The reviews are out, the discourse is loud, and the Valentine’s Day weekend release date is finally here. Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, is not the respectful, corseted period piece you might expect.
It is messy. It is stylish. It is deliberately provocative. And it is splitting critics right down the middle.
As the film arrives in theaters globally on February 13, 2026, many moviegoers are asking the same question: with a 66% score on Rotten Tomatoes, a controversial casting decision, and a director known for pushing buttons, is this adaptation actually worth your time and ticket money?
Whether you are a lifelong fan of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, a viewer who only knows the story through pop culture, or someone just looking for a steamy date night film, this guide breaks down everything you need to know before buying a seat.
The Core Conflict: Faithfulness vs. Reinvention
The single most important thing to understand about Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights is that it does not want to be a faithful adaptation. Fennell has been clear from the start: she is making the version of the story that lived inside her head as a 14-year-old reader .
That means the film keeps Emily Brontë’s dialogue in several key scenes—Fennell calls it “the best dialogue ever” and refused to change it—but wraps those words inside a completely reimagined visual and tonal package .
Gone is the multi-generational scope of the novel. This adaptation focuses exclusively on the adult romance between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, stripping away characters like Hindley Earnshaw entirely in some interpretations, or significantly compressing the second half of the book .
Martin Clunes plays Mr. Earnshaw in what multiple critics call a scene-stealing performance. Hong Chau appears as the housekeeper Nelly Dean. Shazad Latif and Alison Oliver take on the roles of Edgar and Isabella Linton, the wealthy siblings who become entangled in Cathy and Heathcliff’s destructive orbit .
If you walk into the theater expecting the novel visualized page by page, you will likely leave frustrated. If you are open to a director using Brontë’s skeleton to build something entirely new, this may work for you.
The Chemistry Question: Do Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi Work Together?
This is the area where critics agree almost unanimously.
Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi share what several reviewers describe as “unmatched,” “volatile,” and “undeniably electric” chemistry . The film leans hard into physical desire, pulling up what previous adaptations kept buried beneath longing glances and restrained manners.
Elordi, coming off his role as Frankenstein’s creature, plays Heathcliff as a wounded, obsessive figure. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter calls his performance the standout, noting that even when Heathcliff behaves monstrously, Elordi ensures the audience still sees “a broken heartthrob driven by love and madness” .
Robbie has the trickier job. Her Cathy is older than the character in the book—Robbie is 35 playing a woman meant to be in her late teens and early twenties—and some critics feel the age gap shows . Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian argues the film misuses her talents, leaving her stranded inside a concept that looks expensive but delivers only “mock emotion” .
But others see something else. Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence writes that Robbie “nimbly captures the depths of Cathy’s sometimes-petty heart” and describes the performance as a “trust fall the movie doesn’t fail” . Caryn James of BBC.com simply calls her “magnificent” .
The consensus is clear: the two leads burn on screen together. Whether that heat serves the story or simply decorates it is where opinions diverge.
Visual Style: High Gloss, High Camp, and a Lot of Leather
Linus Sandgren, the Oscar-winning cinematographer behind La La Land, shot this film. The result is visually aggressive in a way that feels intentional rather than accidental.
Wuthering Heights itself looks like something Tim Burton might have designed, according to Variety’s Peter Debruge. Thrushcross Grange, the Linton family estate, is decorated with silver walls, red-lacquer floors, and a fireplace surrounded by white china hands .
Costume designer Jacqueline Durran told British Vogue she drew inspiration from Gone With the Wind rather than historical accuracy . Cathy wears see-through tulle on her wedding night. Heathcliff moves through the moors in clothing that feels modern even when it looks period-adjacent.
Charli XCX contributed original songs to the soundtrack, and they are not background decoration. The needle drops are loud, intentional, and meant to yank the 19th-century story into a 21st-century sonic space .
Liz Shannon Miller argues the music fits the film’s “quasi-tragic/quasi-toxic tone” beautifully . Others find the anachronism jarring.
You will either sink into this heightened, artificial world or spend the runtime wishing someone would hand the characters a mud-brown dress and turn down the bass.
