By Christopher James
How does one follow up a first feature after it breaks out and earns an Oscar?
After her vivid breakthrough Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell smartly refuses to play it safe. At first glance, the tale of class warfare and homoeroticism feels familiar. But her singular eye adds an indelible slant to the material, which feels like a spiritual sister to The Talented Mr. Ripley. Like that film, Saltburn expertly dramatizes the intoxication of lust and the limits we all blow past while under its influence. Fennell’s live-wire pacing is perfectly complemented by the committed cast, particularly Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Pike...
Lights up on 2006 Oxford. Juicy Couture sweatpants are in vogue and The Killers can be heard in every car. The social circle revolves around the tall, handsome Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), a rich kid with a winning smile that accentuates his eyebrow piercing. More specifically, interloper Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) can’t get enough of watching Felix. One day, Felix’s bike gets a flat tire which allows Oliver to be his knight in shining armor. The two strike up a friendship from this moment on, which continues for much of their second semester of college. As summer rolls around, Oliver lets it slip that he has nowhere to go for the summer, as both his parents are addicts. Felix enthusiastically invites Oliver to stay with him for the summer at his family’s estate, Saltburn.
What unfolds is a debaucherous three months, shot as if Sofia Coppola was staging a rave at the Atonement estate. It’s fitting that the movie is named after the estate, as Saltburn brims with personality. Its antiquities clash with the modern sensibilities of its tenants, the Catton Family. When we’re first walked through the place, Felix points out all the “old shit” and walks through the “green room” and “the blue room” before we meet the family, all huddled around a TV watching Superbad in a room that would feel more at home in The Favourite.
The initial meeting of the family sets up the pecking order that Oliver is placed in. Felix’s mother, Elsbeth (Rosamund Pike, pitch perfect in every moment) speaks the most doting platitudes and most cutting dismissals all in the same daffy, high pitched coo. If she’s a razor sharp dolt, her husband Sir James (Richard E. Grant) is a dull figurehead, paying off all his problems with a vacant smile. One such problem is a distant cousin, Farleigh (Archie Madekwe), who hangs around to cause mischief and siphon money. Meanwhile, Felix’s sister Venetia (Alison Oliver) is a self conscious wreck, looking for approval from any member of the family. Oliver luxuriates in Saltburn’s excess and in his proximity to Felix, with whom he shares a bathroom. Yet, he fears he’s another pity case the Catton family cycles through, such as Poor Dear Pamela (Carey Mulligan in a wonderfully fun, small role), who’s openly mocked like she's merely being tolerated.
Barry Keoghan gives a tour de force performance as Oliver, leaving it all on the floor as he ingratiates himself with the Catton family. This is the natural third performance to join the antisocial trifecta of his most fantastic performances that include his Oscar-nominated performance in The Banshees of Inisherin and his dangerous turn in The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Keoghan specializes in the piercing glance, always taking in the social dynamics of a given situation and bending them to his advantage, such as weaponizing a mean-spirited drunken karaoke moment.
Oliver is only as strong as the object of his affection. Jacob Elordi shines as Felix, making him a magnanimously narcissistic rich boy. Elordi nails the many joyously shortsighted comments Felix makes and sells the intoxicating presence that you need to understand why Oliver wants so badly to be in his orbit. This role shows an exciting new side to Elordi’s persona, softer than his Euphoria bully.
Fennell’s camera delights in the aimless debauchery of the members of the Saltburn estate. Days are spent reading Harry Potter naked in the grass, while evenings are for drinking champagne while playing on the tennis court. The skewering of the ultra rich is most perfectly embodied by Rosamund Pike’s Elsbeth, who never fails to land a one liner. It’s about time she received another Oscar-worthy role that gives her plenty to chew on. Saltburn is strongest when it’s adding detail and character to the interpersonal relationships at the estate.
The film then takes a hard left turn that might not work for everyone. Critiquing the film any further would put us into spoiler territory, so let's just say that some motivations are revealed to be different and more base than previously suspected. The sick joke is capped with a wild, audacious final five minutes that dares to alienate those who’ve stuck around for the finale. There are plenty of inconsistencies that one can fault Fennell for but a lack of ambition isn't one of them. Her greatest sin is not trusting the audience. In some cases, she baldly spells out key turns that the audience has already correctly assumed. This doubling back and underlining halts the previously brisk pace as we head towards darker territory that maybe isn’t fully earned. Even worse, the recontextualizes robs Oliver of some of the complexity and mystery that Keoghan has excelled at.
In the end, the Eat the Rich genre has been mined to death over the past couple years. Yet, it didn’t have Emerald Fennell’s voice behind it until now. It’s exciting to watch her take her characters to macabre places. Luckily, she’s got full command over the visual language of the piece and has found an incredible cast that’s exactly on her wavelength. Your mileage may vary as the last act will be divisive. Still, I can’t wait to return to Saltburn. Emerald Fennell has only further solidified herself as one of cinema's most exciting new voices. B+
Saltburn is distributed by MGM and opens on November 17th in limited release, before expanding on November 22nd.