What do film adaptations of books really aim to achieve? One would think it is  bringing the characters to the big screen; their emotions, traits and descriptions the author meticulously crafted in order to portray the deeper themes of their work. 

Traditionally, adaptations stick to this formula. Films such as Greta Gerwig’s Oscar-winning “Little Women,” the infamous “Harry Potter” franchise and the nostalgic “How to Train Your Dragon” trilogy all translated their respective novels’ foundational spirit onto the big screen, while also portraying the story from different perspectives that can only be achieved through camera movement, lighting and sound design.

However, this year’s most popular book-to-film adaptation went in a different direction. Emerald Fennel’s 2026 film “Wuthering Heights” aimed to adapt the 1847 novel written by Emily Bronte. Fennel, who is a self-proclaimed “lifelong ‘Wuthering Heights fan” took the dark, dramatic novel centered around themes of social injustice, racism, cycles of violence and abuse and turned it into a dramatic love story fit for the ages. 

Fennel’s adaptation has gotten stark criticism online due to its unfaithfulness and ignorance of the novel’s original themes. In the book, the anti-hero Heathcliff is adopted by the Earnshaw family. His race is unidentified throughout the novel, and he is eventually made into a servant by Hindley Earnshaw, the novel’s most prominent antagonist. His status as a servant was determined by his race and lack of social prominence, sparking the ethical debate of whether Heathcliff’s acts of cruelty toward generations of both the Earnshaw and Linton family in the second half were justified.

The film, however, eliminates the need for that ethical debate. Jacob Elordi, who portrays Heathcliff, is white. His performance matched Heathcliff’s mysterious and unforgiving personality, but there is no way to make up for the lack of representation by removing the leading cause behind Heathcliff’s actions in the novel.

Additionally, the heart of the film is the heated love story between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. This is a meaningful plot point in the novel, which focused on the abuse suffered in a toxic relationship. Although, it was nowhere near as prominent of a topic as it was in the film, so much so that the entire second half of the novel was left out of the film; it ended with the death of Catherine Earnshaw. 

This pivotal choice is what sparked the most debate amongst critics, and even seniors in Mr. Luther’s AP Literature and Composition class, who finished the novel the week the film came out. Senior Anezka Nemec noted how Fennel’s romantically-charged scenes were a surprise to audiences.

“I also didn’t necessarily like how sexualized it was because it didn’t reflect the book how Emily Bronte would have wanted it,” Nemec said.

Between ignoring the themes the book worked so hard to convey, adding in romance to unnecessary levels and removing the entirety of the second half of the novel, Fennel’s 2026 adaptation of “Wuthering Heights” is a disappointment to book lovers. Its production quality was stunning; the costuming, lighting, and cinematography were highly competitive with Oscar-winning films, yet I could not quite get behind the lack of foundational spirit drawn from the novel. 

Rating: 3/5