What Critics Love and What They Hate
The early review aggregator score sits at 66% on Rotten Tomatoes as of February 12, 2026 . That number reflects deep division rather than mild disagreement.
The Telegraph’s Robbie Collin awarded five stars, calling the film “a bosom-heaving, gasp-inducing thrill ride” and arguing that fidelity to the novel was never the point .
The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw gave two stars, describing the same qualities as “emotionally hollow” and “overcooked” .
Amy Nicholson of the Los Angeles Times describes the film as a “bold, filthy fantasy” but argues Fennell does not press the pedal all the way down—that if you are going to make this kind of movie, you should commit fully .
Justin Chang of The New Yorker calls the film “extravagantly superficial,” with lead performances that never deepen beyond the stylized surface .
Therese Lacson of Collider is the most blunt, writing: “I have to wonder if Fennell has ever actually read the novel… If you strip this movie of its title and change the characters’ names, this isn’t anything close to Brontë’s story” .
Vicky Jessop of The Standard captures the ambivalent viewer experience perfectly: she left the cinema dissatisfied after the sugar rush faded, calling the ending unresolved and Heathcliff’s fate left to imagination .
The Casting Controversy: Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff
No discussion of this film is complete without addressing the debate that followed it from announcement to premiere.
Emily Brontë describes Heathcliff as a “dark-skinned gypsy” in the text. The character’s ethnicity has been interpreted and debated by readers and scholars for generations. Andrea Arnold’s 2011 adaptation cast James Howson, a Black actor, in the role.
Jacob Elordi is white.
Casting director Kharmel Cochrane addressed the decision in April 2025, acknowledging that “English Lit fans” would be unhappy with the choice . Margot Robbie defended her co-star directly: “I saw him play Heathcliff. And he is Heathcliff. I’d say, just wait. Trust me, you’ll be happy” .
Justin Chang’s New Yorker review points directly at this issue, noting the film never fully engages with the “thornier implications at the intersection of race and class” that the novel raises .
For some viewers, this alone will be a reason to skip the film. For others, it is a casting choice they are willing to evaluate based on performance rather than physical matching to literary description.
Where and When You Can Watch Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights opens in theaters worldwide on February 13, 2026 .
United States and Canada: Wide theatrical release through Warner Bros. Pictures, including IMAX screenings at participating locations .
United Kingdom: Released February 13, 2026. The film holds particular significance here due to the Yorkshire setting. Cast and crew filmed on location in Arkengarthdale, Swaledale, and Low Row, staying at Simonstone Hall near Hawes and various cottages in Reeth .
Australia: Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, opening February 13, 2026.
India: Global release date locked for February 13, 2026, with screenings in major metropolitan cities .
Global markets: Distributed internationally by Warner Bros. Pictures. Check local listings for exact showtimes.
Streaming and home media: No official streaming date has been announced. Based on Warner Bros. standard release patterns, the film is expected to arrive on HBO Max approximately 90 days after theatrical release, placing a potential streaming debut around May 2026. DVD and Blu-ray releases typically follow in late April to early May .
Pluto TV is currently streaming four older adaptations of Wuthering Heights for free, including the 1970, 1992, and 1998 versions, allowing viewers to compare previous takes before or after seeing the new film .
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The Final Decision: Watch or Skip?
Watch this film if:
- You enjoy directors with strong visual signatures who treat source material as raw material rather than scripture.
- You want to see two movie stars with genuine chemistry playing obsessive, physical desire without restraint.
- You are curious about the discourse and want to form your own opinion on one of the most debated films of the year.
- You appreciate maximalist production design, aggressive soundtracks, and period pieces that refuse to behave like period pieces.
Skip this film if:
- You love Emily Brontë’s novel exactly as written and feel protective of its characters and structure.
- You prefer your literary adaptations restrained, tasteful, and historically grounded.
- The casting of a white actor as Heathcliff is a non-negotiable barrier for you.
- You walked out of Saltburn feeling like you had watched something stylish but empty.
The best advice may come from Caryn James of BBC.com: “If you embrace the film’s audacious style and think of it as a reinvention, not an adaptation, this bold, artful Wuthering Heights is utterly absorbing” .
Go expecting Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights rather than Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, and you will know within the first ten minutes whether this ride is for you.
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