Wuthering Heights Feature Scores
Explore all 47 feature scores for Wuthering Heights, organized into pros and cons.
Scores by Feature
Summary
47 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.03 (6%)
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Positive 3.5-4.413 (28%)
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Neutral 2.5-3.421 (45%)
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Negative 1.5-2.49 (19%)
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Very negative below 1.51 (2%)
Pros
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The photography is one of the clearest strengths, repeatedly praised for sweeping Yorkshire landscapes, bold contrast, moody textures, and strikingly cinematic compositions.
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Anthony Willis’s score is one of the most consistently praised elements, described as haunting, sumptuous, and emotionally forceful even when the drama itself falls short.
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The film’s look is its broadest area of agreement: bold color, texture, gowns, weather, and heightened gothic imagery make it visually memorable even for many detractors.
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Sets and interiors are among the most praised elements, with lavish color, texture, and scale offset by occasional criticism that spaces look artificial, over-designed, or tonally mismatched.
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Supporting players are a strong point, with Alison Oliver, Hong Chau, the younger actors, and several secondary performers repeatedly singled out for lively or nuanced work.
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The costumes are widely admired for sumptuous color and spectacle, even by reviewers who object to their deliberate period inaccuracy or occasional excess.
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The music is mostly a strength, especially the score and Charli XCX material, though several reviewers find the contemporary songs distracting or out of place.
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Dark and sometimes absurd humor is a notable bright spot, with Isabella and the film’s campier flourishes drawing repeated laughs.
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The maximalist romance clearly has a crowd: several reviewers report enthusiastic screenings and see strong appeal for viewers who embrace its sensual, heightened style.
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Yorkshire moors, contrasting estates, rain, fog, and richly styled interiors create a strong atmosphere, though some reviewers find the world more artificial than immersive.
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Enjoyment is highly audience-dependent: admirers call it a blast or irresistibly watchable, while detractors describe stretches as dull, boring, or an ordeal.
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Editing earns mostly positive notice where discussed, including tight pacing within individual passages and bold montage or cutting choices.
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The makeup and hairstyling receive direct praise as lovely, even within a deliberately anachronistic overall design.
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Where suspense is highlighted, the film’s tense, provocative staging succeeds at keeping the viewer engaged.
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Critical reaction is openly divided rather than settled, with praise for audacity and craft sitting beside strong rejection of the adaptation choices.
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The heightened melodrama works for some viewers, but others find the central drama unconvincing despite the film’s scale.
Cons
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Race and representation are a major concern, especially the handling of Heathcliff’s identity and the way the adaptation redistributes class and racial dynamics.
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The most common thematic complaint is lost depth: many reviewers say class, race, revenge, abuse, and generational consequences are reduced in favor of surface-level desire.
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Character depth is a recurring weakness, with critics saying major figures are flattened, simplified, or denied the growth and complexity the story needs.
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Length is a recurring complaint, with multiple reviewers describing the film as overlong or feeling the 132–136 minute running time.
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Pacing is a consistent drawback, especially in the later sections, with repeated complaints about dragging, repetition, and scenes running longer than their emotional payoff.
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Ticket-worthiness is weak overall among reviewers who address it directly, with several saying the spectacle does not justify the time or recommending other options instead.
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Writing is a major pressure point, with critics faulting shallow characterization, awkward adaptation choices, and dialogue that cannot always support the film’s visual ambition.
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The heightened aesthetic can break immersion, with reviewers calling parts artificial or difficult to believe even when the visual concept is striking.
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The story earns much less consensus than the craft, with repeated criticism that the streamlined romance feels hollow or reductive despite isolated praise for its emotional or pulpy appeal.
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Most reviewers agree this is a very loose reinterpretation that removes major characters and themes; some welcome that freedom, but many see the departures as the film’s defining flaw.
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The adult-oriented tone, sexual material, and darkness make this a poor fit for children or younger teens.
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The central romance is deeply divisive: some viewers are swept up by the yearning and toxicity, while others find it thin, hollow, awkward, or less sensual than advertised.
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Many critics think the film muddies or weakens the novel’s ideas about class, race, revenge, and responsibility, though some still read a cautionary message about toxic obsession.
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Dialogue reactions lean negative: several reviewers find lines theatrical, flat, cringey, or less convincing than the surrounding visual craft.
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Where rewatching is discussed directly, enthusiasm is low; one viewer said they were unlikely to revisit it despite admiring individual craft elements.
