Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights has been released to film journalists ahead of its February 13 release, with initial reaction calling the steamy literary romance a “heart-pounding crowd-pleaser” and “destined to be a huge hit for Warner Bros.”
Critic Courtney Howard gave a glowing review of X, calling Fennell’s latest work “a divine new classic.”
“Intoxicating, transcendent, seductive, seductive, lustful, hypnotic,” Howard wrote. “It deftly captures the breathtaking essence of pain and desire. (Linus) Sandgren’s cinematography is mesmerizing. (Susie) Davis’ production design is sublime.”
Jazz Tankay, Senior Artisan Editor-in-Chief of Variety, also praised the film in “X”. She called Wuthering Heights a “scorching hot and twisted story” and praised the chemistry between stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as “a whole other level of hotness!”
“Only emeralds can overturn the classics, make them fall completely into desire, and completely destroy their souls,” she wrote. “It was an exquisite spectacle of craftsmanship, and the costumes, cinematography, and production design made me salivate. I fell in love with it.”
Entertainment writer Scott Menzel sniffed at the box office success of “Wuthering Heights.” He wrote in X that the erotic drama was “destined to be a huge hit for Warner Bros.” And it would establish Fennell as “one of the hottest filmmakers today.”
“This film is a breathtaking work of visual art and is expected to be a major award contender, especially in the areas of cinematography, costume design, production design, and music,” Menzel wrote. “And if you already thought Jacob Elordi was the next big thing after ‘Euphoria,’ ‘Saltburn,’ and ‘Frankenstein,’ wait until you see him here. The sexual tension and chemistry between Margot Robbie and Elordi is so intense you could cut it with a knife.”
IndieWire editor-in-chief Anne Thompson also predicted commercial glory for “Wuthering Heights.” She wrote for X: “‘Wuthering Heights’ has opened well and is set to soar at the box office. It’s a heart-breaking, heart-rending crowd-pleaser. Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie will both be to the fore. Audiences will fall in love with Emerald Fennell’s flashy visuals and free direction. Everything is big.”
Based on Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel, the film depicts a deliciously forbidden romance between Cathy, played by Robbie, a wealthy 19th century aristocrat, and high society pariah Heathcliff, played by Elordi. Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights to fight for his love after Cathy makes her oath to the others. In addition to Robbie and Elordi, the film also stars Hong Chau, Alison Oliver, Shahzad Latif, Martin Clunes, and Ewan Mitchell. The film also features original music by pop superstar Charli XCX.
Wuthering Heights was first and most famously made into a film by master director William Wyler in 1939, starring Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier. In 2011, Fish Tank director Andrea Arnold directed another version starring Kaya Scodelario and James Howson. There was also a 1970 version starring Anna Calder-Marshall and Timothy Dalton, a 1992 version starring Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes, and an ITV miniseries starring Charlotte Riley and Tom Hardy.
Fennell is a self-proclaimed big fan of the original work, and said during a panel discussion at the Bronte Women’s Writing Festival in the UK in September that she would “be furious” if she wasn’t the director to bring Wuthering Heights to life. She added that with her version, she wanted audiences to feel what they felt when they read Wuthering Heights for the first time.
“I wanted to create work that made you feel the way you felt when you read a book for the first time: an emotional response to something,” Fennell said. “It’s primal and sexual.”
Watch the trailer for Wuthering Heights below.
