Emerald Fennell has opened up about her latest film adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 classic novel Wuthering Heights, revealing the intense emotions she aimed to capture through its release. The film, starring Margot Robbie as Cathy and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, debuted its first trailer this month and has already sparked debate for its bold, sensual portrayal of the story.
Speaking at the Brontë Women’s Writing Festival in England on Friday, Fennell explained that her goal was to express the feelings she experienced the first time she read the book as a teenager, highlighting the emotional and carnal layers she found in the narrative.
Fennell Describes Emotional and Sexual Intensity in the Film
Fennell conveyed her desire to evoke a visceral response through the movie’s tone and imagery.
I wanted to make something that made me feel like I felt when I first read it, which means that it’s an emotional response to something,
she said, according to the BBC.
It’s, like, primal, sexual.
The recently released trailer reflects this approach, featuring provocative visuals such as hands kneading bread suggestively, sweat glistening on Elordi’s back, and daring scenes of physical passion, all set to a remixed Charli XCX track, Everything Is Romantic. This sensual framing has prompted varied reactions, with some viewers finding it too explicit for the source material.
Addressing Criticism and Highlighting the Novel’s Dark Elements
Fennell pushed back on criticism regarding the erotic aspects by reminding audiences of the novel’s original shock value. She stated,
There’s an enormous amount of sadomasochism in this book. There’s a reason people were deeply shocked by it [when it was published].
She also reflected on the emotional challenges of adapting a work so deeply cherished, adding,
It’s been a kind of masochistic exercise working on it because I love it so much, and it can’t love me back, and I have to live with that. So it’s been troubling, but I think in a really useful way.
The director acknowledged the weight of responsibility in reinterpreting a story that has been adapted multiple times before, notably the 1992 version with Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes.
I know that if somebody else made it, I’d be furious,
she admitted.
It’s very personal material for everyone. It’s very illicit. The way we relate to the characters is very private, I think.
Commitment to Preserving Brontë’s Dialogue
Though Fennell made certain creative updates, she emphasized her determination to retain much of Emily Brontë’s original dialogue.
I was really determined to preserve as much of her dialogue [as possible] because her dialogue is the best dialogue ever,
she explained.
I couldn’t better it, and who could?
Casting Choices Spark Debate but Garner Strong Support from Fennell
The film’s casting of Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi has stirred controversy for notable differences from the novel’s descriptions. While Cathy is a teenager and Heathcliff is portrayed as dark-skinned in the book, Robbie is 35 and Elordi does not match this physical depiction. Despite this, Fennell stood firmly behind her selections, recounting how she immediately saw Elordi as her Heathcliff after first meeting him during the filming of Saltburn. She said,
He looked exactly like the illustration of Heathcliff on the first book that I read,
adding with humor,
And it was so awful because I so wanted to scream. Not the professional thing to do, obviously.
She further noted,
I had been thinking about making [‘Wuthering Heights’], and it seemed to me he had the thing… he’s a very surprising actor.
Regarding Robbie’s portrayal of Cathy, Fennell praised her uniqueness and star power, saying,
She is not like anyone I’ve ever met — ever — and I think that’s what I felt like with Cathy,
and that the actress is
so beautiful and interesting and surprising, and she is the type of person who, like Cathy, could get away with anything.
Fennell elaborated on Cathy’s irresistible and almost dangerous charisma in real life and on screen:
I think honestly she could commit a killing spree and nobody would mind. And that is who Cathy is to me. Cathy is somebody who just pushes to see how far she can go,
continuing,
So it needed somebody like Margot, who’s a star, not just an incredible actress — which she is — but somebody who has a power, an otherworldly power, a Godlike power, that means people lose their minds.
Release and Prospects for the New Adaptation
Wuthering Heights is scheduled for theatrical release on February 14, positioning it as a significant entry in the ongoing legacy of adaptations for the novel. Fennell’s interpretation brings a raw, intense, and unapologetically intimate version of the story, likely to spark further conversation among fans and critics alike about the boundaries of classical literature on screen and the enduring fascination with Brontë’s characters.
