Written by: Emerald Fennell
Starring: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver
Rating: [4/5]
The world has continually proven to be comprised of the haves and the have-nots when it comes to money and all the benefits it provides. This inevitable gap that exists therefore creates the void the have-nots would definitely love to fill in order to reach the haves. Saltburn tells the tale of an individual trying to do just that and for all the mess it creates, it never completely lost me in what it sought to present.
Arriving at Oxford on scholarship, Oliver (Barry Keoghan) quickly finds out all the attention of individuals go towards a fellow first-year named Felix (Jacob Elordi). Oliver befriends Felix through an act of kindness and after spending some time together throughout the year, the latter asks the former to spend the summer with him at his palatial estate.
Predicting what films will hit the cultural zeitgeist feels like throwing darts at a board, but the way in which this film made its way to everyone asking me about it was quite the surprise and while many loved the experience, plenty of others absolutely despised it. As someone who landed more on the more appreciative side, Saltburn has proven to be quite the conversation starter, which writer/director Emerald Fennell has proven to be her modus operandi going back to her debut feature Promising Young Woman. While this film does not sit at that level, it definitely seeks to shock in ways to make audiences squirm and it left me appreciative of the experience.
First and foremost, the shock value of this film definitely exists as one of the calling cards and what made it so popular. Moments in a particular bathtub or outside involving some blood display this growing obsession Oliver has not only with Felix but the other individuals around this very rich fellow. It leaves this looming question of what exactly does Oliver want from this summer spent at Saltburn and how far will he go in order to achieve it. Some say these moments exist in the film purely for the shock of it all and devoid of any meaning but I would argue the opposite and it very much has to do with the chaos Oliver seeks to imbue and him overall being a little freak. Sure, it gets played for the audience to wince at in those moments but it’s all part of the fun.
In a general sense, Saltburn hangs its hat on this social ladder where Oliver sits at the bottom and everyone else at the very top with this devious little minx trying to take each rung to propel himself to the peak with no worry of who he will upset in the process. We have this lower-class individual mixing it with essentially the noble class and the dynamics on display make for some intriguing observations outside of Oliver being poor but also other characters like Farleigh (Archie Madekwe). He sits above Oliver on the social ladder but certainly beneath Felix’s family for reasons the film reveals and he has more vitriol for this lowborn usurper than anyone else. It does not take much to decipher how those along for the ride do not like the idea of others doing the same and possibly replacing them, which creates this perpetual tension between Farleigh and Oliver and further flows throughout the rest of the film. Many opinions exist about the way Fennel utilizes class politics in this film, which range from the brilliant to devious, and it just further creates a discussion that allows for a fun dissection of this film and displays what I enjoy the most about it.
Of all the things detractors can say about the film, the visual presentation of everything happening firmly sits on the positive end for everyone. Fennel upgrades the way she brings everything to life for the camera in this film and employs the work by cinematographer Linus Sandgren to great effect. Everything about this film looks delectable and indulgent from the way they capture Jacob Elordi as this ever-appealing and ephemeral being throughout the film to the sequences displaying the vast nature of this palatial estate. You can feel the gross opulence on display in this feature where we see how the obscenely rich carry themselves in building out this life others dare not get near and further drives home the point of what the film seeks to evoke and what makes Oliver so infatuated and in integrating himself within it.
So much to hate and enjoy, Saltburn seeks to get under the skin of everyone involved from the audience to every character in the film. It does so by indulging in the excess of its story no matter how gross one may find it and the story makes us sit in it until a conclusion that probably does not give the audience enough credit in piecing it all together. Despite all the things one can poke holes at, Emerald Fennell creates something absolutely bombastic and undeniably invigorating as a film that astounds with the journey created. It makes me appreciate these big swings that remain unafraid to delve into some uncomfortable circumstances and does so in such a stylish manner.
Films with Josh 
