{"id":1770096,"date":"2026-02-14T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1770096"},"modified":"2026-02-14T07:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T04:00:00","slug":"wuthering-heights-left-me-so-cold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1770096","title":{"rendered":"Wuthering Heights left me so cold"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1149\/0-0-1149-766\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437356.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"main-article standard \">\n<div class=\"article-main-content article-wrapper has-media-but-its-an-image\" data-status=\"loaded\" data-primary-article=\"true\" data-url=\"\/film-tv\/article\/69648\/1\/wuthering-heights-left-me-so-cold-emerald-fennell-review-emily-bronte\" data-article-id=\"69648\">\n<header class=\"article-header has-landscape-image no-media\">\n<div class=\"wrapper dg-max-width\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<figure class=\"main-img has-figcaption\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.57\" data-template=\"Standard Article\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Wuthering-Heights-Movie-2026-Margot-Robbie-and-Jac\" class=\"img\" height=\"766\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437356.jpg\" width=\"1200\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"inner\"><span class=\"credit\">Courtesy Warner Bros<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"meta\">\n<div class=\"inner\"><time datetime=\"2026-02-14T07:00:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"14 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"14\">14,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"titles\">\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<div class=\"sections\"><a class=\"category vertical - film-tv\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\">Film &amp; TV<\/a><br \/>\n\/<br \/>\n<a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/opinion\">Opinion<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"standard-tag-container\"><a class=\"standard-category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\">Film &amp; TV<\/a> \/<br \/>\n<a class=\"standard-series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/opinion\">Opinion<\/a><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"title\"><span>Wuthering Heights left me <span class=\"nowrap\">so cold<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"standfirst\">\n<h2>Emerald Fennell\u2019s third film is her worst yet \u2013 a unforgivably hollow take on Emily Bront\u00eb\u2019s <span class=\"nowrap\">rich masterpiece<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-02-14T07:00:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"14 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"14\">14,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-02-14T07:00:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"14 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"14\">14,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/p>\n<div class=\"providers\">\n<div class=\"contributors\"><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/SerenaSmith\">Serena Smith<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-body-container\">\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Emerald Fennell\u2019s much-anticipated adaptation of Emily Bront\u00eb\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/wuthering-heights\"><em><span>Wuthering Heights <\/span><\/em><\/a><span>is finally here. The film has sparked reams of divisive discourse since the director <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/emeraldfennell\/status\/1811809725912142049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1811809725912142049%7Ctwgr%5Eae2a5e216d3ef04384b34ae0a83d6a0e2921d60b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vogue.co.uk%2Farticle%2Fwuthering-heights-emerald-fennell\"><span>teased the project on X back in July 2024<\/span><\/a><span>: some were concerned about just how much Fennell would deviate from the canonical text, while others were intrigued to see what the controversial filmmaker would do with the emotionally devastating masterpiece. Now it\u2019s out in the world, critics are still polarised: the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/films\/reviews\/wuthering-heights-movie-review-margot-robbie-jacob-elordi-b2919641.html\"><em><span>Independent<\/span><\/em><\/a><span> gave it a one-star rating, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/films\/2026\/02\/13\/margot-robbie-jacob-elordi-wuthering-heights\/\"><em><span>Telegraph<\/span><\/em><\/a><span> five. Personally, I\u2019m more inclined to agree with the former review.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Let\u2019s start with the good. If the film has any saving grace, it comes in the form of its strong cast. Jacob Elordi is a veritable chameleon: it\u2019s easy to forget that the gruff stable boy on screen is played by the same person who starred as posho Felix in <\/span><em><span>Saltburn.<\/span><\/em><span> Despite her best efforts, the same can\u2019t be said for Margot Robbie, who is plainly a Hollywood star and not a spiky Northern lass. But Owen Cooper and Charlotte Mellington are entirely convincing as younger iterations of Heathcliff and Cathy: when the pair get into a spirited argument about Heathcliff\u2019s illiteracy, which escalates as one attempts to match the vim of the other, it\u2019s difficult not to hear Bront\u00eb\u2019s \u201c<\/span><em><span>whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same<\/span><\/em><span>\u201d echoing round your mind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And now for the bad. I\u2019ll start at the start: the opening screen is black, overlaid with erotic-sounding creaking and panting. But then we cut to a public hanging \u2013 the creaking is the twist of a gallows rope, the panting a criminal drawing his last breaths. As he struggles, he sucks the burlap sack over his head into his mouth, evoking a gimp mask. A young onlooker shrieks about the dying man\u2019s \u201cstiffy\u201d. Right from the off, we\u2019re <\/span><em><span>told<\/span><\/em><span> \u2013 not <\/span><em><span>shown<\/span><\/em><span> \u2013 that this is a story about desire and death. This is classic Fennell: she can\u2019t do subtlety, instead preferring to bludgeon the audience over the head with hollow symbols.