#REVIEW: “WUTHERING HEIGHTS”

By Mr. Will Wong

Academy Award winner Emerald Fennell ambitiously writes and directs a new adaptation of Emily Bronté‘s classic “WUTHERING HEIGHTS”. This splashy $80 million production ups the eroticism and heat, as Fennell takes some big swings here, while keeping the core elements of tragedy and romance intact.

The story centers on Catherine (played by Charlotte Mellington and Margot Robbie), who sees the dimming luster of her unpredictable, alcoholic father’s ancestral wealth. He takes in an orphan boy Healthcliff (played by Owen Cooper and Jacob Elordi), who strikes a connection with Catherine and the two become inseparable into their adulthood. As the two grow older, Catherine while harbouring feelings for Heathcliff, has the sobering realization that time is running out with her financial prospects dimming, and Heathcliff failing to show a palpable interest in her. She weds the well-to-do Edgar (Shazad Latif), as Heathcliff disappears for five years, defeated that he cannot provide for Catherine, his one true love. She continues to yearn for him and he then returns a new man, turning Catherine‘s world upside-down, as they embark on a torrid love affair. Is it too late for them to find true love with those around them forbidding it?

Fennell is a brazen storyteller and she makes daring choices once again here that at once have you laughing in disbelief and gasping at once. All characters get caught in the crossfires here as Heathcliff and Catherine realize their love for one another. The highly-stylized drama here is as enthralling as Linus Sandgren‘s (La La Land) sweeping Cinematography. Anthony Willis’ lush score and original songs by Charli XCX are focused and cinematic, even when the Film might not have that same focus.

The Film’s greatest struggle though is navigating its array of tonal shifts. You will laugh, you will cry, you will gasp. At times, it feels as though Fennell is aware of the story’s absurdities, and the chuckles are audible in the audience. Then she hits us with quick abbreviated spurts of eroticism, even if it doesn’t always feel sensual much in the same way Saltburn did. The Film also is sadistic and cruel, with everyone enduring pain as a result of this forbidden love. Yet at once, undeniably there is the drama and tragedy. And this is a lot for an audience coming into this wanting a straight-up Valentine’s romance.

Our two leads are fantastic and despite a slight age gap between them, this isn’t even a factor on-screen as they pair together so for some explosive chemistry in the Film’s lighter moments through the heavier ones. Alison Oliver however, as Catherine‘s young sister-in-law Isabella Linton is a pure delight, providing a welcome break in the intensity.

“WUTHERING HEIGHTS” is a cautionary tale of the importance of following your heart always, and still is enjoyable in this inspired take on the timeless tale. the Warner Bros. Pictures Canada release in theatres February 13, 2026.