Why are so many drawn to toxic love? Like an addiction, many cling to the idea that only a single person can complete their soul and possess their very being, holding on to the feeling of euphoria that exists when that person is by your side. However for any and all purity that might seemingly be derived from love, sometimes it can be utterly poisonous if the obsession consumes you.

This theme was always persistent in Emily Brontë’s immortal classic Wuthering Heights. And that theme ultimately serves as the primary thesis of filmmaker Emerald Fennell’s loose adaptation of the timeless gothic story.

In many ways, the Wuthering Heights novel serves more as a straw man model for Fennell’s retelling. Most of the primary characters are present, as are many of the beats from the novel. However, she has decided to take considerable liberties by omitting a multitude of storylines and characters, while also refactoring some of the core elements in the story of its main characters: Catherine (Cathy) Ernshaw and Heathcliff. As such, purists will need to consider this “Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights” rather than Brontë’s in as much of the way “Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein” is his own.

And in the hands of a lesser filmmaker, that would be almost sacrilege to deviate so dramatically from the source material, and it still might very well be for hardcore fans of the novel. However, Fennell is not only a terrific filmmaker, but one whose style and voice are unequivocally and indisputably unique. Between her work in Promising Young Woman and Saltburn, given her penchant for skewering privilege while simultaneously exploring the beauty and darkness in humanity and obsession, she is the perfect fit for a story about toxic love. She’s just decided to make it her own, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, as she, better than probably any other filmmaker, can tackle the subject matter so earnestly, accurately, and unflinchingly.

Fennell’s version of Wuthering Heights still follows Heathcliff and Catherine, however it jettisons Hindley Ernshaw (Catherine’s spiteful brother) and the offspring of the Linton/Ernshaw/Heathcliff families. The focus is exclusively on the tumultuous, torturous love affair between Catherine and Heathcliff themselves, and the obstacles that keep them apart: a deeply envious friend, socioeconomic caste systems, and bitter, petty jealousy. It’s a vehicle for Fennell, alongside producer/star Margot Robbie, and a terrific and intimidating Jacob Elordi to explore the beauty and ugliness of love that exists between two intentionally deplorable characters. And as such, as an adaptation, it succeeds, proving that Fennell not only knows the material, but understands it so well that she can deviate from it and still successfully hammer in the point.

At once, Wuthering Heights, like its protagonists, is paradoxical. It is both a gorgeous movie and an ugly movie. It’s elegant and also barbaric. It’s refined, but also raw. And the only filmmaker capable of fully pulling off the balance as brilliantly as she has here is Fennell. She intentionally pulls you in with gorgeous cinematography, production design, costumes, hair and makeup (all of which are hopefully still in strong consideration for Oscars in 2027), but uses all of this to immerse you into a world of cruelty, ugliness, sadism, and anger. She casts the most beautiful actors in the world to portray the most toxic individuals. Which is precisely the point. She wants to explore love as a damning double edged sword, at first seemingly filled with beauty and innocence, before becoming completely corrupted, engulfed in co-dependency and resent. It’s a side of love we all know is real, but is so rarely ever explored in film, which is where the boldness of a filmmaker like Fennell is so necessary for a story like this.

Robbie and Elordi are incredible in their respective performances. They’re both the types of actors that can give a performance that makes you swoon with lust and passion, then in the blink-of-an-eye make your blood curdle with bitter, frosty coldness. Their chemistry is so brilliantly wonderful, yet their wrath towards one another is explosively violent and uncomfortable.

Through the direction of Fennell, we become increasingly aware of the types of monsters they are beneath the decorum of fancy dresses and civilized collars, which of course presents the challenge of making us strongly dislike these characters. And yet, we are still able to root for them, because Fennell, Robbie, and Elordi give us the ever so slightest glimpse of beauty and pureness that exists in their love. Moments of passion and the deeper understanding of how deep their relationship goes, particularly after years of trauma and torment at the hands of Catherine’s father, allow us to clearly see and acknowledge that despite how incredibly toxic and self-destructive we know their love for each other is, we, like the characters, want to believe they were fated to be together. Not an easy sell for a film, but the team manages to pull this off miraculously. It makes you sick to root for this twisted love, but you simply cannot help but to do so.

Speaking of terrific performances, the supporting cast does well, with Shazad Latif playing Edgar Linton, the one character in the story with some semblance of a soul, Hong Chau, playing Ernshaw housekeeper, Nelly (in a very expanded role), and scene stealer Alison Oliver as Isabella Linton. Chau’s performance is steely and devious. Fennell has transformed her character into a callous and meddlesome spider, which allows Chau to infuse the role with a jealous darkness, but also a sense of humanity clouded by pain and bitterness. Oliver, on the other hand, works overtime bringing the film some much needed comedic relief. She plays Isabelle so broadly awkward, making you giggle with glee with every bizarre thing she says and does. It’s quite endearing, and consistently funny. It also feels devastating when you’re confronted by her sad fate at the hands of a brute like Heathcliff, as he pulls her into his downward spiral over his obsession with Catherine.

