“A student at Oxford University finds himself drawn into the world of a charming and aristocratic classmate, who invites him to his eccentric family’s sprawling estate for a summer never to be forgotten.”

Director: Emerald Fennell
Writer: Emerald Fennell
Stars: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Archie Madekwe
Release: December 22, 2023
IMDB

Yes, It’s been two months since Saltburn (2023) was the hot button topic being discussed. Yet, here I am. These are my thoughts on Amazon Prime’s original divisive work, Saltburn.

What a weird fucking movie. It goes without saying that Saltburn has more than a few scenes that are simultaneously conversation starters, or stoppers, depending on the company one is in. Such a defining trait makes Saltburn worth-watching, but it also hampers the film. When the film hits the credits, the discussion immediately becomes about a few short scenes rather than the whole picture.

With that being said, Saltburn is not a bad movie whatsoever. It is a good movie that has some great moments. Objectively speaking, Saltburn looks gorgeous and the sound track lining the struggle for power and acceptance is quietly magnetic. rDirector and writer Emerald Fennell, winner of Best Original Screenplay in 2021 for Promising Young Woman (2021), once again lays out a strange lead character for the audience to chew on. This time around she takes a step up visually with cinematographer Linus Sandgren in hopes to amplify the confounding emotions her projects conjure.

Saltburn centers around Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), an awkward young man trying to find himself and friends at university. By circumstance, Quick becomes good friends with Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), the most handsome and popular man around. The two develop a fast relationship, but right from the jump you can tell there is a tinge of sensualism in the way Oliver looks up to Felix.

When school breaks out, Felix extends an invitation to Oliver to stay with his family at their estate, which is naturally known as Saltburn. OLiver accepts the invite and is introduced to the rest of the Catton family, as well as a few other tag-alongers. Elspeth (Rosamund Pike) is the gossipy mother of the grounds, and her husband Sir James Catton (Richard E. Grant) is the master of moving on quickly. Venetia Catton (Alison Oliver) is Felix’s untrustworthy daughter, but the idea of family extends to Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe), who has lived lavishly being friends with Felix.

The longer Oliver is at Saltburn, the more depraved the behavior on the estate becomes. Relationships are forged, tested, and then destroyed. Members of the family already have unique bonds with one another, but Oliver and his ever adaptable personality make having a normal time an impossible task. 

As the final act, Felix and a few others begin to learn a few harsh truths about Oliver, resulting in a third act that puts our once lonely college boy on his heels. The once golden nirvana of Saltburn has turned into a cloudy chateau filled with mixed feelings and fake happiness. Come the end of Saltburn, it’s a wonder to see who will leave the fenced land with their mental and physical well-being still intact.

Okay, it’s time. Shall we list the more insane scenes from Saltburn?  Shall we recount the moments where we tossed our hoodies over our head and posed together, as one, as the paralyzed scorpion?

  • The slurping of the bath water.
    • We have seen Oliver spying on Felix while he is loudly masturbating. It was a bit insane that Felix was that vocal, but I guess it’s his home so he can do what he wants. But the moment when we Oliver gets in the tub and the camera gets down on the tub floor level and the slow caressing of the surface with those taste buds…YIKES. I mean, man-oh-man, what one will do is try to get a taste of the better life.
  • The performing of oral sex by Oliver upon Venetia when she has her period
    • Folks, this one got me. Oliver coming up from his knees looking like a vampire was not something I was ready to see. Keoghan’s delivery of the line ““You act like that’s something I’m concerned about.” is both erotic and terrifying. The flabbergasted reaction from Venetia is mirrored by the audience trying to comprehend what Saltburn is becoming. 
  • Oliver fucks the grave of Felix.
    • This reads exactly how it looks. Also, my hot take, this is where Saltburn should have ended. But we will get to that. Oliver stripping down following the funeral and pleasuring himself in the muddy deposits above Felix’s limp body is truly depraved. But again the visuals from this scene stick with you. It’s much like the tub. The plateau ground level shot that lingers and forces the audience to watch is yet another great bit of camera placement.

Those are the top three WTF moments, but none of them are the toughest to digest.

Of all the hard to watch scenes in Saltburn, the cringiest is when Felix surprises Oliver with a trip to visit his parents. This sequence is not inserted for shock value. Rather, this interaction furthers the plot, changes the characters’ relationships, and shifts the tone of the film in a totally different direction. Saltburn began with the audience feeling sympathy for Oliver, but after seeing his reunion with his parents, that charitable halo hovers above Felix’s ruffled haired dome.

