To Adapt or Not to Adapt, That is the Question

Since the first teaser trailer was released in September 2025, Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” has been the subject of much controversy. The largest focus on the casting of Jacob Elordi as the leading man, Heathcliff. In Emily Brontë’s novel of the same name, Heathcliff is characterized as someone with “dark” skin. Though the exact race is left ambiguous, Brontë makes it clear he is anything but white. A large portion of conflict in the plot revolves around how, no matter how rich Heathcliff gets, he will never societally be equal to Katherine because he isn't white. After the initial release, Fennell was asked about her casting choice.

“I think the thing is everyone who loves this book has such a personal connection to it and so you can only ever kind of make the movie that you sort of imagined yourself when you read it,” Fennell responded. “I don’t know, I think I was sort of focusing on the kind of sado-masochistic elements of it… that’s the great thing about this movie is that it could be made every year and it would still be so moving and so interesting.”

You have to question how she could read the novel, and walk away picturing Heathcliff as a White man.

It’s even harder to ignore that the only two people of color in the film are the antagonists. Edgar and Nelly are directly interfering with Heathcliff's and Katherine's relationship in the film. Edgar is set up as the boring, rich husband Katherine settles with. Nelly is the imposing maid who is the original reason for Heathcliff leaving. You simply can’t turn a blind eye to the way the two people of color in the film are portrayed.

Aside from the racial issues, many book fans expressed dissatisfaction with the movie's deviation from much of the book's plot. In all honesty, the only similarities are the names of the characters themselves.

First off, there were characters completely missing. Hindley, Katherine's older brother and the main antagonist, were completely written out. Instead, Fennel focused on Katherine's father. This change left much of the story feeling disjointed. While the book version of her father loves and praises Heathcliff, the movie version represents him as an abusive alcoholic. This distinct character change makes viewers unclear as to why he brought home Heathcliff in the first place.

The entirety of the second generation are also absent. Heathcliff and Isabella have a child and Hindley has a wife and son. While the movie version of Katherine has a miscarriage and turns septic, the book version carries the child to term and dies due to complications with childbirth. The ending of the film took place right at the book's climax, failing to include the entire second half. Any plot point that didn't directly connect to Heathcliff and Katherine's love was erased.

Another problematic aspect of the film is the mischaracterization of Isabella. Isabella suffers extreme physical and emotional abuse at the hands of Heathcliff. In the novel, Heathcliff goes as far as to hang Isabella's beloved dog, just as a way to assert his power over her. Isabella wrote letters begging for help, and ultimately escaped to London to get away from him. But Fennell depicted Isabella as an infatuated, lovesick girl. To have a victim's story reduced to her having some sort of pleasure at the hands of abuse felt in poor taste. Fennell failed to make Heathcliff the complex and morally grey character, instead categorizing him as a sex symbol.

Some might even make the argument that it’s not an adaptation. When Emerald Fennell was asked in an interview with Fandango she expressed, “You can’t adapt a book as difficult and complicated and difficult as this book. I can’t say I’m making Wuthering Heights. It’s not possible. What I can say is I’m making a version of it.”

So why name it “Wuthering Heights?” There have been hundreds of famous movies that have been adapted, but with alternate titles. “The Lion King” is an adaptation of Hamlet, “Clueless” is an adaptation of Emma, “10 Things I Hate About You" is based on Taming of the Shrew, to name a few. With the book and the movie sharing identical titles, it's understandable how people assume they might be related. Not to mention the countless books published with the movie poster replacing the original cover.

Potentially, Emerald Fennell simply may have wanted to make a sex crazed movie starring Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie, naming it “Wuthering Heights" with the hopes of getting a huge fan base to flock to theaters on Valentine's Day. Margot Robbie, lead and producer, even admitted to never having read the book. Wuthering Heights, the classic novel, is a story about revenge, class wars, and evil people who try to ruin the lives of those around them. The original source material doesn't scream “romance of the year.”