Wuthering Heights Parent Guide
This film attempts to titillate with non-stop sexual content, but it's ultimately hollow.
Parent Movie Review
When her alcoholic father (Martin Clunes) brings an orphan home to their windswept Yorkshire manor, Cathy Earnshaw (Charlotte Mellington) is delighted. She names the boy Heathcliff (Owen Cooper) and soon the two children are inseparable, squabbling, racing across the moors, and doing their best to avoid the abuse dished out by Mr. Earnshaw.
As adults, their roles shift. Heathcliff (now played by Jacob Elordi) is clearly just another servant at Wuthering Heights. And Cathy (Margot Robbie) is the lady of the manor. But even as their social status diverges, Heathcliff and Cathy are unable to ignore the sexual attraction that has grown between them.
When a wealthy new neighbor, Edgar Lington (Shazad Latif) proposes to Cathy, she faces a difficult choice: stay with her bankrupt father on his decaying manor and sink to Heathcliff’s lowly status or marry Edgar and enjoy a life of wealth and ease. Her choice will upend the lives of Heathcliff and Edgar and will be a life-or-death decision for her.
Since its publication in 1847, Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights has been a fixture in English literature. Brooding, atmospheric, and saturated with sexual obsession, the book was derided by Victorians but has endured as a classic novel. Given its sprawling framework, it’s notoriously difficult to adapt and director Emerald Fennell has done so by excising the second half of the tale. She has also pruned characters and altered timelines to provide a sleeker, more streamlined story. I’m a purist for English lit adaptations, but I must admit that trimming down the story is the only way to squeeze it into a feature length film. That doesn’t mean that I agree with the other choices Ms. Fennell made.
If this version of Wuthering Heights could be summed up in one word it would be “lurid”, which applies in both senses of its meaning. The first definition – vivid, unnatural colors – is apparent in the garish hues of Edgar Linton’s home, complete with red lacquered floors and bedroom walls designed to perfectly replicate Cathy’s skin. Cathy’s post-marriage wardrobe also features overlarge jewels and dresses made of shiny modern materials that will drive any literary purist insane. (And don’t even get me started on the loud, discordant soundtrack…) The second meaning of lurid is something that is sensationalist, particularly about crime or sex. This holds true from the opening scene, which features a man having an erection as he dangles from a noose, through to the last moments when a man desperately kisses a corpse. In between, there are frequent sex scenes, some involving bondage, coercion, and even demeaning behaviors. A woman masturbates, a man grabs his bulging crotch, a married couple frequently have sex, a couple have a heated adulterous relationship, and bosoms heave and people thrust and pant throughout the steamy runtime.
To be honest, despite the director’s desire to shock or titillate audiences, the endless eroticism feels both dull and hollow. Although Cathy and Heathcliff’s relationship is often seen as a tragic love story, it feels more like trauma bonding mixed with a heavy dose of sexual obsession. Despite impassioned declarations of shared souls and endless love, this messed up pair apparently don’t do anything other than fight or have urgent, energetic sex. Their relationship is tortured, unrestrained, and ultimately self-indulgent – just like this film.
Directed by Emerald Fennell. Starring Jacob Elordi, Margot Robbie, Owen Cooper. Running time: 136 minutes. Theatrical release February 13, 2026. Updated February 13, 2026About author
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Wuthering Heights
Rating & Content Info
Why is Wuthering Heights rated R? Wuthering Heights is rated R by the MPAA for sexual content, some violent content and language.
Violence: A man dies a slow death dangling from a noose at a public hanging. A man is heard beating a child: blood is later seen on the child’s bedsheets. The scars from that beating are later seen on his back. A woman repeatedly punches a man in the chest and slaps his face. A person kicks the corpse of a family member. A woman dies from pregnancy-induced septicemia and is seen in a pool of blood. A man puts his wife in a dog collar and chains her to the fireplace. A man talks about killing another man and asks to be encouraged to do so. A young woman twists a sewing needle into her hand. A doll is seen with a miniature knife through its chest and with pretended bloody injuries. A woman grabs another by the hair and has a hostile conversation. A pig is killed, splashing blood all over the walls and leaving a woman with bloodstained skirts. People frequently shout at each other. A woman demands that her corset be repeatedly tightened, which results in bloody wounds on her back.
Sexual Content: A dying man has a visible erection. People kiss in the shadow of the scaffold: one couple are rhythmically thrusting. A woman masturbates: a man comes up and licks her fingers and then tries to kiss her. A man places his hand over his bulging crotch. There are frequent scenes of a man and his wife having sex: the man’s back is visible but there is no explicit detail. There are frequent scenes of an adulterous sexual relationship featuring passionate kissing (with visible tongues), fondling, and thrusting and moaning. Some of those scenes occur outdoors in public spaces. An unmarried couple have an assignation: he cracks a horse whip and then ties her up with a bridle. They are later heard but not seen having sex as people watch from cracks in the ceiling. It is implied that a man is performing oral sex on a woman. A man seduces an unmarried woman and tells her he will treat her poorly. A man cuts his wife’s clothes off. A man ties his wife down and speaks demeaningly to her. A scrapbook features pictures and pop-up art that have strong sexual connotations. A woman frequently wears dresses with deep cleavage. There’s reference to a woman being the bastard child of a member of the peerage.
Profanity: The script contains ten terms of deity, four sexual expletives, two minor profanities, and a crude anatomical term. A crude term for women is also used.
Alcohol / Drug Use: Alcoholism is a plot point. A man is seen dead between mountains of empty alcohol bottles. A main character smokes a pipe.
Other: A maid cleans up vomit from the floor and then notices urine on the walls. There’s mention of checking the master’s pants for stool.
Page last updated February 13, 2026
Loved this movie? Try these books…
You can read Emily Brontëe’s classic novel Wuthering Heightsfor free at Project Gutenberg. Her sisters’ famous novels are also available at the same site: Jane Eyreby Charlotte Brontë and The Tenant of Wildfell Hallby Anne Brontë.
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If you like your love stories dressed up in bustles and breeches, check out our article Period Romances.
Emilyoffers a highly fictionalized biopic of Emily Brontë, author of Wuthering Heights.