Some users have accused director Emerald Fennell of whitewashing and oversexualizing Emily Brontë’s classic novel in a new film adaptation.
Key Facts
The trailer for “Wuthering Heights,” helmed by “Saltburn” director Emerald Fennell and starring Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie, premiered Wednesday, quickly sparking online discourse and drawing criticism from fans of the book who fear the adaptation will be unfaithful.
The movie is an adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, considered a classic of Gothic literature, which follows the Earnshaw and Linton families in late 18th century England, particularly the Earnshaw’s foster son Heathcliff, who falls in love with Catherine Earnshaw but later descends into cruelty and bitterness.
Fans of the novel have highlighted apparent inconsistencies between the novel and Fennell’s adaptation—Robbie, who plays Catherine Earnshaw, is twice the age as the book’s teenage protagonist.
Some have also lamented Elordi’s casting as Heathcliff and accused Fennell of “whitewashing” Brontë’s novel, as the book suggests the character may not be white and at one point describes him as “dark-skinned,” though Heathcliff’s exact ethnic origin is unclear and debated by scholars.
The movie’s marketing has also drawn some criticism for appearing overly erotic, which some fans fear may dilute other themes in the book like violence and cruelty, social class, race and ethnicity.
“Wuthering Heights” opens in theaters in February.Chief Critics
The “Wuthering Heights” trailer immediately sparked plenty of critical comments on social media. In one post on X that garnered 53,000 likes, a user accused Fennell of “bleaching the class and racial otherness out of wuthering heights to sell a horny whitewashed romance.
