Wuthering Heights (2026): A Great-Looking Adaptation That Falls Short in Its Passion (4K)

The Film:

Emily Bronte's 1847 classic "Wuthering Heights" has been adapted dozens of times for film, TV, and the stage, with the most famous iteration being William Wyler's 1939 version starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, which received an impressive eight Oscar nominations (winning just one for Cinematography). Considered one of the greatest novels of all time, it has indeed inspired many to try to bring it to life in one form or another, but in doing so, one has to consider what is the point in doing so again when it's already been done so many times before.

That is to say, what can be brought to a new adaptation that we haven't already seen to make it worth our while? This brings us to the latest attempt, which comes to us from Oscar-winning screenwriter Emerald Fennell ("Promising Young Woman"), who apparently believes that she has something new to offer when it comes to bringing this work to the big screen, but the question remains, is her "something new" something that makes this oft-told story worth telling again?

Taking place in 18th century England, we are introduced to the Earnshaws, consisting of Mr. Earnshaw (Martin Clunes), his daughter Cathy (Charlotte Mellington), and her companion Nelly (Vy Nguyen). When Mr. Earnshaw brings home a boy (Owen Cooper) from off the streets, he and Cathy quickly become inseparable friends, with her naming him "Heathcliff." As the years go on, their conditions at home become worse due to Mr. Earnshaw's gambling & alcohol problems, leading Cathy (Margot Robbie) to try and court her new wealthy neighbor, Edward Linton (Shazad Latif). When Cathy sprains her ankle while trying to spy on him, the two end up spending several weeks together, bringing them closer and making Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) quite jealous. Cathy and Edward soon announce their intention to marry, despite the former's doubts, leading Heathcliff to leave. After a year, Cathy gives up on seeing Heathcliff again and goes through with the marriage, but when he suddenly returns as a wealthy, respectable gentleman, the situation becomes a bit complicated.

Right at the top, it should be acknowledged that this is not a complete adaptation of the book, which is perfectly fine. In fact, many adaptations take the exact same route and use only the first part of the novel, including the acclaimed 1939 version, which is actually perceived as not being a particularly accurate rendition of Bronte's book. As to why this is commonly done, I suppose you could chalk it up to being that throwing in the 2nd generation's story is simply too much to include in one adaptation, or that their part of the tale is just not as compelling as the classic romance between Cathy & Heathcliff. Whatever the reason, this is how writer/director Emerald Fennell has chosen to present her take on the material, which does indeed primarily focus on the doomed lovers & their relationship from early childhood.

What's going to be most important for an adaptation like this, as in any other choosing to use one part of the sprawling tale, is how it's presented. Fennell's version starts off just fine, showing how Cathy & Heathcliff's friendship bloomed from early on, and even does a decent job of showing how that relationship starts to become strained as they grow older. However, it's the presentation of the latter portion of their story that begins to develop some problems. Here, Fennell has opted to give us a strange, highly-sexualized take that comes off as rather bland, one that ironically ends up feeling curiously passionless. If the idea was to make the audience feel for their secret, often-antagonistic relationship, presenting it as a kind of awkward teen romance was not really the best approach.

As far as its style goes, it certainly looks the part, with splendid production design, costumes, and makeup to give it quite the fashionable glow that's gorgeous to look at. You also get a trio of Oscar nominees heading it up, with Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, and Hong Chau doing their best with the material as written. However, visuals & performances can only mask so much, and while Fennell's take on "Wuthering Heights" is hardly a bad one, it merely makes you wish that she had tried a little harder when it came to presenting the relationship between one of the most famous couples in literary history. In the end, what we're left with is an adaptation that gets a fair amount right as far as its decorative & performative aspects go, but ultimately falls a little short in its emotional element, which is arguably the most important one of all.

Video/Audio:

"Wuthering Heights" comes to 4K in a 1.85:1, 2160p Ultra High Definition transfer of marvelous quality. The picture is beautifully clear & sharp throughout the entire 136-minute duration, perfectly highlighting the film's gorgeous production design & costumes, as well as Linus Sandgren's incredible cinematography. Likewise, the Dolby Atmos-TrueHD audio track is wonderful, giving you all of the dialogue & music in outstanding quality. Overall, Warner Bros. has done an excellent job in both departments for the film's physical debut.

Special Features:

Commentary by Director Emerald Fennell

Threads of Desire (7 Minutes): A featurette that takes a look at the film's costumes.

The Legacy of Love and Madness (6 Minutes): A featurette that explores how Emerald Fennell adapted the story.

Building a Fever Dream (12 Minutes): A featurette that has the cast & crew discussing the film's production design & cinematography.

Conclusion:

Emerald Fennell's adaptation of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" gets quite a lot right as far as its visuals, performances, and the earlier portions of Cathy & Heathcliff's tale goes, but sadly falters a little too much in presenting the latter portion of their story, settling for a rather strange, awkward, and highly-sexualized take on their relationship that comes off as curiously passionless, ultimately leaving us with an adaptation that comes up a little short in terms of its effectiveness.

Score: 3/5

Available on 4K starting tomorrow.

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