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.
This makes the second official sticky erotic thriller/horror movie about a poor person in rich people’s company to come out in 2023. Of course, comparing “Saltburn” to “Infinity Pool” would be like comparing “The Silence of the Lambs” to “House of 1000 Corpses.” Same water, different pools. Of course, both films contend themselves with tackling the obscenely wealthy and their utter detachment from reality; only in “Saltburn” does director Emerald Fennell go at rich teens still in college. The taut thriller delivers a pop-shock aesthetic with wildly vibrant sex scenes and erotic cat-and-mouse until the second half tilts and the massive reveal feels less of a surprise and more like a forecast. Still, with glamorous neon lights and early aughts needle drops, “Saltburn” strikes a chord, even if it doesn’t quite stick the landing.
“Saltburn” follows Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), the scholarship kid new at Oxford, who gets in good with the most popular guy: Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi.) At first, the awkward Oliver struggles to keep up with his children-of-lords social circle, so when school ends, and Felix invites him back to his family summer manse Saltburn, he’s quick to accept. While there, Oliver finds himself surrounded by enemies, and the friendship he seeks proves just as fleeting. Turns out rich people don’t care about your feelings; they only care about entertaining themselves. Oliver schemes against the players at the Saltburn manse, manipulating his way into Felix’s inner circle, but to what end? How will Oliver’s summer at Saltburn end? Who’s trustworthy?
The cast carries this movie with grace and aplomb as they dive into the muddy, nasty relationships. Were it not for Barry Keoghan’s skillful employment of his boyish persona and naivete-incarnate, the character of Oliver might feel flat or cloying. Sometimes, we cry for Oliver and other times, we suspect him. When he plans his foul schemes, we actually root for him, not knowing how far he’s willing to go. Opposite this vulnerable Keoghan stars Jacob Elordi, making a name for himself outside the sex-drugs-filled “Euphoria” circle. Elordi’s breezy command of everyone and everything around him perfectly aligns with the can’t-be-blamed golden son. It’s precisely the kind of persona someone who’s never had to deal with consequences portrays, and it drives you nuts. Elsewhere in the Catton family, Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant play Lord and Lady Catton. Both are unhinged, removed from society, and too rich for their own good English nobility. Rosamund’s wealthy British model-turned-housewife speaks everything that comes through her head with zero filter, and Richard E. Grant’s forever-disheveled appearance mirrors his equally aloof Lord. This is the kind of family that wears black tie tuxes to dinner. Every. Single. Night.
Linus Sandgren, the film’s cinematographer, perfectly sculpts images from every frame. Every shot either rests perfectly symmetrical in its presentation of Saltburn or else drifts lightly around the action, often wandering from room to room. The grain of the film stock combined with the hazy lighting (for daytime and neon contrasts for nighttime) makes the whole film feel like a perfume ad. It is as if Elordi and Keoghan will espouse nonsensical words about Gaultier’s new perfume label. It’s glossy and glamorous like the world is supposed to be, which is shocking given how absolutely… sticky this movie is.
Chalk this up to another movie ruled by fluids. Whether it’s semen, period blood, saliva, regular blood, champagne, or others, this movie is absolutely reeking of bodily fluids. At its heart, it wants to be an erotic thriller with sexy teenagers. The raw carnal gaze Keoghan projects onto Elordi, Pike, and cast members Sadie Soverall and Archie Madekwe fills the movie from top to bottom. Along with that carnal lust comes some classic nudity. Let me say: Keoghan really goes the distance in this movie and bares it all, not once, not twice, but multiple times, in the name of art. The film ends with an extended nude dance scene around the Saltburn house, twisting and turning and gyrating. You’ll definitely see some male genitals.
Ultimately, these elements add up to a tension fraught throughout the first half of the film with solid cat-and-mouse dynamics. How long will Oliver last surrounded by all these posh socialite children? The Cattons seem poised to eat Oliver Quick alive and spit him back out over the summer. When Oliver devises his own machinations, it feels justified… until it doesn’t. Right around the halfway point, a central character dies, and the back half feels like an epilogue stretched out into an extra hour. Where do you go when the movie was originally so focused on two boys’ relationship? That epilogue contains a massive reveal, but the effects of that reveal feel diminished. We, as an audience, foresaw the big ending and pretended not to know.
To dive into the literary symbolism and messaging of the film feels fraught with danger. The erotic gaze transcends queerness and veers directly into Dorian Gray levels of sex. To witness a wealthy family play with their meal before they consume it adds up to our ‘eat the rich’ schematics we’ve seen play out onscreen recently, but when Oliver starts playing, too, the whole equation gets rejiggered. Ultimately, it feels almost too clever and too conniving, and Fennell’s sophomore film only hints at the corruption of wealth rather than shows it. If only Oliver felt more tragic by the film’s end.
Personally, I loved it. I thought the gorgeous framing and exemplary lighting made the scenery feel nouveau riche and playful all at once. The film can be dissected for its themes and ideas. A rewatch might yield new insight as several events go foreshadowed. Whether it’s costuming, makeup, effects, camera work, acting, or sound design, the film really reigns in each department. I, for one, laud this original work by an original director, at least trying to aim for something familiar.
In Select Theaters Friday, November 17th,
and in Theaters Everywhere Wednesday, November 22nd
