franklin's quip about "great gowns, beautiful gowns" to underscore the film's superficial allure.
