Emerald Fennell’s film of Wuthering Heights opens with an aroused nun observing a hanged man with an erection. Other additions to Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel include BDSM, masturbation on the moors, beds filled with eggs for erotic effect, and endless sex in the rain.
Meanwhile, characters have been omitted or conflated, key plot details altered and the entire second half of the book left out. As well as ensuring a bumpy ride for English literature students tempted to watch the movie rather than read the novel, such changes have caused consternation among a number of academics and fans of Brontë’s work.
Yet staff at the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire, have offered a stout defence of the film, calling it “amazing”, “exciting” and “fantastic”.
“I loved it,” said Zoe, who works in housekeeping at the museum. “It made me quite emotional. I thought it was amazing.”
“It really does feel like a fever dream,” said Mia, her colleague from digital engagement. “From the stunning costumes and sets to the dramatic soundtrack, it’s a great escape to the world of Wuthering Heights. The themes of the novel do shine through.”
Ruth, a visitor experience coordinator, agreed that Fennell’s film – which was inspired by her experience reading the novel as a 14-year-old – captures “some essential truths to the book and the relationship between Heathcliff and Cathy”.
The Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth. Photograph: David Pearson/Alamy
“I really enjoyed it,” she said, adding it made a refreshing alternative to previous adaptations, which include the 1939 version with Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier, 1992’s take with Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes, and Andrea Arnold’s 2011 film.
Many members of staff expressed the hope it would lead people back to the novel. “I think it will make a lot of viewers intrigued to read the book,” said Sam, from the museum’s programming department.
Others did concede there had been “a lot of changes to the original novel”. “Some may not like [that]”, said Sue, from the learning wing, “but it’s an exciting film to watch in its own right.”
“Is it faithful? No,” said outreach officer Diane. “Is it for purists? No. Is it an entertaining riff on the novel? Yes!” She also endorsed the casting of Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, despite Brontë’s novel describing him as “dark-skinned”. The actor was “fantastic”, she said, “and nailed the accent”.
The staff watched the film at a preview screening on Thursday in Keighley organised by studio Warner Bros. “We weren’t involved in the making of the film at all,” said Rebecca Yorke, director of the museum and the Brontë Society.
“But Emerald Fennell was a guest at our Brontë women’s writing festival in September where she spoke eloquently about Wuthering Heights and her personal response to it. Any new interpretation is likely to appeal to one audience more than another and spark lively debate.”
‘Nailed the accent’ … Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. Photograph: 2026 Warner Bros. Ent/PA
Among those in the audience at the first public screening in Leeds on Friday morning was Brontë’s most recent biographer, Dr Claire O’Callaghan. “I enjoyed it,” she said. “Brilliant performances. There’s a lot of fun built into it, as well as the intensity and tragedy.”
Fennell made it clear the film was her own spin on the story, which was “really refreshing”, said O’Callaghan. “There’s no attempt to have fidelity to the original. If it was more of a period drama then people might get more upset. But this is so far removed from that, and so over the top.”
The Brontë Parsonage Museum is situated in the home in which Charlotte, Emily and Anne wrote their groundbreaking novels, which was bought by industrialist Sir James Roberts in 1928 and donated to the Brontë Society. Emily died in the house aged 30 in 1848, the year after she published her first and only book, under the pen name Ellis Bell.
Early reviews for the novel contained similar declarations of disgust as the less approving notices for Fennell’s film. “The reader is shocked, disgusted, almost sickened by details of cruelty, inhumanity, and the most diabolical hate and vengeance,” said Douglas Jerrold’s Weekly Newspaper.
“We are expecting increased visitor numbers and have already a large increase in sales of Wuthering Heights,” said Yorke. “We have extended our opening hours and produced exclusive merchandise in response.”
The film is tracking to take more than $80m (£58.7m) – around its production budget – over its opening weekend of release. As part of the marketing drive, Warner Bros has partnered with scores of brands on official Wuthering Heights products, from thongs to passport covers.