Emerald Fennell's 'Wuthering Heights' Rewrites the Classic with Bold, Divisive Style
Emerald Fennell's upcoming adaptation of Wuthering Heights has already sparked debate among fans. The director's bold take on the gothic classic leans heavily into cinematic history rather than the original novel. With its stylised costumes, explicit content, and studio-bound filming, the 2026 version stands apart from earlier interpretations.
Fennell's film adapts only the first half of Emily Brontë's novel, stopping before the story shifts into darker themes of generational trauma. Instead, the focus remains on the passionate early romance between Cathy and Heathcliff. This choice aligns with the director's aim to craft a film more attuned to cinephiles than book purists.
The visual style draws heavily from mid-century cinema, particularly William Wyler's 1939 adaptation. Fennell collaborated with a costume designer to create dozens of outfits inspired by that era, with Cathy's wardrobe echoing the earlier film's aesthetic. The production even replicated the soundstage techniques of mid-budget 1940s and 1950s movies, filming key scenes in a London studio.
The director also added more sexual content than the novel originally contained. Scenes include suggestive acts like fingers thrust into mouths and moments of masturbation, pushing the film's tone further from Brontë's restrained prose. To underscore her reinterpretation, Fennell framed the title in quotation marks—signalling a subjective, cinematic homage rather than a faithful adaptation.
Reactions to the first trailer have been sharply divided. While some viewers praise the bold stylistic choices, others question the departure from the source material. The film's deliberate nods to Wyler's version and its unapologetic sensuality have become central talking points.
Fennell's 'Wuthering Heights' arrives in 2026 as a visually rich but divisive take on the classic story. Its emphasis on cinematic history, explicit content, and studio-crafted aesthetic sets it apart from both the novel and previous adaptations. The film's reception will likely hinge on whether audiences embrace its bold reimagining or prefer a more traditional approach.
