Wuthering Heights Movie Critique

Movie Critique

Is Wuthering Heights the greatest love story of all time? Today, at Épicurien Culture, we are reviewing Wuthering Heights — a bit late, I know. The film stars Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw, Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, Hong Chau as Nelly, and Shazam Latif as Edgar. Directed by Emerald Fennell, it adapts one of the greatest classics in English literature. The original novel was written by Emily Brontë.

Let’s Talk About the Novel

Wuthering Heights is the only novel written by English author Emily Brontë. It was first published in 1847 under her pen name, “Ellis Bell.” The story follows two wealthy families living on the Yorkshire moors — the Earnshaws and the Lintons — and explores the turbulent relationship between the Earnshaws’ foster son, Heathcliff, and Catherine Earnshaw.

The Movie Critique

The movie begins when Heathcliff arrives at the Earnshaw household. There, he meets Catherine Earnshaw, the daughter of Mr. Earnshaw. The two quickly develop a close friendship that eventually turns into a passionate and destructive love story.

One evening, after an argument erupts, Heathcliff leaves the family home to seek his fortune elsewhere. Before leaving, he mistakenly believes he is not good enough for Catherine. Heartbroken and desperate, Catherine later decides to marry Edgar Linton without knowing that Heathcliff truly loves her.

Everything seems peaceful until Heathcliff suddenly returns years later — wealthy, powerful, and now the owner of the Earnshaw estate. From that moment, an impossible, obsessive, and emotionally intense romance between Catherine and Heathcliff begins.

Like the novel, the movie is driven by themes of love, possession, revenge, and reconciliation. The story is also heavily influenced by Romanticism and Gothic fiction.

I was very impressed by the movie. First of all, the performances by Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi were excellent and emotionally convincing. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren did an amazing job visually, while Emerald Fennell also deserves praise for the screenplay and direction.

As for the more provocative and kinky themes people talked about before the release, I honestly do not know what to think. For us, it was quite a let-down. 

Personally, I had read many negative reviews of the movie online. Now that I have finally seen it, I must admit that the supposedly “kinky” side of the film was a bit disappointing compared with the expectations created by critics and audiences. Still, the movie itself was very pleasant to watch and thoroughly enjoyable.