Well, that happened (“Spoilers”)
Upon arriving at Oxford on a scholarship, Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) quickly becomes enamored with the richer and more popular Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). After becoming friends and hearing some troubling information about Oliver’s home situation, Felix invites him to spend the summer at Saltburn, the Catton family estate. From there, Oliver comes to learn more about how the other half lives as he meets the rest of Felix’s family and their associates.
The other members of the family are the parents, Sir James Catton (Richard E. Grant) and Lady Elspeth Catton (Rosamund Pike). Felix’s sister Venetia (Alison Oliver) and cousin Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe). Additional members of the household are Duncan (Paul Rhys), the butler, and Poor Dear Pamela (Carey Mulligan), a promising young woman who is to Elspeth what Oliver is to Felix.
You know the Cattons are awful when Jacob Elordi (NSFW) might be the nicest one. And that’s even with the film heavily insinuating that Felix has a habit of befriending underprivileged classmates to feel magnanimous and then dropping them the moment he gets bored. Additionally, this movie is probably better if you’ve watched Downtown Abbey. I’m betting seeing these uppercrust types, enjoying vapid and low-brow American media like Superbad and “Low” by Flo Rida is funnier if you have.
The “Plot Twist”
Since I watched Saltburn so long after its premiere, Twitter spoiled the fact that Oliver ends up murdering almost the entire family for their fortune. So, take this with a grain of salt, but I agree with the people who said that Saltburn did not earn that big, Saw-like montage at the end where they replay several key scenes, only with a different context. At first, the movie does a pretty good job of laying the groundwork that Oliver should not be trusted, but that changes.
The first scene after the bathtub scene is Oliver hitting on Elspeth and cattily speculating that Poor Dear Pamela was probably lying about her backstory, calling out her “self-pity, the emotional blackmail,” hinting that he’s doing exactly that. The scene after that is Oliver seducing Venetia in a dominatrix-like fashion, referring to himself as a vampire. Both scenes are too much and too soon into the movie, making it obvious that he’s playing them.
Both of those scenes happen about an hour before Felix, and by extension the audience, find out that Oliver was lying through his teeth about being super destitute. And before Oliver begs Felix not to tell the rest of the Cattons, which is just another way of saying “have you told anyone else.” In case you don’t know, and I haven’t gone over this before, the answer should always be yes to that question.
The Final Verdict
My dad thought I would hate this movie, thinking that I would think it’s just another movie about how awful rich people are. While I have grown tired of that, it didn’t bother me in Saltburn’s case and I think that’s because its class commentary was there, but is a secondary focus to its themes on obsession and desire.
Before it becomes The Great Gatsby crossed with The Talented Mr. Ripley, Saltburn really reminded me of A Seperate Peace by John Knowles. Much like with Gene and Finny, it’s unclear how much Oliver’s attraction to Felix is him wanting to be Felix or wanting to be with Felix. Both works also show how you can love someone and resent them at the exact same time.
I watched Saltburn at the anti-recommendation of my sister. She also thought I would hate it, but would be smart enough to get what the movie was saying. Except, I actually liked this movie. The cast’s performances were good and it was entertaining. My favorite scene is probably the very end, where Oliver celebrates his victory (NSFW). I didn’t get the appeal of dancing partially or fully undressed after watching Risky Business, but now I do.
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