It’s nearly a assure that book-to-screen variations will differ from their inspiration. Now that Emerald Fennell‘s model of Wuthering Heights has reached theaters, followers of writer Emily Brontë‘s 1847 novel are noticing fairly just a few adjustments. The movie stars Hollywood heartthrobs Margot Robbie as Cathy and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff. And in case you’re unaware of their story, it’s not the proper fairytale.
So, how precisely do the e book and the film examine to one another? Right here, Hollywood Life has a breakdown of the variations you may count on on the massive display versus the unique textual content. (Warning: spoilers forward for the Wuthering Heights film)
How Can I Watch the Wuthering Heights Film?
Warner Bros. has launched the film in theaters as of February 13, 2026, so followers can watch it on the massive display. A streaming date has not been introduced but, however it’s doubtless that it will likely be launched on HBO Max in just a few months.
What Are the Variations Between the Wuthering Heights Ebook & the Film?
Essentially the most noticeable variations concerning the film are the absence of Cathy’s older brother, Hindley; Cathy’s father is definitely a merciless tyrant; the absence of Mr. Lockwood; and, after all, the a number of intercourse scenes. The e book solely highlights Catherine and Heathcliff’s tortured, suppressed emotions for one another, whereas the movie exhibits a number of intimate scenes. Not solely that, however the film additionally ends with Cathy’s dying, whereas the e book explores Cathy and Edgar’s daughter’s story.
Whereas talking with Leisure Weekly forward of the movie’s launch, the actress and filmmaker defended the alternatives she and the crew made for the film.
“Once you have a look at not simply different film variations of this, however Kate Bush’s track, or Balthus’ lithographs, or quite a lot of the sort of modern illustrations, most of them are inclined to deal with Cathy and Heathcliff,” she defined. “As a result of I feel that’s actually the second that pulls to an finish within the e book. … And I feel, actually, I might do a mini collection and embody the entire thing over 10 hours, and it will be stunning. However in the event you’re making a film, and also you’ve acquired to be pretty tight, you’ve acquired to make these sorts of arduous choices.”
Concerning the characters she’d “form of forgotten or consolidated” into one, Emerald famous that there was “a certain quantity of want success in there.” She additional identified how the tragedy of Romeo & Juliet comes into play.
“There are about three totally different conferences and three totally different speeches, and so a part of it was consolidating that,” Emerald mentioned. “But additionally, we speak so much about Romeo and Juliet and, clearly, once we meet Isabella, she’s speaking about that sort of story and about that missed factor, and I really feel a lot that Cathy and Heathcliff’s (relationship) was about lacking one another. And so what I did was I introduced quite a lot of the love ahead, and quite a lot of these actually vital conversations ahead, to provide them a while in order that it didn’t simply occur on the finish.”
As for why she selected to finish the movie on Cathy’s dying, with out exploring something extra within the story, Emerald acknowledged, “It begins the place it ends and ends the place it begins.”
“And that’s the factor about love, and it’s the factor concerning the e book, proper? It’s that it’s without end and it’s cyclical, and so there’s no cease — even when there’s a horrible, unhappy, tragic cease, it’s not likely a cease — as a result of that’s what the e book feels a lot about,” Emerald concluded. “It’s concerning the depths of human feeling and the way it exists in a profound approach, not only a bodily one. And in order that, I don’t know, that felt like the best strategy to finish it for me.”