Emerald Fennell's mood board

Russh recommends '7 films like ‘Wuthering Heights’ to watch before it comes out'.

Emerald Fennel's latest flick – an adaptation of Wuthering Heights – isn't even out yet (it's scheduled for release on Valentine's Day next year), and it's already been sending shockwaves through the internet (for more reasons than one). First and foremost, its leading duo Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are unusually picks for the literary classic, and stills from the film set have caused outrage amongst the book's puritans. Of course, the steamy trailer soundtracked by a now-viral Charli XCX remix have also caused quite the stir too.

But if you simply need to get your fix before February, we have curated a list of films we love that match that vibe: steamy, classic, perhaps some not-so-close-to-the-source adaptations that made us re-fall in love with a story. Find out pick of 7 films like Wuthering Heights below.

1. Romeo + Juliet (1996)

[...]  It's exactly the kind of film we know would have been on Fennel's [sic] mood board for her adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Robbie even said to press: "I went to the cinema to watch Romeo + Juliet eight times, and I was on the ground crying when I wasn’t allowed to go back for a ninth. I want it to be that."

2. Marie Antoinette (2006)

[...] Very in the vein of a Wuthering Heights film soundtracked by Charli XCX.

3. Atonement (2007)

[...]

4. Titanic (1999)

This may seem random, but Margot Robbie told press: "In one of our first conversations about this film, I asked Emerald what her dream outcome was. She said, ‘I want this to be this generation’s Titanic." So, there you have it. It's another epic love story of ill-fated lovers – we can see the similarities here.

5. Saltburn (2023)

If you're looking for more of Fennel's madness, then definitely make a pitstop at Saltburn. The 2023 film altered brain chemistry in more ways than one – and sent Sophie Ellis Bextor's 2000s hit Murder on the Dancefloor soaring up the charts again (along with Mason and Princess Superstar's Perfect (Exceeder)). It's got all the Fennel-isms we're expecting to see more of in her take on Wuthering Heights: excessive nudity, steamy romance, dramatic deaths and pop song nostalgia.

6. The Beguiled (2017)

[...]

7. Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

[...] It's haunting and sensual – themes mirrored in Wuthering Heights – following the story of a rural summer picnic where a few students and a teacher from an Australian girls' school vanish without a trace. (Cassandra Dimitroff)

Far Out Magazine wonders whether Charli XCX is 'primed to be the most vital new film composer'. AnneBrontë.org shares a poem, December, by Branwell Brontë.