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Currently pursuing a film career with a passion for film journalism, storytelling of any kind has allowed me to let my imagination run wild in ways even I couldn’t predict. Expect me to write about film, TV, and the entertainment industry.
Beyond Fest is one of the most successful genre film festivals in the U.S., currently celebrating its 11th outing. As one of their surprise additions, Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn made its debut on the West Coast. The filmmaker takes similar risks she took in Promising Young Woman, surpassing them with a journey of obsession, love, and hatred.
Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin) finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi, Euphoria). Things take a weird, sexy turn when Felix invites Oliver to spend an unforgettable summer at his family’s mansion, Saltburn.
Lost in Saltburn
Saltburn — both the setting and the film itself — is like a drug that leads to addiction. It’s an addiction you can lose yourself in and want to be lost in. As the writer and the director, Emerald Fennell explores the darkest human desires through sickening scenarios filled with awe and spectacle. If Promising Young Woman allowed her to play with a necessarily uncomfortable narrative centered on sexual assault, Saltburn goes all out with its social class commentary through bizarre character choices.
The script has a tough job of balancing different tones at once, and Fennell excels at blending different genres. Saltburn is part coming-of-age, part erotic thriller, dark comedy, and surreal drama. These elements should clash with one another, but they don’t. If anything, they establish the chaotic atmosphere the film is going for. The situations that we see unfold are absurd and off-putting, but you never question them due to the characters’ fantasies gripping you.
By comparison, Promising Young Woman is a great feature debut, but it is one that struggles to juggle multiple moving pieces. Its third act is the best example of this as the shift in tone leads to unsatisfying twists. Fennell seems to have learned from this muddy ending, crafting a jaw-dropping finale in Saltburn that is rewarding for all the wrong reasons.
Revealing Reflections
Cinematographer Linus Sandgren’s (La La Land, First Man, No Time to Die, Don’t Look Up, Babylon) photography is an integral part of communicating Saltburn‘s themes. The images Sandgren creates don’t feel like moving pictures as much as they feel like sensual paintings. He and Fennell constantly utilize reflections to communicate the characters’ psyche and desires, especially Oliver’s. People within the narrative are capable of great manipulation, despite trying to hide it. This is where the film’s visual style comes into play regarding character motivations.
The usage of mirrors and reflections you see in water end up emphasizing inner character struggles and intentions. You can lie to strangers and loved ones, but you can’t lie to a mirror image of yourself. There are no filters or pretense; instead, your reflection simply shows you the truth as things are. Visuals such as these elevate what is on the page and make storylines way more powerful, making you lose yourself in Saltburn.
A much more subtle form of reflection also comes in the shape of Anthony B. Willis’s (Promising Young Woman, M3GAN) original score. From the start, Willis’ haunting musical notes immediately let you know something is wrong or will go wrong. This is present throughout, all the way to the movie’s chilling final monologue. His score fits Saltburn so well that you often forget it is there because of how perfectly it exemplifies the characters’ journeys.
The Catton Family
As Felix Catton, Jacob Elordi is Saltburn’s secret weapon. He embodies the rich boy persona, avoiding to portray him as a douchebag. Felix is an extension of his family’s estate and is a magical being you want to be around because of how special he drives you to feel. What makes him compelling is that Elordi manages to strip him back to reality. He’s an eccentric playboy in every sense of the word, but he’s not a fool. He acknowledges his privilege, allowing us to see through the cracks, thus humanizing Felix beyond the unattainable sexual object everyone perceives him as. Elordi’s performance hypnotizes you just as you are by Saltburn itself.
An actor like Elordi can’t sell you on the lovable playboy if he didn’t have an insufferable family, in a captivating manner, to contrast him. Elspeth (Rosamund Pike, I Care A Lot) and Sir James Catton (Richard E. Grant, Loki), Felix’s parents, are somehow too protective of their children and uncaring at the same time. They provide the movie’s most hilarious lines — particularly when they are interacting with Carey Mulligan’s (She Said) small role as Pamela — as well as the most heartbreaking scenes. Alison Oliver (Conversations with Friends) as Felix’s sister, Venetia, has some of the strangest moments the film has to offer that are bound to get big reactions from audiences.
From the supporting cast, Archie Madekwe (Gran Turismo) deserves just as much praise as Pike for his role of Farleigh. He instantly fuels you with rage as he continuously undermines Oliver, although there is a charm to him that is genuinely tragic. He is part of the Catton family, but also an outsider too. His back-and-forth with Oliver demonstrates the deep desire everybody has for Felix and Saltburn, and the lengths they are willing to go to fit in.
The Moth in the Window
Barry Keoghan’s Oliver is compared to a moth desperately trying to get inside the Catton estate. While a ridiculous comparison on a surface level, this quickly becomes the film’s strongest thematic point. Oliver might be Emerald Fennell’s crowning achievement from a character standpoint. A part of you understands the twisted decisions he makes to get Felix’s love and attention. At other times, however, you are disturbed by his actions as his obsessions grow.
Keoghan delivers his oddest on-screen character yet and his career’s best performance. Bringing a morally gray character is never easy, especially when they are at the center of a narrative. Keoghan proves he can be a leading man by making us root for him, be disgusted at him, and occasionally despise him. It is his charisma that slowly comes through that ultimately wins us over, even when we shouldn’t be on his side.
Final Thoughts on Saltburn
Saltburn proves Emerald Fennell is no one-hit-wonder. She is developing a style that is uniquely hers from the page to the screen. Her dialogue is sharp, her characters are incredibly fascinating, and her dynamic visuals further the themes she seeks to explore. In an era where Hollywood is taking fewer chances, we need artists such as Fennell who are willing to take risks and challenge their audience, perhaps upsetting them too. Just as Saltburn is fun and wildly entertaining, it is physically and emotionally draining. You won’t see another film quite like it in 2023.
Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn premieres in the United Kingdom and in the United States next month!
5/5.
Currently pursuing a film career with a passion for film journalism, storytelling of any kind has allowed me to let my imagination run wild in ways even I couldn’t predict. Expect me to write about film, TV, and the entertainment industry.
This article was edited by John Tangalin.