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"3fLCdIYShEQ\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3fLCdIYShEQ\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Then there\u2019s the Heathcliff of it all. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/64714\/1\/jacob-elordi-as-heathcliff-is-all-wrong\"><span>Many baulked at the idea of casting a white man in a canonically ethnically ambiguous role<\/span><\/a><span> \u2013 and rightly so. While Elordi is convincing, a Heathcliff who <\/span><em><span>isn\u2019t <\/span><\/em><span>a \u201cdark-skinned gipsy\u201d just doesn\u2019t make sense; his being perceived as racially impure is fundamental to his character. It also doesn\u2019t help that in this adaptation, the Earnshaws\u2019 eldest son Hindley \u2013 who, in the novel, torments Heathcliff about both his race and social status \u2013 is scrubbed out of existence entirely.\u00a0 Mr Earnshaw (Martin Clunes, for some reason) absorbs Hindley\u2019s vices of gambling and drinking, and is often violent towards Heathcliff when drunk, but there\u2019s never any suggestion that Earnshaw is resentful of Heathcliff like Hindley is. It\u2019s a choice which obscures the reasons for Heathcliff\u2019s vengefulness and consequently robs the narrative of any real emotional thrust.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Fennell doesn\u2019t just omit aspects of the novel, but inserts moments entirely of her own creation \u2013 not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to adaptations, but Fennell doesn\u2019t have the chops to pull it off. For example: Fennell bastardises Isabella Linton (Alison Oliver \u2013 who, with her brown hair and baby face, really should have been Cathy), turning her into a ribbons-obsessed ditz who babbles like a precocious toddler. Heathcliff, in this adaptation, is not straightforwardly her abuser, either: instead, the pair seem to be in a consensual BDSM relationship, with Isabella apparently willing to be degraded \u2013 Elordi\u2019s Heathcliff keeps her chained up like a dog \u2013 and used as a vehicle for her husband to spite Cathy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Quite why Fennell chose to do this, I don\u2019t know. To me, Isabella\u2019s contentedness with the whole set-up seems to undermine the point Bront\u00eb makes in the novel about how there is often collateral damage left in the trail of obsessive, all-consuming love (especially as we\u2019re never introduced to the second generation of characters in the film; in the novel, by contrast, they\u2019re the ones left to deal with the fallout of Cathy and Heathcliff\u2019s doomed affair). The idea of Heathcliff having any sort of intimate relationship with Isabella also seems to dampen the idea that his love for Cathy is entirely singular, which again lessens the drama of what should be, well, a capital-D <\/span><em><span>drama<\/span><\/em><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<blockquote>\n<p><span>The whole thing feels like Warner Bros has generously indulged a GCSE drama student<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>On that note: while in the novel, Heathcliff and Cathy never consummate their love, Fennell permits the lovers to commit out-and-out adultery. There\u2019s a whole montage of the pair going at it: on the moors, in a carriage, on tables, in Heathcliff\u2019s ramshackle bed (even after he is master of Wuthering Heights, he prefers to still sleep in the stables outside, so as to better pretend that Cathy is still in her room \u2013 a detail that, I will grant, was quite touching). But, again, this cheapens the tragedy of Heathcliff and Cathy\u2019s relationship; her death doesn\u2019t hit as hard knowing that the couple have had the luxury of spending whole afternoons whispering sweet nothings to one another.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This is especially important as Fennell chooses to conclude her adaptation at the point of Cathy\u2019s death. As the climax of the whole narrative, it\u2019s a moment which should be devastating \u2013 but given that the couple are afforded a brief period of happiness, it registers as a damp squib. I couldn\u2019t help but notice that everyone in the screening I attended lingered for around a minute after the credits began rolling, as if waiting for more film, or at the very least a post-credits scene to offer a more satisfying conclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Watching a good film can often raise more questions than it answers. My favourite things to watch are the kinds of things which stay with me for days or months or years afterwards, which offer interesting perspectives on complex quandaries. But the questions I asked myself during <\/span><em><span>Wuthering Heights<\/span><\/em><span> were not questions like \u201cCan love transcend societal structures and pressures?\u201d or \u201cAre some things truly unforgivable?\u201d. More like: \u201cWhy am I watching a hanging man get an erection?\u201d, \u201cAre those meant to be leeches?\u201d,\u00a0 and \u201cWhy is the floor red?\u201d. Fennell has attempted to swat away criticism like this by arguing that she wanted to recreate the vision of the story she had when reading the book as a 14-year-old girl \u2013 and it tracks that this is her \u2018excuse\u2019 for the film, because the whole thing feels like Warner Bros has generously indulged a GCSE drama student.