Review of Saltburn, directed by Emerald Fennell

The first time I saw the Saltburn trailer, I knew I was going to love it. Later I realized the cinematographer of Babylon was involved with the making of this movie and its cinematography, which is the sense I started getting from the initial trailer.

Then I started seeing the ads for this movie on social media, and I fell in love with the soundtrack. It was one of the few 2023 movies I was gunning to see as soon as it was released in theaters, and on a quiet Friday morning I booked a ticket to see it at 11 AM in the morning.

So me, a bunch of middle aged guys, and another guy sitting by himself in the corner were in one of my AMC’s tiny rooms, which indies have a tendency to get slotted into.

I had a sense from that this movie was going to get weird, but man I did not expect some of the wilder scenes in this movie. There’s a certain level of shock that this movie tries to solicit from the viewer, which has been a chunk of the buzz online about the film—and in its discourse.

I’d say though, before I begin the review, this is a movie that’s most fun viewing in a room full of people, especially strangers. Might be hard to catch it in a theater by the time this review is out, but man I wish I had a more lit audience. It was dead silent throughout.

Alright, I’m rambling. Let’s get into the review.

Oliver Quick befriends a wealthier classmate at Oxford, putting them on a crash trajectory.

The film begins in 2006, and Oliver Quick is beginning to attend Oxford University on a scholarship. He moves in on the first day all by himself, and he doesn’t belong with anyone who fits in. He makes friends with another awkward math genius, but together they watch the wealthy elites mingle among each other.

Oliver wants to be a part of that crowd, and ditches his math friend for Felix Catton one day after Felix’s bike breaks and Oliver lends his to Felix. He’d previously met Felix’s cousin Farleigh, who has an evident dislike for Oliver after Oliver tries to talk extensive literature with their shared professor.

Felix and Oliver keep hanging out more and more, but one day Felix decides he’s had enough of Oliver after they get into a fight. Oliver breaks into Felix’s room, crying, and tells him that his father has just died.

Oliver basically told Felix his life story is that his parents are neglectful addicts, and if he loses his scholarship he’s done for. Felix pities Oliver because of this and decides to invite him to the family estate of Saltburn, and he agrees to come.

Summer arrives and Oliver comes to Saltburn, where he meets the rest of Felix’s family, including Farleigh, who he had met before. There’s also Pamela, Eslpeth’s friend, who’s just devastatingly sad and tell stories about how unfortunate she is.

She later leaves, Oliver convinces Elspeth all the stories are made up, and then Pamela dies not too long after. The days pass by with the young ones lounging around and reading the newest Harry Potter book, but everything begins to change when Oliver, spotting Venetia outside in just her lingerie, has oral sex with her. Farleigh watches the affair from his room, and he tells Felix, who gets pissed off.

Oliver lies to Felix about it though, saying Venetia did it and he didn’t want to have sex with her, nor did he, and they’re cool again.

He also casts doubt on Farleigh, setting him up for the stage to come. It’s kind of revenge, as Farleigh is absolutely terrible to Oliver and tells him that he would never fit in because of his social class. The next big event is that when Felix masturbates in their shared bathroom one day, Oliver comes in afterwards and drinks the cum water, licking the drain in the process.

The family decides to host some guests, and when they have karaoke in the living room, Farleigh tricks Oliver into performing the song “Rent,” by the Pet Shop Boys, to expose him for being poor in a room full of wealthy people.

That night, Oliver then wakes Farleigh up by sexually intimidating him, which is a really wild scene to see.

The next morning Farleigh is kicked out of the estate because Felix’s parents believe he tried to sell plates from their art collection to Sotheby’s. Felix’s parents decide to throw Oliver a birthday party, but right before it, Felix makes an impromptu trip to Oliver’s house, saying he should see his mother.

There, he learns Oliver was lying about everything. He has a normal family, a father, siblings, and his family isn’t poor at all.

He takes Oliver back to Saltburn, but says he should leave right after party; he’s pretty pissed about Oliver’s deceit. Oliver keeps trying to talk to him throughout the party, but Felix ignores him. Finally, after a tense standoff in the maze, Felix is found dead the next morning.

The breakfast scene is hilariously sad, as the family tries to act normal and eat their breakfast, while Farleigh is sobbing, and Oliver casts another shadow over Farleigh, saying he had cocaine that night. Felix’s father finally cuts Farleigh off completely because of this.

Felix’s funeral happens, and Oliver has sex with his grave while the family goes off to mourn. Oliver stays with them, despite everything, and while Venetia confronts him in the bathtub that night, he walks away. Basically, she berated him for trying to ebcome Felix and literally says to him he will never be one of us.

She’s found dead not long after, having slit her wrists. Then there’s another funeral, and their father bribes Oliver to leave Saltburn after the fact because he just won’t leave.

Years pass. The father dies, and Oliver runs into Elspeth at a coffee shop. She tells him to come back to Saltburn, and they spend several months together until she becomes ill. We see the narration is Oliver recalling how he plotted everything to Elspeth’s unconscious body, then he kills her by taking her off of life support.

She had left him the estate, and the final scene is his celebratory naked dancing throughout Saltburn.

Overall Thoughts

What a weird little film this was. The cinematography was absolutely incredible, and I could really feel the romantic undertones when the camera would look at Felix in certain moments.

This is also Barry Keoghan in his element, and I hope that he gains further recognition for his role in this movie because wow, what a performance. I do think that there’s a conversation to be had though about the film and how it definitely feels like it was made by England’s posh members, especially since it’s such a superficial way of looking at class relations.

I’ve been reading about how people from Liverpool are stereotyped the way Oliver was, and that unsettles me, as does the fact that the rich are portrayed as victims here. Definitely lots to think about further, but I’ll leave you with that to ponder over.

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