Watch for Kirkus’ upcoming column on Wuthering Heights, a new theatrical film inspired by Emily Brontë’s classic 1874 novel of obsession. It’s written and directed by Emerald Fennell (who won an Oscar for writing 2020’s Promising Young Woman), and stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi; it premieres on February 13. Here are four other book-to-screen adaptations coming in February:

February 6: Pillion (U.S. theatrical film premiere)

This daring movie is based on the Kirkus-starred 2020 novel Box Hill by Adam Mars-Jones, about a shy, gay Englishman who falls into a BDSM relationship with an older man who’s a member of a biker gang. Our reviewer noted that “Mars-Jones’ trim, poignant novel humanizes the intricacies of a dominant-submissive gay relationship” that “could seem profoundly unfair [but] blossoms into a revelation of love and magic.” The film version stars Harry Melling (who was a standout supporting actor in the hit 2020 Netflix miniseries The Queen’s Gambit) and Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman). It also won an award for best screenplay (for writer/director Harry Lighton) at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.

February 13: Crime 101 (theatrical film premiere)

Don Winslow’s crime novella—about a jewel thief who’s known for hitting targets located near U.S. Route 101 in California—appeared in the Kirkus-starred 2020 collection Broken. Winslow’s critically acclaimed work has been adapted for the big screen before; most notably, he co-wrote the screenplay for a 2012 film adaptation of his drug-crime thriller Savages (2010), directed by Oscar winner Oliver Stone. This new film, written and directed by Bart Layton (American Animals), features an all-star cast that includes Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Halle Berry, and Barry Keoghan—the lively star of the wild 2023 movie Saltburn, which was also directed by Emerald Fennell.

February 15: Dark Winds (Season 4 premiere, AMC and AMC+)

This excellent show, set in the 1970s, is based on the late Tony Hillerman’s police-procedural mystery series about Navajo Tribal Police Lt. Joe Leaphorn and his fellow officers Jim Chee and Bernadette Manuelito. Previous seasons have adapted such novels as Dance Hall of the Dead (1973), Listening Woman (1978), and People of Darkness (1980), the latter of which received a Kirkus star. This time around, it’s the Kirkus-starred The Ghostway (1984), in which Chee investigated the death of a car thief with ties to Los Angeles gangs. The show, which made our list of the best adaptations of 2023, retains its outstanding cast in this season, including Kiowa Gordon as Chee, Jessica Matten as Manuelito, and the great Zahn McClarnon (Westworld) as Leaphorn.

February 20: Midwinter Break (theatrical film premiere)

Viewers are sure to be treated to an acting showcase in this promising film, which is based on the Kirkus-starred 2017 novel by Bernard MacLaverty about a retired Irish couple with a troubled marriage; they’re played by the brilliant Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) and Ciarán Hinds (Belfast). In the book, the pair are on vacation in the Netherlands, where Stella is on a mission that involves a women’s religious community, her Catholic faith, and a vow she made many years ago. Our reviewer called the novel “a closely observed, deeply sympathetic rendering of a relationship and the fissures that threaten to wreck it.” MacLaverty co-wrote the screenplay for the film, which was helmed by award-winning stage director Polly Findlay.

David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.