Speaking of Felix, let’s speak about Jacob Elordi. He’s got it. It’s impossible to not see the charismatic sex appeal that the Euphoria star emanates in front of the camera. The fact that this godly built young man also has an empathetic heart and takes pity on Oliver makes his ultimate fate more than heartbreaking. It’s unfair. He, the man who stereotypically wouldn’t give a shit about anyone else, has the biggest heart in the movie. 

Besides Elordi and the shock moments, the most impactful moments of Saltburn come from the visual snapshots that director Emerald Fennell and cinematographer Linus Sandgren capture. The playing ground that is the real-life Drayton House allows for lots of playful creativity. You have vast interiors that seem both crowded and empty at the same time. You have meadows where the characters can frolic around naked with no problem. There are bodies of water to use as reflections and mirrors, as well as vast courtyards to host lavish parties. Saltburn is a testing ground for any skilled camera manipulator, and everyone involved with Saltburn makes the most of it.

So what do we think about the ending? And I’m not talking about Oliver dancing with his dick out to Murder on the Dancefloor. That in itself, as a scene, is impossible to ignore. We finally get to see well endowed Oliver Quick frolicking around in all his glory.

But back to the point at hand. The ending. Structurally. Did everyone enjoy the flashback snippets of Oliver completing every part of his master plan? The movie’s final act after Felix’s burial has Oliver completing his dastardly Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) agenda, and we see every little detail.

Speaking for me, myself and only I, Emerald Fennell’s choice to show the behind-the-scenes truth events took a bit of mystique out of the viewing experience. Revealing the truth in such a bright light in a movie where motivations, lies, and altering perception means so much seems like a betrayal of the structure’s motifs. Perhaps this is my personal preference clouding my analytical thinking, but the surefire, defined conclusion to Saltburn had me antsy because I wanted to be asking questions.

The biggest question that I WISH I had would have been “when did Oliver decide to turn his envious ire on Felix and the residents of Saltburn?”

We know for a fact that Oliver starts his mission at school, but I am left wondering how different the film would have been if the impotence of his betrayal was left a mystery. Oliver can still win in the end. That decision works well for the viewing experience and for the story. One can’t argue with that. But give me something to distrust in the end. I want to be left worrying if I’ve been duped like Felix and the Catton family.

Barry Keoghan seems to have a knack for playing remarkably strange characters. THe Irishman came to prominence in 2017 with The Killing Of The Sacred Deer (2017), and since then he has continued to act out weird quirks in front of the camera.  Last year he was nominated for an Academy Award playing the eccentric Dominic Kearney in The Banshees Of Inisherin (2022). That same year Keoghan appeared at the end of The Batman (2022) as an “unseen Akrham Prisoner”, but we know that he is next in line to portray The Joker.

Keoghan has an ability to bring an uneasiness to every character he portrays. Even in the ill-fated Eternals (2021), Keoghan has the character Druig being elusive and isolated. Keoghan has a niche skill at being untrustable, and he uses that in Saltburn while dashing it with a dollop of unbridled confidence.

Jacob Elordi and Barry Koeghan steal the majority of the shine in Saltburn, but there are other performances that deserve some shoutouts. There was a very brief awards push for Rosamund Pike for her acting as Elspeth Catton, and while nothing grand came of it, she is quite funny playing a dumber character than her aura emits. Richard E. Grant is very funny as Sir James Catton, and Archie Madekwe is great as a foil to Oliver. Madekwe’s character of Farleigh is the only one from Saltburn who is not known as dead as Oliver nakedly prances along the grounds.

Saltburn was shut out from the Academy Awards, but it was nominated for five BAFTAs. Barry Keoghan and Rosamund earned both BAFTA and Golden Globes nominations. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren also earned various nominations in certain circles, including my own Oscar nominations. Because those mean a lot.

In one way, Saltburn is a resounding success because it dominated culture, put a 2001 disco song atop the charts, and became mandated water cooler talk. The movie was broken down into clippable assets by the younger generation, and that is both one of its strengths and one of its weaknesses. I wave my white flag as an old man, but more than a handful of the shocking moments are not necessary for the plot to move forward. Yes, these scenes show the drastic actions of Oliver, but the placement of the camera and visual accents make sure to cue the audience to pay attention.

With all my critiques and overthinking meanderings, it can all be summed up neatly. Saltburn is not great, but it’s very good. It’s not as good as the amount of conversation that was surrounding it, but it does deserve recognition for blending filmmaking to a younger generation’s habits and vibe. Saltburn is a great movie to watch once, and then watch the clips your friends show you a bunch.

Saltburn is streaming on Amazon Prime.

STANKO RATING: B

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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