burn baby burn
'Saltburn' Reviews: A Twisted, Sexy Thriller That Sharply Divides Its Audience
Emerald Fennell won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay for writing "Promising Young Woman" in 2021, and has since been working on her next black-comedy-psychological-thriller "Saltburn." The plot has been mostly kept under wraps, because it's such a twisted movie, but just know before going in that this takes on class warfare and the wealthy... with a bit of sex and jealousy.
"Saltburn" releases nationwide on November 22, 2023, and stars Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe and Carey Mulligan. Here's what critics have to say about "Saltburn."
The premise
The film is a gothic thriller that dissects class, privilege, obsession, lust and the levels of cruelty birthed from various power dynamics. The film has similarities to "The Talented Mr. Ripley," though it's not as expertly crafted. "Saltburn" has enough to keep our eyes glued to the screen, curious to see how everything unfolds, but it isn't necessarily as insightful as it thinks it is. Anchored by a strong, eerie performance by Barry Keoghan, "Saltburn" is wickedly twisted, alluring, and darkly satirical, though it's lacking some bite. Oliver Quick (Keoghan) is a scholarship student at Oxford. He doesn't really have any friends, at least not ones he truly cares about, when a flat bike tire incident sees him befriending Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), a rich kid who takes Oliver under his wing. After Oliver's father dies and the semester ends, Felix invites him to "Saltburn," Felix's family estate, for the summer. Oliver joins Felix's family — parents (Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant), sister Venetia (Alison Oliver), and cousin Farleigh (Archie Madekwe) — for a summer that will change everyone's lives forever.
Emerald Fennell grows up as a director
Fennell's wins with "Saltburn" are nonetheless major through a daringly styled journey that looks like an inviting postcard from the past, unfolding across various audacious set-pieces, one that goes as far as a soiled sexual act by a gravestone that one needs to see Keoghan in action to believe it. In the end, "Saltburn" works as a distinct and wildly entertaining probe into familiar waters of privilege, rather than the definite word on it, one that reinforces Fennell as a distinguished auteur of the big and the bold even on shaky grounds.
Emerald Fennell is an incredibly brave filmmaker, pulling no punches with this flick. Her writing is just as sharp as in "Promising Young Woman," which won her an Oscar, while her direction is far more ambitious. Along with luscious cinematography from Linus Sandgren, Fennell has beauty and filth in equal measure on display. There are several sequences you'll have to see in order to believe. Your jaw will drop, not just in shock, but admiration as well.
While "Saltburn" is a tonal cousin to "Promising Young Woman," with its blend of pitch-black comedy, aggressive social commentary, and gnarly thriller theatrics, Fennell's direction adapts to the change in surroundings. The slightly gritty, grounded look of her previous work gives way to something more gothic and lavish, a camera whose framing suggests a grand regency romance or a Jane Austen adaptation, but whose contents would make Alfred Hitchcock smirk. "Saltburn" never takes the plunge into full-blown thriller territory, but it does flirt with Hitchcock's wryest thrillers. "Strangers on a Train" and "Rope," his films about brilliant psychopaths, come to mind. The former was an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith, to whom Fennell's script owes a massive debt. If you're looking for this generation's riff on "The Talented Mr. Ripley," one that captures the seductive power of spending time with a very, very, very bad fellow, you've come to the right place.
As in "Promising Young Woman," Fennell's self-conflicted characters are failed by a plot that can only think of obvious and/or inane things to do with them, which — as in "Promising Young Woman" — are made all the more frustrating in the context of a furiously candied pop confection whose most beautiful flourishes never seem to add up. Linus Sandgren's neo-nostalgic 1:33 cinematography delivers a full serving of "one perfect summer" in every frame, and Fennell knows just where to put the camera in order to maximize Oliver's muddled feelings of first love; the scene in which the film's young cast sunbathes nude in a field of golden-brown grass might be the most idyllic moment of its kind since "Call Me by Your Name."
Barry Keoghan and the cast are the best part
While the entire cast is fantastic, Barry Keoghan steals the show. He is the perfect choice for the lead character, Oliver, and constantly keeps you guessing about his personality and how he really feels about things. Fans of his already know how talented he is, but this is a career-best performance that he delivers in "Saltburn."
Fennell chose her cast wisely, and it's easily the film's best aspect. Barry Keoghan is the resident "little freak" of Hollywood, and "Saltburn" is the best reflection of that. To go back to the Ripley comparison, Keoghan goes miles beyond Matt Damon. He isn't afraid to be crass, embarrassing, and menacing as well as vulnerable and terrified. The biggest question "Saltburn" asks is "Who is the real victim here?" and Keoghan's performance solidifies that. Elordi is perfect for playboy Felix. While he is in no way a stand-out, he fills his role well with charm, charisma, and wealth-induced gullibility. Pike and Grant are the secondary stars, playing stuffy toffs pitch-perfect, obsessed with their own voice, as if anything they say will become true just by speaking it out loud. While Venetia isn't given much development beyond the poor little sister who needs constant sex to fill her lack of self-worth, she is given a scene near the end to have her voice heard and Alison Oliver takes it by the horns.
The Irish actor has garnered wild praise from critics since his haunting performance in Yorgos Lanthimos's cerebral 2017 thriller "The Killing of a Sacred Deer." From there, he's been lauded in challenging films like Christopher Nolan's war drama "Dunkirk," Bart Layton's true crime docu-drama "American Animals," and David Lowery's surreal fantasy "The Green Knight." His cheeky performance in Chloé Zhao's MCU entry "Eternals" spurred countless crushes online, while his heartbreaking turn in "The Banshees of Inisherin" made the Academy take notice. And now, with the world watching, Keoghan commits full-bodied to a role that dares you to look away.
But the main source of guilty pleasure is seeing the superb ensemble cast relishing dialogue peppered with outrageous, laugh-out-loud punchlines. Keoghan, as curiously magnetic as ever, always looks like a wounded animal who might collapse in a heap or might leap up and savage you. Pike steals the show, bringing both poignancy and deadpan comedy to her character's blithe stupidity. And Elordi is a revelation. The Australian actor, currently best known for "Euphoria," has mastered a specific type of English boarding-school drawl, and the power that Felix has over Oliver is emphasised by Elordi being about a foot taller than Keoghan. His height has a similarly unsettling effect when he plays Elvis Presley (also with a perfect accent) in Sofia Coppola's "Priscilla," so if you're making a film in which an over-confident hunk introduces a young acquaintance to a world of scarily excessive luxury, then Elordi is your man.
TL;DR
Mischievous in the best ways.
A delicious exploration of class conflict and psychosexual jealousy.
While "Saltburn" may not be as bracingly original as Fennell's debut, it is wicked fun.
A gorgeous misfire, a film that looks stunning but ultimately has nothing to say.
A stylish but ultimately silly patchwork of borrowed ideas.
[Image: YouTube]