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Well, as they say, the third time\u2019s the charm. Maybe now people will finally see Fennell as she truly is: not a whip-smart <\/span><em><span>auteur<\/span><\/em><span>, but a professional ragebaiter.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! 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href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69412\/1\/unpacking-the-heated-rivalry-discourse-gay-sex-fetishisation-lgbtq\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"download-2026-01-09t124712-192-6960fa4e0d376\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/202-0-1818-1209\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/4\/1434311.jpeg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Getting to the bottom of the Heated Rivalry discourse<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"swiper-slide list-element\">\n<div class=\"scard-latest__section\">\n<div class=\"card-latest__wrapper\"><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69404\/1\/marty-supreme-cost-of-dreaming-big-ambitions-career-twenties-future\"><\/p>\n<div 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class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Ben Whishaw on the power of Peter Hujar\u2019s photography: \u2018It feels alive\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69330\/1\/atropia-absurdest-love-story-mock-iraqi-us-military-hailey-gates\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Atropia Still\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/480\/15-0-1605-1068\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/3\/1433655.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-latest__content\">\n<h3 class=\"card-latest__title\">Atropia: An absurdist love story set in a mock Iraqi military village<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline\" data-newsletter hidden>\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Emerald Fennell\u2019s much-anticipated adaptation of Emily Bront\u00eb\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/wuthering-heights\"><em><span>Wuthering Heights <\/span><\/em><\/a><span>is finally here. The film has sparked reams of divisive discourse since the director <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/emeraldfennell\/status\/1811809725912142049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1811809725912142049%7Ctwgr%5Eae2a5e216d3ef04384b34ae0a83d6a0e2921d60b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vogue.co.uk%2Farticle%2Fwuthering-heights-emerald-fennell\"><span>teased the project on X back in July 2024<\/span><\/a><span>: some were concerned about just how much Fennell would deviate from the canonical text, while others were intrigued to see what the controversial filmmaker would do with the emotionally devastating masterpiece. Now it\u2019s out in the world, critics are still polarised: the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/films\/reviews\/wuthering-heights-movie-review-margot-robbie-jacob-elordi-b2919641.html\"><em><span>Independent<\/span><\/em><\/a><span> gave it a one-star rating, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/films\/2026\/02\/13\/margot-robbie-jacob-elordi-wuthering-heights\/\"><em><span>Telegraph<\/span><\/em><\/a><span> five. Personally, I\u2019m more inclined to agree with the former review.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Let\u2019s start with the good. If the film has any saving grace, it comes in the form of its strong cast. Jacob Elordi is a veritable chameleon: it\u2019s easy to forget that the gruff stable boy on screen is played by the same person who starred as posho Felix in <\/span><em><span>Saltburn.<\/span><\/em><span> Despite her best efforts, the same can\u2019t be said for Margot Robbie, who is plainly a Hollywood star and not a spiky Northern lass. But Owen Cooper and Charlotte Mellington are entirely convincing as younger iterations of Heathcliff and Cathy: when the pair get into a spirited argument about Heathcliff\u2019s illiteracy, which escalates as one attempts to match the vim of the other, it\u2019s difficult not to hear Bront\u00eb\u2019s \u201c<\/span><em><span>whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same<\/span><\/em><span>\u201d echoing round your mind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And now for the bad. I\u2019ll start at the start: the opening screen is black, overlaid with erotic-sounding creaking and panting. But then we cut to a public hanging \u2013 the creaking is the twist of a gallows rope, the panting a criminal drawing his last breaths. As he struggles, he sucks the burlap sack over his head into his mouth, evoking a gimp mask. A young onlooker shrieks about the dying man\u2019s \u201cstiffy\u201d. Right from the off, we\u2019re <\/span><em><span>told<\/span><\/em><span> \u2013 not <\/span><em><span>shown<\/span><\/em><span> \u2013 that this is a story about desire and death. This is classic Fennell: she can\u2019t do subtlety, instead preferring to bludgeon the audience over the head with hollow symbols.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"3fLCdIYShEQ\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3fLCdIYShEQ\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Then there\u2019s the Heathcliff of it all. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/64714\/1\/jacob-elordi-as-heathcliff-is-all-wrong\"><span>Many baulked at the idea of casting a white man in a canonically ethnically ambiguous role<\/span><\/a><span> \u2013 and rightly so. While Elordi is convincing, a Heathcliff who <\/span><em><span>isn\u2019t <\/span><\/em><span>a \u201cdark-skinned gipsy\u201d just doesn\u2019t make sense; his being perceived as racially impure is fundamental to his character. It also doesn\u2019t help that in this adaptation, the Earnshaws\u2019 eldest son Hindley \u2013 who, in the novel, torments Heathcliff about both his race and social status \u2013 is scrubbed out of existence entirely.