Directed By Emerald Fennell

Starring – Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Archie Madekwe

The Plot – Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick (Keoghan) finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.

Rated R for strong sexual content, graphic nudity, adult language throughout, some disturbing violent content, and drug use.

Saltburn | Official Trailer – YouTube

POSITIVES

Fennell has once again commanded a sensory experience, both in the visual siesta of the movie’s cinematography, with intoxicating lighting and claustrophobic framing devices that constantly feeds into the many complex dynamics under the roof of this lavish mansion, but also the tonal depth in itself, which feels darker and even more haunting than that of her previous success, “Promising Young Woman”. Hemming this film and its characters into a 4:3 box feels like the right decision, as much of the eroticism factor and threat of these characters under one roof illustrates a clashing inevitability between them that continuously pokes and prods with interaction. Because so much of the film and its screenplay pertains to Fennell diving into the ideas of upper class tastes and traditionalism, we’re essentially given an engagement that feels far from the confines of planet Earth, with an unreliable narrator at the helm of the story that only feeds further in to the movie’s weird factor. The dialogue itself is intentionally imbedded with an internal disconnect that speaks volumes about the movie’s respective classes, with the rich family making their cruely back-handed observations about things that feel so personal, and Keoghan’s Oliver obsessing over the matters and advantages that the aforementioned wealth take for granted each day. Fennell once again proves decades above her limited experience, with a fearless approach to visual and thematic storytelling that takes “Saltburn” in some truly unforeseen and testing directions, particularly in a gross-out factor that, while occasionally stomach-churning, does feed into the ideas of obsession that Fennell grounds so forcefully at the costs of character integrity. As expected, the performances all shine radiantly in the assembled talent of on-screen veterans like Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant and Carey Mulligan, to name a few, but it’s ultimately Keoghan who grasps audience attention initially, and then never lets it go throughout a performance that defines dedication. Keoghan has always been great in harvesting a strange and quirky consistency to his characters that make it difficult to turn away from, but Oliver is truly unlike anything that the actor has ever attempted, combining ambiatic mystique with these intense gazes that always dominates a room, regardless of Oliver’s isolation factor that gives him a fish out of water perspective. “Gran Turismo’s” own Archie Madekwe also holds his own against respective screen veteran heavyweights, with an expanding characterization that opens him up to scenes of vulnerability and despair, showcasing Madekwe’s impeccable range that feels destined for many dramatic roles in his future.

NEGATIVES

Unfortunately, that is where the compliments end, as “Saltburn” is often a victim of many creative directions that don’t always merge as one cohesive direction, making it feel periodically incohesive in trying to establish itself with as many as three respective story directions at once. The first thread is easily that of obsession between Oliver and Felix, with each of them finding something uniquely compelling in the other and their social stature. The second thread is very much class commentary in sociology, which is realized in some outsider observations about Felix and his family, that articulate why they’re so revered for their wealth, despite the reality of their dynamic feeling anything but ideal. The final thread is a character study of Oliver himself, which is where the film finally finds its groove, but by then it’s too late because the film has focused forcefully on the previous two, leaving plenty of unanswered questions between them in their wake. Beyond this disjointed consistency, the film is also arduously paced in its 125 minute run time, with sauntered storytelling that continuously tested my investment and even my nerves towards attaining answers and satisfaction of any kind. This is felt the loudest during the second act, where a thirty minute period of the film halts progress on one of the previously mentioned three thematic threads, resulting in blanketed boredom that tested my patience in ways that very few films have, this year. Finally, the film is suspect in its decision to craft matters as one ongoing mystery to mysterious happenings under this mansion, but to anyone paying attention to the characters even briefly, it’s easy to interpret just what is happening here. Some will argue that the movie isn’t intended to be a mystery, and that its causes and effects are easy to pick up on, but that doubt is silenced during the film’s closing moments, as they not only show how one character did everything in-depth, but also how that character profited from it, which can easily be compared and framed to other murder mysteries of the contemporary age. Because this script frames its conflicts as one uncertainty after another that goes bump in the night, it made me feel like I was constantly five steps ahead of it, adding further difficulty to an already testing engagement that might’ve shocked me by the extent of its imagery, but never surprised me in the depth of its explorations.

OVERALL
“Saltburn” doesn’t always go down smoothly, as a result of a series of creative miscalculations that conflict instead of conspire, but it is another visually hypnotic spell exercised by Fennell, as she commands perhaps the single biggest example of eating the rich ever put to film. Despite its flaws, it’s easily one of the most memorable experiences of 2023, and one that is enhanced even further by Keoghan’s remarkable commitment to craft, that serves as the salt to the wounds of upper-class immortality.

My Grade: 6/10 or C