Diary of a Gen Z Student: If you want 1847 Wuthering Heights perfectly distilled, stick to the novel

Jane Cowan: 'Fennell is practically screaming at us that this is not a transcription from novel to film. But people will still complain about that. This was her imagination running free, how she interpreted the novel as a teenager.' Picture: 2026 Warner Bros. 

One of my favourite memories from the first covid lockdown is listening to people lose their minds while discussing Normal People on RTE’s Liveline. The profanity! The indecency! The silver chain around Paul Mescal’s neck!

"It’s just too much sex", seemed to be the general consensus from people of a certain generation (I won’t name names). It was a sacred time, the nation coming to terms with the idea that "when a man and woman really love each other" is probably not particularly realistic. 

Or maybe the problem was we were all confined to our homes, innocently watching it on the television with our families, before we realised exactly what would follow; I’m not sure. I was too busy looking at Paul Mescal’s silver chain.

Last week, I saw the new adaptation of Wuthering Heights by Emerald Fennell. As the movie ended, and I wiped my tears, I was brought back to that episode of Liveline. The (somewhat more mature) woman, sitting behind me in the cinema, remarked: "Jesus, that was absolutely filthy." Her husband agreed. "Awful, awful stuff" was his review. 

They had clearly gone into the movie blind, expecting something truer to Emily Brontës novel. They’re not alone in that. And I get it. The purists will call this film a massacre of a beautiful novel. In the words of one review I saw on Instagram: "Emily Bronte died of tuberculosis 177 years ago, yet this adaptation is still the worst thing that has ever happened to her." Another review was more to the point in their grievances with the film: "Whorethering Heights", as they put it.

Jane Cowan: 'When I rocked up to the cinema, waterproof mascara at the ready, packet of Minstrels stuffed into my bag, I had already relinquished my loyalties to the novel. My friends and I were there to see Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi lose their minds in stunning costumes with an excellent soundtrack.' Picture: Moya Nolan

I hear that criticism. Jacob Elordi is white, playing a character described as a person of colour in the original. The costumes are inaccurate for the period in which the narrative takes place. Characters are left out. Most of the original plot is excised. They didn’t have Charli XCX in Victorian times. Jacob Elordi is sitting around looking pretty far more than the novel would allow (though I did enjoy that).

There are people who see this as a great moral injustice to the original story. But I do have questions for those purists.  Wuthering Heights, in its various forms, has been written, rewritten and adapted so many times I’m not sure how many people are even going into the movie with an accurate concept of the original. 

Few people will trudge through the entire, densely packed novel these days. The only reason I finished it was because it was mandatory reading for my degree a few years ago. And hazarding a guess, I would say most of the population has never read any of it. They have most likely just acquired a vague sense of Cathy, Heathcliff and some prancing around on the Moors throughout their lives.

And if you’re on the right side of Instagram and TikTok, you were going into this film fully prepared for a departure from the original novel. Emerald Fennell stressed that in press interviews. The title is even written in quotation marks on the film poster. 

Fennell is practically screaming at us that this is not a transcription from novel to film. But people will still complain about that. This was her imagination running free, how she interpreted the novel as a teenager. Maybe infidelity from the original was the point! If you want the 1847 Wuthering Heights perfectly distilled, maybe you should stick to the novel.

When I rocked up to the cinema, waterproof mascara at the ready, packet of Minstrels stuffed into my bag, I had already relinquished my loyalties to the novel. My friends and I were there to see Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi lose their minds in stunning costumes with an excellent soundtrack. 

That’s what we had been sold in the press for the film. And that is precisely what we got. Is it one of the greatest movies I’ve ever seen? No. But I enjoyed it.