\u00a0 Mr Earnshaw (Martin Clunes, for some reason) absorbs Hindley\u2019s vices of gambling and drinking, and is often violent towards Heathcliff when drunk, but there\u2019s never any suggestion that Earnshaw is resentful of Heathcliff like Hindley is. It\u2019s a choice which obscures the reasons for Heathcliff\u2019s vengefulness and consequently robs the narrative of any real emotional thrust.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Fennell doesn\u2019t just omit aspects of the novel, but inserts moments entirely of her own creation \u2013 not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to adaptations, but Fennell doesn\u2019t have the chops to pull it off. For example: Fennell bastardises Isabella Linton (Alison Oliver \u2013 who, with her brown hair and baby face, really should have been Cathy), turning her into a ribbons-obsessed ditz who babbles like a precocious toddler. Heathcliff, in this adaptation, is not straightforwardly her abuser, either: instead, the pair seem to be in a consensual BDSM relationship, with Isabella apparently willing to be degraded \u2013 Elordi\u2019s Heathcliff keeps her chained up like a dog \u2013 and used as a vehicle for her husband to spite Cathy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Quite why Fennell chose to do this, I don\u2019t know. To me, Isabella\u2019s contentedness with the whole set-up seems to undermine the point Bront\u00eb makes in the novel about how there is often collateral damage left in the trail of obsessive, all-consuming love (especially as we\u2019re never introduced to the second generation of characters in the film; in the novel, by contrast, they\u2019re the ones left to deal with the fallout of Cathy and Heathcliff\u2019s doomed affair). The idea of Heathcliff having any sort of intimate relationship with Isabella also seems to dampen the idea that his love for Cathy is entirely singular, which again lessens the drama of what should be, well, a capital-D <\/span><em><span>drama<\/span><\/em><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<blockquote>\n<p><span>The whole thing feels like Warner Bros has generously indulged a GCSE drama student<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>On that note: while in the novel, Heathcliff and Cathy never consummate their love, Fennell permits the lovers to commit out-and-out adultery. There\u2019s a whole montage of the pair going at it: on the moors, in a carriage, on tables, in Heathcliff\u2019s ramshackle bed (even after he is master of Wuthering Heights, he prefers to still sleep in the stables outside, so as to better pretend that Cathy is still in her room \u2013 a detail that, I will grant, was quite touching). But, again, this cheapens the tragedy of Heathcliff and Cathy\u2019s relationship; her death doesn\u2019t hit as hard knowing that the couple have had the luxury of spending whole afternoons whispering sweet nothings to one another.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This is especially important as Fennell chooses to conclude her adaptation at the point of Cathy\u2019s death. As the climax of the whole narrative, it\u2019s a moment which should be devastating \u2013 but given that the couple are afforded a brief period of happiness, it registers as a damp squib. I couldn\u2019t help but notice that everyone in the screening I attended lingered for around a minute after the credits began rolling, as if waiting for more film, or at the very least a post-credits scene to offer a more satisfying conclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Watching a good film can often raise more questions than it answers. My favourite things to watch are the kinds of things which stay with me for days or months or years afterwards, which offer interesting perspectives on complex quandaries. But the questions I asked myself during <\/span><em><span>Wuthering Heights<\/span><\/em><span> were not questions like \u201cCan love transcend societal structures and pressures?\u201d or \u201cAre some things truly unforgivable?\u201d. More like: \u201cWhy am I watching a hanging man get an erection?\u201d, \u201cAre those meant to be leeches?\u201d,\u00a0 and \u201cWhy is the floor red?\u201d. Fennell has attempted to swat away criticism like this by arguing that she wanted to recreate the vision of the story she had when reading the book as a 14-year-old girl \u2013 and it tracks that this is her \u2018excuse\u2019 for the film, because the whole thing feels like Warner Bros has generously indulged a GCSE drama student.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Well, as they say, the third time\u2019s the charm. Maybe now people will finally see Fennell as she truly is: not a whip-smart <\/span><em><span>auteur<\/span><\/em><span>, but a professional ragebaiter.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/film-tv\/article\/69648\/1\/wuthering-heights-left-me-so-cold-emerald-fennell-review-emily-bronte&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1149\/0-0-1149-766\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/7\/1437356.jpg&#8221;] Courtesy Warner Bros February\u00a0 14,\u00a0 2026 Film &amp; TV \/ Opinion Film &amp; TV \/ Opinion Wuthering Heights left me so cold Emerald Fennell\u2019s third film is her worst yet \u2013 a unforgivably hollow take on Emily Bront\u00eb\u2019s rich masterpiece February\u00a0 14,\u00a0 2026 February\u00a0 14,\u00a0 2026 TextSerena Smith Emerald Fennell\u2019s much-anticipated adaptation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,76],"class_list":["post-1770096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1770096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1770096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1770096\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1770096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1770096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1770096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}