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Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights Opens to Split Reviews in Valentine’s Week Rollout

Early notices celebrate the film’s lush style yet question its emotional depth and casting choices, yielding a divided response.

Overview

  • The 136‑minute adaptation, written, directed and produced by Emerald Fennell and starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, began a staggered theatrical launch with Latin America opening Feb. 12 and wider markets following this week under Warner Bros. Aggregator snapshots show a lukewarm reception: roughly 66–71% on Rotten Tomatoes, about 60 on Metacritic, and around 6.0 on IMDb, with scores expected to evolve as the rollout widens.
  • Reviews consistently praise the heightened visual design and photography by Linus Sandgren, noting a glossy, sensual aesthetic that foregrounds eroticism and pop sensibility.
  • Critics fault what they see as thin psychological insight and a de‑emphasis of the novel’s class and moral tensions, arguing that spectacle often outweighs substance.
  • Casting remains a flashpoint, with objections to Jacob Elordi playing the racially ambiguous Heathcliff and debate over Margot Robbie’s age relative to Catherine, even as press note a Charli XCX song album and an Anthony Willis score; Mexico lists a B15 rating.