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The erotic approach divides viewers from both directions: some object to its fetishized or abusive framing, while others are surprised by how tame or chaste it feels compared with the marketing.
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This is firmly adult material rather than family viewing, though one critic noted that the marketed eroticism was tame enough to feel unexpectedly parent-watchable.
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The reworked plot earns mixed reactions: its fan-fiction-like departures can feel playful to some and reductive to others.
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Robbie and Elordi’s chemistry is one of the sharpest divides—some call it electric, palpable, or undeniable, while others see awkwardness or almost none at all.
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Period accuracy is intentionally loose, especially in costumes, music, and design; some enjoy the creative anachronism, while others find it distracting.
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The mix of gothic tragedy, camp, eroticism, comedy, and contemporary style is intentionally volatile; some enjoy the blend, while others find it jarring or incoherent.
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As a gothic romance it splits the difference between swoony melodrama and darker material, satisfying viewers who accept the reinvention more than literary purists.
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Fennell’s direction inspires both admiration for bold visual control and frustration with choices that some reviewers see as over-styled or emotionally misjudged.
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Structural changes leave some reviewers confused or unconvinced by motivations, while others find the streamlined narrative serviceable enough on its own terms.
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Violence and abuse are treated as grim, provocative material, and reactions depend heavily on whether viewers feel the film interrogates that cruelty or aestheticizes it.
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The gothic material occasionally chills or unsettles, but some critics think the film rarely becomes genuinely dangerous or frightening.
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The finale lands for some as genuinely emotional, while others find the payoff abrupt, hollow, or insufficiently earned.
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The film’s bold reinvention is hard to mistake for a conventional adaptation; reviewers differ on whether that audacity feels fresh and purposeful or merely eccentric.
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The ensemble draws uneven reactions: plenty of reviewers admire the commitment and younger cast, while others find key performances underpowered or miscast.
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The film can provoke tears, tension, and strong feeling, but a substantial group of reviewers reports emotional distance or numbness despite the lavish presentation.
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The leads are polarizing: Elordi often earns praise for brooding physicality, while Robbie has both strong supporters and repeated complaints about fit, age, or characterization.
Cast & Creators
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ComposerThe original songs are often described as electric, immersive, or perfectly matched to the film’s heightened mood, though a minority find the modern cues distracting or out of place.
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CinematographerSandgren’s cinematography is one of the film’s strongest consensus wins, repeatedly praised for sweeping moorland imagery, dramatic contrast, and immersive visual scale.
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HeathcliffElordi generally fares well, with frequent praise for his physicality, brooding intensity, and screen presence, although some critics still object to the casting or find the characterization too limited.
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IsabellaOliver is one of the most dependable supporting standouts, repeatedly praised for comic timing, scene-stealing energy, and the strange vitality she brings to Isabella.
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ComposerWillis’s score earns strong approval for its haunting, sweeping emotional force, even from critics who think the movie itself fails to deliver comparable feeling.
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Mr. EarnshawClunes draws strong notices for turning Mr. Earnshaw into a vivid, cruel, and sometimes darkly entertaining presence.
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NellyChau is widely valued for emotional subtlety and grounded presence as Nelly, even when critics wish the adaptation gave the character more room or clearer motivation.
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Edgar LintonLatif’s Edgar is mostly viewed favorably as a grounded supporting presence, though a few reviewers find the role itself bland or underwritten.
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CathyMellington’s young Cathy is well received, with praise for the strength, maturity, and credibility she brings to the film’s early section.
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CathyRobbie’s Cathy divides reviewers: many praise her commitment, magnetism, and emotional work, while others consider her miscast or too polished for the character’s volatility.
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Costume DesignerDurran’s costumes are admired for spectacle, color, and craft, even as some critics question the deliberate anachronism or particular design choices.
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HeathcliffCooper’s young Heathcliff is generally praised, particularly for helping the childhood section feel vulnerable and convincing.
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Art DirectorBarclay’s art direction is singled out as wondrous and brilliantly captured, reinforcing the film’s much-praised visual craft.
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Production DesignerDavies’s production design contributes heavily to the film’s ornate visual identity; most admire the craft, while some question whether every concept blends with the gothic story.
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EditorBoydell receives direct praise for keeping the editing and pacing tight even when the film itself lingers.
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Writer/DirectorFennell’s contribution is the film’s great dividing line: admirers celebrate her bold sensual maximalism and visual control, while detractors see a shallow or misguided reinterpretation.