Fans are Not Impressed with the Trailer for the New 'Wuthering Heights' Film Adaptation

The first teaser for Emerald Fennell’s daring new adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights has ignited much debate—and not in a flattering way. While visually arresting, many fans have quickly taken to social media to denounce the trailer as “visually pretty but hollow,” accusing it of prioritizing shock value over emotional depth.

Critics on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) weren’t shy with their scorn. Remarks ranged from accusing the film of being equivalent to “Fifty Shades of Grey: 1800s Version” to blunt dismissals like “Not everything needs to be porn adjacent”—pointing to the trailer’s steamy tone as a glaring misstep.

One viewer’s editorial felt especially biting: “Not to be that one friend who is too woke but bleaching the class and racial otherness out of Wuthering Heights to sell a horny whitewashed romance genuinely pisses me off.”
Such comments reflect a deeper irritation around how the adaptation seems to have drifted far from Brontë’s original vision.

Many fans also took issue with the casting choices. Jacob Elordi’s portrayal of Heathcliff has drawn criticism for “whitewashing” a character traditionally depicted with darker skin and ambiguous origins—a decision seen as stripping the story of vital cultural nuance.

The trailer’s provocative imagery—corset-cutting, dough kneading, fish-mouth insertions, intense sensual symbolism, and even BDSM-style visuals—set to Charli XCX’s remix of “Everything Is Romantic,” further fueled the divide. Many expressed that the sensual atmosphere overshadowed the intense emotional tragedy that defines Wuthering Heights.

Even at a recent test screening in Dallas, audience reactions were mixed. One attendee called the film “aggressively provocative and tonally abrasive,” pointing out that the direction veered into extreme territory—so much so that it eclipsed the story’s classic tragic core.

Still, some argue that Fennell’s aesthetic takes risks purposefully. Her style leans into a visually heightened, psychologically charged reinterpretation: some fans even admitted they were intrigued—and that’s part of what keeps adaptation stories alive. As one user noted on Reddit:“Cinematography looks great. Just don’t think this film is for me, especially with what it’s adapting.”
And another: “When a filmmaker adapts something already done many times, I expect a personal spin.”

This article was previously published on omanmoments. To see the original article, click here