The film "Wuthering Heights" is an anti-love story that goes for visual feast and shock factor with the way the characters fulfilled their sexual fantasies rather than an exploration of a fierce love that defies class and convention.
Inspired by Emily Bronte's 1847 novel Wuthering Heights, the quotation marks in this latest film adaptation signal that its writer-director Emerald Fennell has taken liberties in giving her own interpretation of the novel that she says she has so much fascination with growing up.
Fennell takes the star-crossed lovers' theme as a jump-off point, then shows a spectacular display of the pseudo-romantic, erotic, bordering to animalistic reimagination of the lead characters' obsession for each other.
In her interviews, Fennell is vocal in saying that the novel has made her "feel" a lot of things, and she wants the film adaptation to incite the same reaction from moviegoers.
Speaking about her teenage reaction to the novel, she was quoted as saying in her interview with BFI Southbank: "It made me cry, it made me scared, it made me troubled, it made me aroused.
"And I felt, particularly after Saltburn, that thing that I love so much is that thing that only going to the movies can do, which is to make you physically react.
"And I kept thinking that's what I really wanna do next, and it just kept going back to that first thing, which is this ["Wuthering Heights"]."
Saltburn was Fenell's 2023 film, which featured Jacob Elordi as one of the lead stars.
Fenell handpicked Jacob again to become the male lead in "Wuthering Heights" opposite Margot Robbie, who co-produced the film with Fennell.
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"wuthering heights": THE STORY
Margot and Jacob bring to life the tumultous romance of Catherine and Heathcliff.
Catherine, the daughter of an English lord, first meets Heathcliff when they were just kids.
Having just arrived from a trip in the city, her father announces that he has brought a homeless boy whom he wants to take in and live with them as a servant.
With her father urging her to treat the boy as her pet, Catherine feels giddy to to have a constant companion.
Isolated from other children their age, they grow up together, creating their own little world, with the English moors surrounding Catherine's home serving as their playground.
Catherine eventually grows fond of Heathcliff, treats him like her best friend, and encourages him to come out of his shell.
On the downside, Catherine's father not only becomes addicted to gambling and drinking, but he also turns abusive towards Heathcliff, who would often suffer get whipped on his back, resulting to deep scars that perhaps explain but definitely not excuse his unhinged ways much later in the movie.
Even Catherine is marked by her father's violence, manifesting in the way she tends to play dirty tricks on Heathcliff or the way she can be cruel, petty, and shallow whenever she makes him feel far below her just to spite him.
But one thing that's constant is that they are always in each other's company. Even as grown-ups, Catherine freely comes and goes inside Heathcliff's quarters, building up the attachment and sexual tension between them.
And yet friendship and familiarity get in the way as they try to fight their growing feelings for each other.
Conflict arises when Catherine sets her eyes on a wealthy neighbor, whom she wants to marry for the sake of status. Because of her childishness and indecisive attitude, she ends up hurting Heathcliff, who opts to leave their town without speaking to her.
Thinking that Heathcliff is never coming back, she decides to marry for money and not for love.
All hell breaks loose when Heathcliff returns as a wealthy man, alternately wanting to seek revenge or win back the "love of his life."
Catherine, in turn, cannot find contentment and satisfaction from her husband who adores her and who gives her a luxurious life. And so despite her initial attempts to stay away from Heathcliff, she gets caught up with her desire to finally experience romance with her long-lost best friend and soulmate.
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"wuthering heights" lead stars
While the succeeding events following the illicit affair is hard to watch, Margot and Jacob are able to pull off two unlikeable characters who are making such a mess of their lives with their obsession for each other.
They've owned their characters so well that they appear convincing as the spoiled lady of the manor who can't make up her mind about her lover, and the brooding and beastly servant-turned-affluent lord who won't stop at anything to get his girl.
They are every inch the perfect pair with their stunning good looks, registering so well with their close-ups on the big screen.
Jacob looks irresistable even as a lowly servant, sporting a long, unkempt hair with messy clothes. Much more so when he turns up as a polished gentleman, clean-shaven with a new and shorter do.
Margot, for her part, exudes breathtaking beauty in her elaborate ball gowns, and manages to look ethereal even in the scenes where she gets deeply ill.
Margot and Jacob's onscreen chemistry is evident especially in the scene where they were first reunited at their special place in the moors—the silent witness to their affection for each other through the years.
But star power and chemistry didn't make the movie's plot and exposition of the conflicts any less disturbing and frustrating.
The characters' overpowering obsession eventually crashes and burns not just the two of them but even the people around them.
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what to expect
Compared to the 1939 and 1992 film adaptations of Wuthering Heights, the 2026 film version did not carry some key elements that add depth to the story.
The original antagonist from the novel is not Catherine's father but her brother Hidley, who abused Heathcliff for a long period of time, making the latter's quest for revenge and dark personality more apparent.
Hidley's character is not present in the 2026 version.
"Wuthering Heights" also skipped the "frame story" to tell a story within a story, which was used in the novel to bridge past and present decisions and view them through the lens of multigenerational characters.
It depicts not so much the intense yearning between Catherine and Heathcliff, and the deep history that binds them, but more of a visual exploration of their explicit desire towards each other.
Unlike its predecessors, the latest adaptation explores Catherine's curiosity towards self-pleasure and then exposes both her and Heathcliff to BDSM (bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism) practices when they were still living under one roof.
Coupled with his exposure to physical abuse from Catherine's father, it somehow becomes clear why Heathcliff later develops a fetish to dominate and have women submit to his will.
It's hard to sympathize with Heathcliff, however, as he shows he's willing to do unspeakable acts just to steal Catherine away from her husband.
With the movie running for more than two hours, the constant push and pull between Catherine and Heathcliff's becomes too make to take, especially when Heath uses Catherine's sister-in-law Isabella (Alison Oliver) as a pawn to their cruel games.
The scene where Isabela is chained like a dog and barks like one in order to show her submission to Heathcliff adds another layer to how dark the movie can get.
There appears to be few moments beyond the visual feast of innuendos for viewers to have a glimpse of what the characters are really going through.
Perhaps the only character in the movie who has had the chance to introspect why things happened the way they did is that of Catherine's longtime lady-in-waiting Nelly, played by Hong Chau.
The movie ends with a tragic loss, leaving no room for hope or redemption for both Catherine and Heathcliff.
A personal takeaway from the movie: the need to belong and to be loved is such a basic human desire, but if left untempered can lead to disastrous choices.
And ultimately, mistaking obsession for real love will bring painful consequences.
GREENBELT 3 CINEMA
The screening of Fennel's "Wuthering Heights" may have left a disturbing feeling to some moviegoers, but the experience was made unforgettable at the unveiling of the newly renovated Greenbelt 3 Cinema in Makati City on February 10, 2026.
Inside the theaters, the regular seats have been replaced with luxurious reclining leather chairs for that ultimate comfy experience and the wall pannels with gold embelishments provide a classy and relaxing vibe.
There are also areas in the cinema that can be transformed into decorative spaces to add flair to a special screening.
Moviegoers can opt to watch movies in Greenbelt's 4DX cinema for a multi-sensory experience with motion seats and environmental effects, or at My Cinema for private screenings and exclusive celebrations.
The Movie Snackbar offers delicious treats for movie lovers with must-try popcorn flavors like Truffle Parmesan, Smoked Gouda, and Salted Caramel.
For tickets, you can skip the line and secure your favorite spots via the new Ayala All Access website.