The classic novel written by Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, already has many film movie adaptations. Nevertheless, Fennell's take on the source material stood as the most anticipated movie of early 2026, and the casting excited many. Barbie & Frankenstein, also known as Margot Robbie & Jacob Elordi, were chosen to bring the love story to life.
In the 18th century, a young girl named Catherine lives in the gothic estate of Wuthering Heights. When she starts questioning herself on the significance of love, her alcoholic father brings home a young boy he says he saved from Liverpool’s streets. He becomes Catherine's companion that she names Heathcliff, and a special relationship develops between them. Years later, this relationship becomes stronger and more complicated when the arrival of a new neighbour risks disrupting their bond.
...too much time wasted on sex for shock value.
It is no coincidence that the movie released during Valentine's Day. Throughout the entire movie, a romantic atmosphere is constantly palpable and turns sexual on many occasions. However, this is to the film's detriment. Too much time is wasted on unspoken conversations about love, too much time wasted on sex for shock value. The flow of time is also concerned with poorly placed or even non-existent transitions. In the middle of this, however, Emerald Fennell's direction is still recognisable and we can easily discern the style she established in her first two films.
On the bright side, many qualities can also be found regardless of the story. The color is perfectly managed throughout the film to invoke emotion, and the cinematography from Linus Sandgren makes each shot like a painting. The costumes and production design are also fantastic.
Concerning the actors, Margot Robbie draws on her past work in soap operas, while Elordi doesn't show more than the “dark mysterious silent man” since the story doesn't give him much to say.
To sum up, perhaps "disappointing" would be too strong of a word to qualify the value of the film. Would it be fair to call it not as good as expected? Yes. Does this writer still love Emerald Fennell too much to be honest? Most definitely.
Maybe Emerald Fennell should stay with her original material and stay away from adaptations. Even if her direction could make any story beautiful, the story just can’t provide the right quantity of action balanced with the inherent appeal of the actors. It would certainly be a good way to spend a movie night for a horny couple, but it's far from the quality of her other first two films.