On Feb. 13, the new “Wuthering Heights”? movie came out to theaters and people online have had very mixed opinions regarding the story and the actors. This new adaptation leans into the more obsessive and passionate sides of the classic story.

In case you haven’t had the read the original 1847 Emily Bronte novel, the plot of “Wuthering Heights” centers on obsessive love, possession, and revenge in 1840’s England. The story follows Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff and how their love became something dangerous, and involves a lot of cheating regarding the two main characters. Both lovers end up doing a lot of cruel things to each other and their loved ones during their time together. Tragically [spoiler alert!], both lovers end up dying at the end, but with very different fates.

In the novel, the story of Catherine “Cathy” Earnshaw and Heathcliff and their relationship is told by Nelly, the old housekeeper of a manor house known as Wuthering Heights. Cathy’s father ends up bringing Healthcliff to the manor, but no one really knows where Healthcliff came from, or his origins. Bronte’s book describes Catherine as a teenager who takes Heathcliff in as her pet, and then takes a dark look into how obsessive Catherine and Heathcliff’s relationship truly becomes.

There have been many “Wuthering Heights” movies throughout the years with the 1939 version, the 1992 version, the 2011 version, and now the 2026 version. The 2026 version, featuring Margot Robbie as Cathy and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, is definitely getting people to talk about the film, but not in the way you would think.

This latest version focuses on the sexual side of the story, with scenes that shocked me and my mother in the theater. The movie makes a lot of changes to the originally story that are sparking controversial opinions online, making some question whether a remake was even a good idea to start with. In short, the movie romanticizes cheating in a way that is getting the side-eye on social media, as well as many comments referring to the movie as “Wuthering Whites,” because in the book, Heathcliff gets racially profiled on every other page..

There are some things about which the movie stays faithful to the book, such as the opening scene with two different hairs being braided which have a significance you’ll realize later. Then there are parts of the movie where the whole story was changed, such as how Isabella, Heathcliff’s put-upon wife, appears to like how Healthcliff abuses her, such as when she is chained to a dog collar.

The costumes for the movie were the main reason I watched the movie. They have this gothic look with a subtle hint of modern styles as well. My favorite costume from the movie was Catherine’s blue dress that is reflected in the setting, while my least favorite outfit is Catherine’s wedding dress which reminded me of lightly-colored plastic wrap. I don’t understand why the costume designers felt the need to add red glasses that I can probably find at Hot Topic. I mean, I can’t say I didn’t expect the director of “Saltburn” to really understand the costumes of the Victorian era, but…really?

Overall, I give the movie a 6.5/10. As someone who read the book, I was quite disappointed by how the movie turned out, although my hopes were not that high because director Emerald Fennell had taken the adaptation and changed it all. I feel like the casting for the new movie just threw together a bunch of popular actors and didn’t really go with how the characters in the book were described. The new adaptation is completely different from the other movies that have come out, but not an improvement.