Here's what you should know about Wuthering Heights and how it portrays relationships

The movie stars Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff. PIC/GETTY IMAGES

So, let's start by saying - this is not Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. This is fan-fiction by director Emerald Fennell, who is known for Saltburn (2023) and Promising Young Woman (2020). And because she has made the kind of movies she has, I feel it's her attempt to turn Wuthering Heights into a reflection of modern-day toxic relationships - where lovers are usually bound by a trauma bond.

The dictionary meaning of a trauma bond is "an intense, unhealthy emotional attachment that develops in response to a cycle of abuse, manipulation, and intermittent positive reinforcement [affection]." Phew. That sounds intense and it is intensely shown in the 2026 movie, starring Margot Robbie (Catherine) and Jacob Elordi (Heathcliff).

So this is what happens in brief. Catherine and Heathcliff are childhood friends, but Heathcliff is a servant adopted by Catherine's drunkard father. The class difference makes sure they can't really express their love, or lust. But love and lust, they do. Eventually, after a misunderstanding, Catherine gets married to her rich neighbour, Edgar Linton, whereas Heathcliff goes away only to return as a rich man after a few years.

The 2026 movie Wuthering Heights is based on the book by Emily Bronte, and has been directed by Emerald Fennell. The soundtrack has been made by Charli xcx. PIC/PINTEREST@lilitDior

And here is where things get complicated. They can't keep away from each other, but they can't be together. And when they can't be together, they hurt each other. Heathcliff marries Catherine's sister-in-law Isabella, just to spite her, and violates her, physically and mentally, again and again.

At many times, I caught myself cringing at the screen, even as I caught myself getting carried away in the passionate kisses and sex scenes in the rain. Oh, it's always raining! I was cringing because this was so toxic, because this was not love, this was so dysfunctional - my nervous system was feeling deregulated. But, I was always feeling the thrill of this I-can't-get-enough-of-you-but-I hate-what-this-makes-me-become kind of love. It was horrible.

A scene that really killed me was between Heathcliff and Isabella, just before they have sex for the first time. The criminally handsome Jacob Elordi tells Isabella (played beautifully by Alison Oliver), that he is a wild man, and he will treat her horribly. Does she still want him to go on? In her lustful stupor, she keeps saying yes. Maybe Fennell was referencing all those bad boys/girls who show us exactly who they are, tell us the truth about their bad intentions, and reveal that they will never change, and we still say yes, and we still stay.

Ladies and gentlemen, that there is the trauma bond. For me, if the movie had never been made, it wouldn't have been a bad thing. In times, where the reel often influences the real, maybe making movies that talk of healthy relationships could be ideal. But fiction is fiction, and to find excitement in a story like Wuthering Heights can be forgiven.

The movie is also so beautifully shot, with each scene looking like a fairy tale come true. The music by Charli XCX also sets the vibe wonderfully. And the good looks of the lead pair are hard to beat.

But I would just tell the young folks watching the movie to take away one truth: This is not what true love feels like - wretched and painful - and then you die. True love should make you fly high and feel light. Watch Catherine and Heathcliff on screen and feel the tingles, sure, but do not be or date either of them.

It won't end well.