While the literary classic Wuthering Heights by Emily BrontĂ« is known for being one of the greatest tortured romances of all time, it’s not inherently sexy, and there aren’t major sex scenes. That was, until director Emerald Fennell came along. In her 2026 film adaptation of the classical novel, Fennell makes everything look sexy, even a scrambled egg yolk (IYKYK).Â
The task wasn’t too difficult considering she cast two of the hottest people literally ever — Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie — for the lead roles of Heathcliff and Catherine, respectively. From the opening scene to the rolling credits, the two-hour film had an air of sensuality that could not be ignored. I mean, the movie opens with a black screen to the sound of tireless moans and groans. It’s quickly revealed that the sounds were a result of pain rather than pleasure, but viewers are instantly aware that things are about to get freaky.Â
Despite Wuthering Heights‘s controversy with casting, or the artistic choices straying from the original source material, the $38 million earnings in opening weekend box office sales prove that audiences love to watch hot people do hot things. That’s pretty much all that Fennell’s Wuthering Heights accomplished. For me, the film was not a success in paying homage to the story or making a classical period piece, but it was a smashing, smutty success. Because of this, it’s only right that I rank the film’s best sex scenes.Â
- Thrushcross Grange Kitchen Table
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Warner Bros. Pictures Splayed out on the kitchen table, Catherine appears to have no guilt in betraying her husband. She has sex with her true lover, Heathcliff, in the middle of the ornate and luxurious Thrushcross Grange estate. Instead of talking dirty, the lovers talk out their jealousy, with Catherine tantalizing Heathcliff with sexual stories about her husband, and Heathcliff eating it up. Fennell loves films that prove that jealousy can drive people mad, and Catherine and Heathcliff are no exception.
- Secret Carriage Ride
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Due to Catherine’s marriage to Edgar Linton, all of her and Heathcliff’s escapades are forced to be illicit. Their meeting spot? The Victorian-era, situationship-equivalent hookup location: the backseat of a horse-drawn carriage. While the film is British, this scene was full of French kissing, giving audiences intense close-ups of Elordi’s tongue all over Robbie’s face. Elordi is certainly no stranger to Fennell’s freak, and just like any woman in Catherine’s position, Robbie’s character could not resist.Â
- Rain Montage
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Warner Bros. Pictures While the whole film is undeniably sexy, there aren’t actually that many fully fleshed-out sex scenes. Healthcliff and Catherine’s unrelenting desire for each other after Heathcliff’s long-awaited return is kickstarted through a montage of sex scenes, many of which take place in the rain. Kissing in the rain — a classic rom-com clichĂ© — is one of the few details that stays true to the setting of the original novel, and is actually the result of the title “wuthering.” ClichĂ© or not, a soaking wet Elordi on screen is a sight viewers can’t turn away from.Â
- Heathcliff picking up Catherine by her corset laces
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This one’s an honorable mention. Catherine petulantly complains to be put down, but we all know she doesn’t mean it. Who wouldn’t want to be dangled from Elordi’s fingers?
This movie proved that Elordi and Robbie’s chemistry was not just a PR scheme full of intimate moments from the press tour. They’re good looks and on-screen chemistry sells sex excellently, and they believably embody the passion of their characters with their inimitable longing looks. While I personally couldn’t get over the film’s detachment from the Victorian era with the casual writing and Charli xcx music, I could get behind the steamy sex scenes between these two gorgeous people.Â
