Critics are calling Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights "sexy" yet "incoherent," as the adaptation lands the director's lowest Rotten Tomatoes score yet

Official reviews of Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights are in, and the new romantic drama is dividing critics.

At the time of writing, Wuthering Heights stands at 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is by no means a bad score. However, this is Fennell's lowest-scoring movie yet, with the director's debut, Promising Young Woman, coming in at 90%, and 2023 thriller Saltburn scoring 72%.

The new movie, which adapts Emily Brontë's classic novel of the same name, is dividing critics, with many unhappy with Fennell's take on the sacred story. "This is Emily Brontë reinterpreted by Lord Flashheart," said Robert Hutton from The Critic, and IGN's Hanna Flint said, "It all feels too forced, like a sales bin, smutty romance novel come to life, working too hard to hide the erasure of Brontë's far more complex ideas about the hell of societal convention."

Others add that Fennell was not able to achieve the level of intensity possible, as Kristy Puchko from Mashable likens Wuthering Heights to "an incoherent collage of teenage lust and rebellion, the kind better suited to a high school locker than a movie theater." Robert Kojder from Flickering Myth says the movie is "emotionally flat and possibly afraid to live and die on the edge of bold," like Fennell's past features.

However, other critics are celebrating the movie for its daring take on the beloved story. Gabriella Geisinger from Digital Spy describes Wuthering Heights as "a visual and aural feast that, though at times frustrating, stirs at the very heartstrings that Brontë surely intended," and NYC Movie Guru's Avi Offer calls it a "sexy, exhilarating and visually stunning adaptation."

Many are praising Margot Robbie's performance, with Esquire's Henry Wong writing, "What Robbie brings to the role is a kind of active longing. Such a character can sometimes feel either totally mean or totally passive."

Set in 18th-century England, Wuthering Heights follows an orphan boy named Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) who is taken in by a wealthy family and begins to fall in love with their daughter, Catherine Earnshaw (Robbie). But when Heathcliff returns years later, tragedy follows the star-crossed lovers.

Wuthering Heights hits theaters on February 13, 2026. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2025 and beyond, or skip right to the good stuff with our list of movie release dates.