Collective gasps echoed throughout the theater at the opening scene of “Wuthering Heights.”

On Feb. 17, the English department paid for students to view the film adaptation at the Regal theater on Gay Street. The movie gained large controversy on social media due to its comparison to the original novel, and many students were left speechless after watching it.

“It was not what I expected at all,” Laney Kubit, a junior at UT, said.

“Wuthering Heights,” directed by Emerald Fennell, possessed a cinematic beauty heightened by romanticized settings, fashion and colors. Actors Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi portrayed the two main characters, Catherine and Heathcliff, who share a passionate romance throughout the movie.

Many have praised the adaptation for its modern take on the book while spotlighting the epic love story.

This version of the story showcases Heathcliff and Catherine becoming close as children after Catherine’s father brings him home as her new “pet.” After a time jump, the two are seen as even closer, with Catherine gaining interest in their new neighbors at Thrushcross Grange, the Lintons. Catherine later marries Edgar Linton to save herself from the degradation of marrying Heathcliff, whom she truly loves. Heathcliff leaves, later returning after Catherine’s marriage, as a rich man. They engage in a secret affair, hurting all those around them in the process. Heathcliff marries Isabella Linton, Edgar Linton’s ward, as revenge after Catherine says it’s too late for them to be together, with Catherine later dying in childbirth.

However, the film did not do justice to its source as an adaptation.

“Wuthering Heights,” written by Emily Brontë, is a Gothic classic about obsession, revenge and death. The entire second half of the novel was not in the movie, nor was the beloved narrator of the book, Lockwood, who conveys the violent story of Heathcliff and Catherine.

The novel begins with the narration of Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange, who meets Nelly Dean, Catherine’s former housekeeper, who relays to him the whole story of Catherine and Heathcliff’s past relationship. All that happened in the movie did take place in the book, just with very different details. However, Catherine gives birth to her daughter before she dies in childbirth, continuing on to the second part of the novel.

“Emerald Fennell literally murdered the second half of that book,” Nathaniel Adams, a senior at UT, said. “She completely eliminated the whole point of the framing of the Gothic narrative from happening.”

The continuation of the novel after Catherine’s death follows Heathcliff doing all that he can to get revenge on those who wronged him.

“I didn’t expect it to end in the middle of the book,” Kubit said.

One of the most significant points of the novel is that this story is not a romance. On the back of the Penguin Classics edition of “Wuthering Heights,” a quote from Jeanette Winterson reads, “‘Wuthering Heights’ is commonly thought of as ‘romantic,’ but try rereading it without being astonished by the extremes of physical and psychological violence.”

Fennell’s version of “Wuthering Heights” debunks this. The entirety of the movie is its love story, even the maddening parts of it. She found a way to make this Gothic novel into a film all about Romanticism.

However, this change diminishes Brontë’s message on racism, classism and marriage rights in the 19th century. An example of this in the film is seen in the character Isabella Linton.

“I didn’t have a problem with a lot of the adaptation choices, but I did absolutely have a problem with the portrayal of Isabella Linton,” Grace Brooks, a sophomore at UT, said. “Emily Brontë is making a very clear argument about marriage rights, and making Isabella Linton’s character exist solely for comic relief absolutely destroys that message in the book.”

In the film and novel, Heathcliff marries Isabella Linton to make Catherine jealous, yet is treated cruelly during their marriage. The humorous version of Isabella’s character becomes dark and reaches a disturbing level when she is chained around the neck like a dog in one of the later scenes.

Arguably, the largest issue of the adaptation is Heathcliff’s character. In the novel, he is a man of color who is abused and treated unfairly for his ethnicity. In the movie, this entire aspect of his character does not exist, as he is played by a white actor. This takes away such a large part of Heathcliff’s story, character and relationship with Catherine. Though the movie still executes his story as a poor orphan, its disregard of his struggle with racism does not reflect well on the director’s perception of the story.

“I’m sorry, there’s no getting around white Heathcliff. The marriage rights and racism and classism are bad. Like — that’s the whole book,” Brooks said. “And so, it (the movie) looked pretty and ripped out everything important.”

Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” is heavily steamy compared to the novel. Heathcliff and Catherine share a passionate relationship, yet all of the sexual physicality of it is not a part of the book. Nowadays, it seems that many films and shows focus attention on the sexual relationships between characters more than necessary. Why has this adaptation been sexified? What does it say about viewers and directors who like and make these creative choices?

Professor Gerard Cohen-Vrignaud, who teaches Jane Austen and the Gothic, attended the English department viewing and gave a well-articulated review of the film adaptation.

“Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ proves the enduring power of the imagination,” he said. “She first read (Brontë) at 14 and, 25 years later, here we have this sexy adaptation with her trademark style and outré sensibility. When (Elordi’s) Heathcliff first emerges with his glow-up, the audience audibly swooned and clapped. Literature can summon these visions of another world and make them real. Brava to (Fennell) for bringing (Brontë’s) unforgettable characters to life on the screen! If you want the full story, be sure to read the original novel!”

Professor R.D. Perry, who teaches medieval and early modern literature, also attended the English department viewing and gave another review of the film adaptation.

“While it contains only a fraction of the sublime weirdness of (Brontë’s) novel, (Fennell’s) movie is what you would want it to be: over the top and in love with its beautiful monsters,” Perry said. “What more would one want? I will also say that the audience experience was great: my favorite part of the movie was when (Elordi) appeared after Heathcliff’s rich man glow-up, and the audience erupted into applause.”

Regardless of its analysis, seeing the adaptation in theaters with other students and fans alike aided in the enjoyment of the experience. Gasps at scandalous moments, laughs at one of Catherine’s Dracula-esque outfits and cheers at Elordi taking his shirt off were all shared moments that made the movie. The imagination is a powerful thing, one that makes films as special as they are.

Yet the question remains.

Can a film adaptation be well done on its own? Or does its original material define its quality?

The answer is up to you.