It stars Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie, teases blindfolds, corset removals, and dough kneading – all set to Charli XCX’s remix of Everything Is Romantic. Sounds like a new steamy period drama? Turns out, in fact, it’s a bold reimagining of Emily Bronte’s 1847 classic Wuthering Heights. From a poster that echoes Dracula and Gone With The Wind to cheeky quotation marks around the title, the trailer for Emerald Fennell’s adaptation has led to a storm of divided reactions – leaving many to wonder just how far one can stray from the Victorian original.
Some literary fans have accused the film of whitewashing Heathcliff, who was described as dark-skinned and miscasting Catherine, who was not blonde. Others feel the trailer leans too heavily on shock value and marketability, side-lining the psychological depth that made Bronte’s original enduring. And though Fennell, known for Saltburn, has not addressed the polarising reactions to the trailer yet, she said her goal was to create “a truly transformative experience of a movie,” with the adaptation.