Saltburn

UK Release Date. 17 November 2023
Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours 11 mins
Director. Emerald Fennell
Cast. Jacob Elordi, Richard E. Grant, Barry Keoghan, Archie Madekwe, Carey Mulligan, Alison Oliver, Rosamund Pike, Paul Rhys.
Rating. 73%

Review.

Emerald Fennell's eagerly anticipated second feature film - following the Academy Award winning Promising Young Woman - is Saltburn, a deliciously dark tale of grotesque overprivilege. A film full of opulent excess, pitch black comedy, and copious amounts of bodily fluids in equal measure. And while Fennell makes a valiant effort to live up to her debut feature, Saltburn never quite emulates the standard bearer that went before.

The cast assembled is nigh on perfect and the performances are an absolute delight.  Barry Keoghan steals the show as Oxford University student, Oliver Quick. Keoghan isn't averse to portraying Oliver as crass and embarrassing, or vulnerable and unnerved, as well as imposing and menacing. This poses the question, exactly who is the real victim in this story?   

Jacob Elordi is perfect for the role of playboy, Felix Catton and whilst this is in no way a stand-out performance, he fills his role well with charm, charisma and wealth-induced disdain. Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant are wonderful as Elspeth Catton and Sir James Catton, the eccentric owners of Saltburn. Painfully, shallow and self absorbed, in a wonderful piece of dialogue, the former model, Elspeth claims to have inspired Pulp's 'Common people."

Equally, there's an embarrassment of riches in the film's aesthetic. The film is gorgeously shot and Fennell's direction is top notch. The cinematography from Swedish cinematographer Linus Sandgren is exquisite, in-keeping with his previous work on the likes of Promised Land, American Hustle, La La Land and Babylon. Early 21st century needle drops from the likes of Bloc Party, Arcade Fire and MGMT combine with film and literature references, and suddenly Saltburn makes for a wonderful retrospective of 2000's culture.

Fennell's film shines the spotlight on overprivileged English aristocrats and their opulent ancestral estates, juxtaposing opulence with the banal and vacuous activities that constitute the summer vacation period. It would be all-too-easy to draw comparisons with Anthony Minghella's equally homoerotic drama, The Talented Mr. Ripley, but Saltburn hails from the same class-obsessed examinations as Parasite, The Menu and Triangle Of Sadness. However, Saltburn lacks the deeper meaning of the aforementioned films, and hypercritically, as such, does it add anything to the conversation?

However, Fennell routinely ventures to areas that many other directors would be wary of. Oliver's infatuation with Felix, almost inevitably, evolves into full-blown obsession. But Saltburn is as much a study in deception as it is desire. The story itself is nothing novel, but the means by which Fennell embellishes it to make the audience uneasy right until the very last frame is something very few mainstream directors would contemplate. It's in these uncomfortable moments where Saltburn very much stands out from the crowd.