That being said, what Fennell’s version does for toxic love, it ends up sacrificing other pretty important themes from the novel. Much of Brontë’s work is meant to explore the destruction that comes from vengeance; particularly a deep vengeance and dark resentment caused by class discrepancy. While those are still key elements in Fennell’s version, they definitely take a backseat in the film, which, due to it’s decision to primarily focus on Catherine and Heathcliff’s romance, feels like a bit of a missed opportunity to explore socially deeper themes. For instance, class struggle is still a large issue today, and a story like Wuthering Heights would have been the perfect vehicle to say something deeper about it. However, while it’s addressed, it never feels fully explored. Which is a shame, honestly, because they’re just as important to the story as the themes of tortured love.

I can’t speak about this movie without, of course, bringing up the potential controversies surrounding Elordi’s casting as Heathcliff. I say “potential controversies” because it has been a source of ambiguity as to the complexion and origins of the character, with some descriptions suggesting he is “dark-skinned” and others suggesting he is “white as the wall behind him.” So it’s hard to pin point whether or not the character should be played by a Person of Color or a Caucasian. Fennell has decided to go the latter, which has understandably upset many, preferring to go with the interpretation of the former description. And that’s completely fair. However, for me, I was fine with Heathcliff being portrayed by a White actor simply because it’s honestly somewhat preferred not to have a POC being depicted as the monstrous, domineering being the role embodies. It’s also a fair and astute assessment to see that the one character with any semblance of a reasonable and moral soul happens to be portrayed by an actor of Pakistani decent. So for me, the casting Elordi to make Heathcliff Caucasian works without issue.

Having said that, as I touched upon previously, the movie is absolutely gorgeous and completely immersive. Every shot is lit up with a brilliant use of colors evoking the best of technicolor cinema from the ’30s and ’40s. The deep oranges of dusk, the bright reds of walls and furniture, and the beautiful frames of centered shots that play with backgrounds and foregrounds adorned with silhouettes amidst the mists of Yorkshire. Alongside the amazing and gorgeous costumes and elaborate gowns draped over Robbie, the beautifully elaborate sets truly transport you into both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. All of the technical elements combine to form scenes of living Victorian-era paintings, ensuring your attention is never once diverted from the aesthetic feast your eyes are treated to onscreen. Fennell’s works have always been stylishly transcendent, once more proving she’s both gifted and distinctive as a filmmaker. However her work in Wuthering Heights, along with that of the technical teams, showcases her most ambitious and remarkable work to-date, completely blowing away everything she has done that has come before it.

Musically, the film is also a winner. The score by Anthony Willis, a frequent collaborator of Fennell’s, is vibrant, truly perfectly capturing both the vibe of the era and modern sensibilities. This is also thanks to some brilliant work from Charlie XCX who has contributed some amazing songs to the film. Fennell shoots various scenes as though they were music videos — montages and passages of time — and there’s a dynamic and distinct style to all of it, that feels almost similar to the way Baz Luhrman typically handles needle drops. However, to match the thematic relevance of her film, she takes these songs and themes and splices them to imagery of excess, romance, and darkness. The result is not only captivating, but also makes things feel relevant. It’s funny that she has a character referencing Romeo and Juliet in the film, when much of the film feels very much inspired in ways by Luhrman’s interpretation of the play, and almost similar to his vibe from The Great Gatsby. And all of this comes from how she uses Willis’s score and Charlie XCX’s songs to accompany her visual style.

Overall, I don’t think it’s fair to go into this hoping for a great adaptation of Wuthering Heights, so much as a great Emerald Fennell film. That is, at its core what this truly is, and likely why the movie is promoting the title in quotes. Fans of the novel or literary purists and scholars must keep their expectations in check. Having said that, if you are a fan of Fennell’s style and her ability to juxtapose beauty and excess with dark, gritty, and ugly characters and themes, then her version of Wuthering Heights will absolutely satisfy you.

And I find myself to be, as I always have, a great admirer and fan of Fennell’s work, her unique vision, and her voice, which worked for me with this film perfectly. In other words, this movie absolutely tormented me, and I loved it for that; as I rooted for terrible, toxic, abusive monsters to be together because of the belief that Fennell instills in you about the smallest fraction of pure love inherently embedded deep within their destructive relationship. She has crafted a gorgeous, passionate, provocative (and incredibly horny) film, successfully exploring beauty and darkness that comes with every aspect of love and obsession. And thanks to a dynamic cast, including insane chemistry between Robbie and Elordi, as well as a scene stealing Alison Oliver, she genuinely has another strong entry into her already fantastic filmography. It will absolutely not be for everyone, and I anticipate it being highly divisive. Yet at the end of the day, Wuthering Heights drove me mad with its beauty and unflinching honesty, and I frankly wouldn’t have it any other way.

Overall Score: B+