E-Paper
Sign In
'Wuthering Heights' review: Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi star in a bold, obsessive tale of romance
Directed by Emerald Fennell, the film is an interpretation, not an adaptation, of Emily Brontë’s 1847 classic, now playing in UAE cinemas
- PUBLISHED: Thu 12 Feb 2026, 11:48 AM UPDATED: Thu 12 Feb 2026, 5:03 PM
It’s Valentine’s weekend and instead of chocolates and roses, we’ve got one of the most tragic love stories ever put to screen. Wuthering Heights, streaming now in UAE cinemas, is Emerald Fennell’s interpretation, not adaptation, as she insists, of Emily Brontë’s 1847 classic.
Oh, and it was so good.
Recommended For You
Full disclosure: I haven’t read the novel. So these thoughts are purely about Fennell’s version of events. And as a standalone cinematic experience? I was locked in. Hooked within the first 20 minutes to its cold, rain-drenched world. That said, I can absolutely see why it’s divisive. This is heightened drama, sensual even, and its characters? Perhaps destructive. Not everyone is going to rate it, and that’s fine.
At its core, the story follows the turbulent bond between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, a love that begins early, in an untamed companionship and evolves into something far more complicated. It’s a tale of choices; the ones we make for security versus the ones we ache for in our souls, and the devastating ripple effects that follow.
In her interpretation, Fennell dissects love and all its synonyms. The care. The admiration. The longing stares across rooms and stables. The steamy, breathless passion. The selflessness. And then the flip side — selfishness, jealousy, obsession, possessiveness, toxicity. It’s messy and destructive; dare I say, for some, it might even feel uncomfortably relatable. Not because we endorse the chaos, but because we recognise the intensity of loving someone who feels like they are stitched into your very being.
But let’s be clear: there is obvious underlying toxicity here, and at times it makes the film more provocative than romantic. There’s a particularly jarring moment where Heathcliff, driven by jealousy, manipulates and uses an innocent girl. She appears to indulge it, almost drawn to the danger, but the abruptness of it is horrifying. It’s uncomfortable to watch because it forces you to confront what certain emotions can bring out in people.
And it raises an interesting question: why is it often portrayed that women, Isabella in this case, fall for the wrong men even when they can see right through them? The scene drew laughter in my screening, almost like the audience collectively recognised her walking straight into a trap she fully understood. No judgment here, just a dynamic we're forced to sit with.
Bringing these intense dynamics to life, we have Margot Robbie (35) as Catherine and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff (28).
They have chemistry — perhaps not the kind that will convince every sceptic — but enough to ignite the screen in the moments that matter. Robbie, whose previous film, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, also swam in romantic waters, continues to prove she understands how to play longing. There’s a recklessness in her emotional choices that makes her captivating. And the costumes? Stunning. Flowing fabrics, red in particular, against crumbling ruins, windswept hair in endless rain, muted palettes that mirror the story’s emotional bleakness. The dark, cold countryside works.
Elordi, on the other hand, stands tall — literally and emotionally. There are faint remnants of his recent Frankenstein portrayal lingering in the way he commands certain lines, in the weight he gives his silences. His dialogue delivery has this controlled intensity, like he’s constantly holding back a storm. “I have not broken your heart — you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine,” says Elordi's Heathcliff at one point. Though dramatic, the lines land like thunder.
There's more: “Kiss me and let us both be damned,” and Catherine's captivating plea, “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”
When these words are spoken, the tension is off the charts. You’re meant to feel it, and you do. The score, here, is crucial. It breathes life into every stolen glance and every explosive confrontation. With it, the film feels grand. Intense, perhaps exactly how Fennell intended: romantic in the most tragic sense of the word.
The supporting cast holds their own. Hong Chau as Nelly Dean and Shazad Latif as Edgar Linton deliver steady, grounded performances. Alison Oliver, as the weirdly obsessive Isabella Linton, leans fully into her character. And the child actors, Charlotte Mellington and Owen Cooper (yes, Adolescence fame — he’s too good), bring an authenticity to the initial chapter that makes the later emotional chaos hit harder.
I genuinely don’t think I’ve seen a tale of obsessive, destructive love like this in a long time. Is it perfect? No. Is it subtle? Definitely not. But is it an experience, especially on Valentine’s weekend, when you're surrounded by pretty love stories? Absolutely.
Sometimes love isn’t all chocolates and roses. Sometimes it is two people who were never meant to survive each other.
Wuthering Heights
Director: Emerald Fennell
Cast: Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Alison Oliver, Shazad Latif
Stars: 4/5
