Look at all that salt burning! (CREDIT: MGM/Amazon)
Starring: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, Carey Mulligan
Director: Emerald Fennell
Running Time: 127 Minutes
Rating: R for Deviant Deviousness
Release Date: November 17, 2023 (Limited)/November 22, 2023 (Expands Wide)
What’s It About?: Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) doesn’t have anywhere to go on his summer break from Oxford University! And quite frankly, he’s been struggling to find his place at school the whole time he’s been there as well. That’s just how class divisions are in merry old England, innit? But he’s fortunate enough that big man on campus Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) has taken him under his wing and invited him to spend the hottest months at his family’s massive estate, the titular Saltburn. Felix’s parents Elsbeth (Rosamund Pike) and Sir James (Richard E. Grant) and sister Venetia (Alison Oliver) all readily embrace Oliver. But there’s also a sense that he’s being kept a little bit at arm’s length and that everyone has some serious secrets to hide. It gets weird.
What Made an Impression?: Imitation of Life: If I had to choose one word or phrase to describe the regulars at Saltburn, I would say “Wax figures.” Which is to say, they look and talk and move like human beings, but not exactly. Perhaps they’ve been cooped up and cut off from the outside world for too long to remember what meaningful conversations sound like. I guess this is meant to be satirical, and Britain certainly has a long tradition of skewering the idle upper classes. But this comes off as unnervingly confusing rather than raucously Python-esque. (Although maybe that was the intention!)
Beware of Obsession: Because Elsbeth and Sir James have forgotten (or never knew) how to function usefully, they’re easy marks for Oliver’s devious designs. Felix and Venetia are a little more savvy, but they don’t quite have the wherewithal to withstand what’s coming. Quite frankly, I’m not sure anyone ever could. Oliver’s Gatsby-esque scheme takes several outrageously graphic turns that mostly feel preposterous. I’m occasionally impressed by his cunning, but mostly I’m flabbergasted about why he chooses to be so positively creepy.
A Real Yikers: Saltburn has an intoxicating hook, or at least that’s the idea. I respect its commitment to putting its skin on the line (in more ways than one), but I can’t say that I was fully won over by its peculiar blend of cinematic witchcraft. My comfort was frequently pushed to the edge, and it never felt like there was much of a point to all that button-pushing. There’s something to the heist of it all, but the journey to get to the big score is so profoundly off-putting.
Saltburn is Recommended If You Like: The Great Gatsby or The Talented Mr. Ripley, but if they were, like, really gross
Grade: 3 out of 5 Parties
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