Wuthering Heights

Emerald Fennell has adapted Emily Brontë’s 1847 gothic novel, and it bears all the hallmarks one might expect from the director who brought us Saltburn and Promising Young Woman. Beyond the visual, however, is a standout collaboration on the aural side—taking both a page and a step further from similar musical tie-in conceits, Charli XCX (remember Brat summer?) has come out with a concept album of the same name.

At the outset, we hear ethereal strings and untexted vocals as Catherine (Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) sit together. Their opening remarks swiftly establish the class tension which drives this classic story. The music recedes as Heathcliff’s silhouette retreats on horseback, told in no uncertain terms that Catherine is out of his league.

At 0:50, we get our first reference to Edgar Linton along with imagery around Catherine’s marriage to him—setting up a destructive love triangle dynamic. This is where we hear the first strains of Charli XCX’s voice. The cinematic strings that suggest a period drama begin to give way to something more contemporary.

At 1:17 the song, “Chains of Love”, reaches full tilt as we hear “shattering like glass / yes, they’re breaking up my heart” against a wall of synth and strings (a sound Charli calls “elegant and brutal”) and a montage of various scenes that include Heathcliff and Catherine. The song and lyrics, bespoke, naturally describe the dysfunctional romance to a T. Notice the extended dominant prolongation at 2:12 as we hear the strings and synths whirling in the foreground—and then the echo at 2:22, at the back of the arrangement under a mist of reverb, mirroring the rain scene.

The choice to anchor an adaptation with a soundtrack featuring a major artist recording original material specifically for the film isn’t new. We’ve seen this strategy with Beyoncé and King Richard, and more recently with instances such as a trailerized version of Radiohead’s “The National Anthem” in Napoleon (2023). There was also the debut of a single, “Sledgehammer”, by Rihanna back in 2016 with a trailer for Star Trek Beyond. And there are multiple examples of popular musicians going on to score for film—separately from their identity as performing musical artists—such as with Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor in his collaborations with Atticus Ross.

However, this collaboration with Charli XCX takes things a step further—here, we have an entire album premised on the film, both distinct and inextricably linked. Charli XCX isn’t starring in the film, isn’t directing it, and did not initiate the project—making the extent of her musical collaboration especially notable. Indeed, “original songs by Charli XCX” receives its own title card near the end.

Overall, the soundtrack is a strong support for the film’s interpretation—an intoxicating spectacle that seeks to render the lovers’ inner turmoil for all to see and hear. It’s notable just as much as a cross-promotional strategy as it is for its aesthetic cohesion.

That being said, judging by the commenters on YouTube, there is arguably some artistic license in interpretation here, with many pointing out that the story is not so much “the greatest love story ever told” as it is a tale of gothic revenge and generational trauma—but maybe that’s best left to the ear and eye of the beholder.

Wuthering Heights reaches theatres on Valentine’s Day, 2026 (of course).

— Curtis Perry