Saltburn (2023) – Brilliance On The Dance Floor

Released: 16th November
Seen: 24th November

In 2021, Emerald Fennell released Promising Young Woman, which quickly became one of my favourite films that I’ve ever been able to review. The year it came out I proclaimed it the second best film of the year, had the fourth best performance of the year and was adamant that the film should win every single Oscar it was nominated for. I was an evangelist for the film and when talking about it on the Best List I said, quote “if Emerald Fenell walks into your office and asks to make a movie, you hand that woman a blank cheque and let her go wild”… It’s clear that someone was listening to this request, because if Saltburn isn’t what happens when Emerald Fennell goes wild, I don’t know what is.

Saltburn begins by introducing us to Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), a scholarship student attending the prestigious Oxford University. He’s a little awkward and seemingly shy which makes it hard for him to make friends until the gregarious wealthy Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) decides to take pity on Oliver and bring him into Felix’s group of friends. Soon the two of them become thick as thieves and with the summer holidays coming up, Felix decides to invite Oliver along with him to his family’s estate, the titular Saltburn where Oliver soon becomes enamored with the entire Catton clan, including the eccentric mother Elsbeth (Rosamund Pike), quiet father James (Richard E Grant), bulimic sister Venetia (Alison Oliver) and moocher cousin Farleigh (Archie Madekwe). Slowly though it becomes clear that there’s something sinister about this relationship, that what might’ve seemed like something friendly might actually be a disturbing obsession that will only end badly for everyone involved.

When talking about Promising Young Woman I ended up comparing it to I Spit On Your Grave if it was on a sugar high, whereas Saltburn feels a little bit more like the queer lovechild of Parasite and The Talented Mr. Ripley (and considering how homoerotic that movie is, you can guess how intensely queer this movie is if it needs to be brought up). It’s a dark twisted tale that almost seems to get off on messing with the audience, either by showing you some slightly twisted bit of imagery like the now-infamous bathtub scene (because if you’ve heard anything about this film, it’s probably about what happens in that bathtub) or by throwing out more than a few unexpected twists to knock the audience for a loop in trying to figure out where this entire insane story is going. 

All the dark strangeness helps build up this story of obsession – obsession over class status and obsession about power that we seem to believe the wealthy have. It’s a constant theme, shown almost entirely through how Oliver is obsessive over Felix, but the entire Catton family is obsessive over the idea of their status and maintaining their wealth. Even Felix seems obsessed with trying to appear normal when he’s anything but, it all creates this toxicity that’s just endlessly watchable and makes every single character someone you truly can’t help but be fascinated by, there are no weak links in this central cast. Even the most minor character in the main cast is so endlessly fascinating and bitchy that it’s a delight.

The undeniable standouts of this entire cast are the combo of Felix and Oliver, watching those two characters together is a masterclass in chemistry and how to make a scene work. Both actors bring something truly special to their roles that is endlessly captivating. Barry Keoghan’s portrayal of Oliver is so layered, you buy him as an awkward bumbling guy at the bottom of the totem pole but also as this intellectual powerhouse who is manipulating everyone all the time. With just a posture change he can go from the guy no one would ever notice to a guy who you would walk through coals for just to lick his toes. It’s stunning, the power dynamics of the film rest entirely on Barry Keoghan’s shoulders and he makes carrying it look effortless, it’s no wonder this man got an Oscar nomination last year and it’ll be stunning if he’s not in the conversation next year. 

Then there’s Felix who could just be your standard wealthy twat but Jacob Elordi makes him into this complex character who is so wildly charming that you get why someone would become obsessed with him. The camera absolutely adores him, every shot of Elordi might as well come with the Hallelujah chorus and a little twinkle sound effect every time the light catches his eye, no one in cinema this year has ever looked as good on film as Elordi does in this and that’s kind of the point. He manages to sell the audience on why he’s worth obsessing over, it takes some pretty spectacular filmmaking to make drinking someone’s bathwater feel like a reasonable reaction but damn it if Saltburn isn’t a spectacular film.

Indeed, speaking of things being beautifully shot, the entire movie from start to finish is just pristine in every way. The large castle that they shot in feels like it’s constantly growing, the more chaotic things get the more that Saltburn seems to evolve like it was actually alive like that house in The Shining (this film also features a hedge maze, COINCIDENCE?). It captures a sense of being endlessly spacious while also confining in ways that elevate the ever-growing tension. You can get why the people who live here would be out of touch with reality because nothing about this place feels like it belongs in reality and it’s absolutely amazing to just watch the camera explore every nook and cranny.

Saltburn is proof that Emerald Fennell is a cinematic savior, someone who is delivering fun and interesting work that can be thought-provoking and also just a bit of good campy fun. You can absolutely enjoy Saltburn on a more intellectual level where it’s a battle over class and inequality where someone from a seemingly lower class is able to get one over on those perceived to be above him, or you can enjoy Saltburn on the level of a hyper-cheesy soap opera where everyone has more problems than any therapist could ever hope to deal with and everything is a world-ending catastrophe that can only be solved through sex or violence… both are valid ways of viewing this film and both will leave you with an intense and fascinating cinematic experience. Once again, I beg, hand Emerald the blank check and throw her a few more Oscar nominees to play with so she can keep delivering some truly glorious cinematic treats. Thank you.