I would say that Wuthering Heights (2026) has been the most controversial movie of 2026 so far. Yes, the title is the exact name of the story from the 19th century. But how does the original story compare to the movie made almost 80 years later? 

Wuthering Heights was written by Emily Brontë and was published in 1847 under her pseudonym Ellis Bell. Brontë is most recognized for this story, but she has also written around 190 poems, including popular pieces like “Remembrance” and “Spellbound.” Her writing style is recognized as poetic, intense, and often dark. 

I believe this movie matches Brontë’s style because of the setting. Wuthering Heights is a gloomy place and in almost each scene set there, it is pouring rain and leaving all characters with wet hair. I would say that this movie (surprisingly) matches the author’s writing style and pace.

Heathcliff is the main love interest for Catherine Earnshaw. These two main characters grew up together in Wuthering Heights, which is a fictional farmhouse that is described to be dark and constantly rainy. To be clear, they are not siblings. Heathcliff was taken in by Catherine’s father at a young age, and he was kept far away from his daughter but still in the same home, just like in the original story.

In the original story Heathcliff was never specifically described physically, but there are parts where it is mentioned that he is “dark-skinned” and Brontë uses a derogatory word to describe him as an Indian or a Southeast Asian sailor. He was also found and taken in by Catherine’s father on the street in Liverpool, which was an area where many slave trades were happening at the time. Because of this, people believe that Heathcliff’s race may be South Asian, Black, or mixed race. 

But in this adaptation Heathcliff was played by actor Jacob Elordi, who is a white actor from Australia. This casting choice has caused a lot of controversy on social media and in articles about the movie. Even though the author never specified Heathcliff’s racial identity, I believe it was very wrong of the director to cast Elordi for the film because, in my opinion, it takes away from the story’s purpose and whitewashes the story. 

The casting for the character of Catherine Earnshaw has also upset some fans of Brontë because in the original, she (Catherine) is mentioned to have long curls in her dark hair. The director of this adaptation, Emerald Fenell, chose to cast Margot Robbie who famously played Barbie in 2023. She, like Barbie, has long and straight blonde hair. Robbie’s age has also confused many because in the original film Catherine is about 17 to 18 years old while the actress is 35 years old. 

Aside from the casting mess and small misinterpretations of the original story, I think the movie itself was pretty good. It felt slightly long and dragged out at times, but the visuals and costumes were amazing. My favorite part of the movie was the montage of when Catherine was at the house of her husband, Edgar Linton, and the seasons were passing by. The coloring and use of rain in this film was also very beautiful to me, and I thought that the weather and lighting in scenes represented the emotions in the film. At times Catherine was happy, her husband and her were laughing and it was sunny. But at times where she felt lonely and missed Heathcliff again, it was gloomy out and usually nighttime. These scenes stuck out to me because I felt like my own emotions were connected to Catherine’s. 

Even though there was a lot of casting controversy, there were two choices I liked from this film. One, they cast Martin Clunes as Earnshaw, who is Catherine’s father. I am personally a fan of Clunes because when I was growing up I watched a lot of the British drama, “Doc Martin.” It was nice to see him be cast in a big project like this one and get the recognition he deserves. And two, the movie Saltburn (2023) was also directed by Emerald Fennell. In Saltburn, she decided to cast both Jacob Elordi and Allison Oliver, and in this film she decided to cast both of them again after seeing how well they work together. 

In all, I believe the movie was okay. I wouldn’t say that I necessarily recommend it, but if you read the book and enjoyed it, I would say to give it a try. It was harder for me to fully understand the movie without reading the book, but I still admired the scenes and the love story of Catherine and Heathcliff.