Margot Robbie has played women characters who build up worlds with ‘Barbie’ and ones that unabashedly burn them world down with films like ‘Suicide Squad’, but her turn in ‘Wuthering Heights‘ might just be her most intoxicating plunge yet. Stepping up as both producer and lead actress, Robbie didn’t just stroll into Emily Bronte’s stormy moors, but let her director, Emerald Fennell drag her head-first into a fever dream of love, rage and consequence, with this period romance, also starring Jacob Elordi. In the corset-ripping reinterpretation of the famed classic novel, Robbie plays Cathy opposite Elordi’s Heathcliff, the iconic characters, but only this time as older, more accountable figures, all while asking its audiences to sit with the fallout of their desire.In a statement to ETimes, the actress opened up about resisting bias, sobbing through pages, claiming Cathy as her own and creating a love story for the ages with an adaptation that is anything but nostalgic. Excerpts: As a producer of ‘Wuthering Heights’, what was your first reaction to Emerald Fennell’s script?Margot Robbie: It was my first experience with the story of ‘Wuthering Heights’. I had never read the book, and when Emerald said, early in the process, “I’m going to make Wuthering Heights,” I intentionally didn’t read the book at that point because I wanted her version of the script to be the first thing that I experienced, and not have any bias towards what I knew from the book. That way I could just look at the script as a producer.So, I read the script, and it was my very first experience with Cathy and Heathcliff and this world, and I had no preconceptions, really, other than knowing that this is a literary classic. And Emerald’s writing, whether she’s writing a love story or a revenge story, she does it in a way that makes you feel like you just fell into this world, this fever dream, and you got caught up in it. I couldn’t put it down, and I was so changed after reading. I was sobbing, for one thing, but I couldn’t help reliving parts of the script. Then, I obviously went and read the book once I felt like I had the movie cemented in my mind, and that was an insane experience as well. There’s so much in the novel. How do you choose what to keep?Margot Robbie: There’s so much in the book, there is no way you could possibly put everything into a movie, which is true of any book, really. I can see why Emerald made this interpretation, this version that she did, and I love where she focused her story. I love the feeling she took from the book and then focused her movie on that feeling.Emerald ages Cathy and Heathcliff up. How does that change the story for a modern audience?Margot Robbie: Yes, Emerald’s version feels a bit modern, and that’s partly because one of the choices she made was to age Cathy and Heathcliff up. In the book, Cathy’s in her late teens, in our film, Cathy’s probably early to mid-20s at the start. Our film spans about six years once you get into the part where I’m in it. One of the huge aspects of the story is that Cathy has this immense societal pressure to get married to Edgar Linton, and she does and it proves to be, as she says, ‘the biggest mistake of her life’, because of course she’s in love with Heathcliff. Emerald has matured the characters and aspects of the film. It also means when they’re older and they’re making choices, you can’t really make excuses like, “Well, they’re just silly kids. They haven’t lived life yet. They don’t know what they’re doing.” This film, in a way, holds them more accountable. Cathy makes some bad choices that hurt people. She’s a woman and she made that choice and that’s on her. In a way, maturing them also lets their choices hold consequences a little more heavily.When did you realise you might want to play Cathy yourself?Margot Robbie: There was something… By the time I finished the script, I was just like, “Wow, the actress who gets to play Cathy… This is going to be an exceptional role.” In the case of Cathy, I don’t know, there was just a different kind of draw to it, and I really debated with myself whether I should throw my hat in the ring. In the end, I thought, “Well, look, I’d really regret it if I didn’t say something,” of course. But I did want it to be up to Emerald. And it was a pretty quick conversation, to be honest. She kind of laughed when I was like, “You don’t have to,” and she was like, “This would be brilliant.” What do you think audiences are going to be talking about after they leave the theatre after watching ‘Wuthering Heights’?Margot Robbie: I think they’re going to be surprised. I think people might be expecting a more traditional period film, and it definitely is not that. I think people are expecting something very spicy and provocative, and it is that in places, but it’s far more emotional and evocative than it is provocative. I think people will be surprised by how swept up in the romance they’re going to be. People are going to be astounded by the visuals, the cinematography, production design, costume design… The design in general is breathtaking. I think particularly those who are going to see it on the big screen are just going to be thinking of those images for the rest of their lives.More than anything, ‘Wuthering Heights’ is a love story that hits you so deeply, and I think it’s just been a really long time since we’ve had this kind of love story on screen, one that makes you feel so much. I think the main thing people are going to say is like, “I haven’t felt like this in so long,” which is exciting.‘Wuthering Heights’ releases in cinemas in India on Friday, February 13.