Charli XCX Trapped by “Chains of Love” in Stunt-Filled Video for “Wuthering Heights”

Charli XCX reaches literal new heights in the monochrome music video for “Chains of Love,” delivering a striking blend of physical daring and gothic drama. The visual leans into surreal, cinematic imagery as she executes a series of gravity-defying moments high above the floor.

The clip finds Charli dressed in white—an elegant dress and boots—performing atop an enormous dining table in a sumptuous hall. She moves with a mix of abandon and anguish as plates and cutlery arc through the air toward her, suggesting both a domestic catastrophe and a supernatural assault. At one dramatic beat, the table tips and she clings to the edge, suspended many feet above the ground.

Throughout the video, Charli conveys a sense of entrapment and yearning. She sings of heartbreak and suffocation—images of things breaking and a helpless dependence on a missing lover—turning emotional pain into visceral, visual choreography.

“Chains of Love” is the second song Charli has contributed to Emerald Fennell’s film adaptation of Wuthering Heights, following the earlier release “House.” Sharing a clip of the video on Instagram, Charli celebrated the collaboration with the brief, coy line: “I’m here so permanently…”

Her involvement with Fennell’s project extends beyond individual songs: the work will culminate in a full concept album titled Wuthering Heights. That album is scheduled to arrive the day before the film’s premiere, which is set for Valentine’s Day next year.

The track was released shortly before the video and also appears in the film’s first full trailer, setting a moody, atmospheric tone that matches the adaptation’s gothic sensibility.

In a recent Substack post, Charli described the project as an immersive departure from her previous era. Instead of chasing the commercial momentum of her 2024 breakthrough, she said she wanted to inhabit a persona and a sonic world that felt raw, British, gothic and intensely literary—distinct from the life she’d recently been living.

She went on to say that while her name appears on the credits, the collection of songs functions as an album in its own right—an artistic world that may or may not be defined strictly as a “Charli XCX” record, and that ambiguity is part of the point.

Watch the full “Chains of Love” video in the player above.

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