November 22, 2023
FILM: SALTBURN
DIRECTED BY: EMERALD FENNELL
STARRING: BARRY KEOGHAN, JACOB ELORDI, ARCHIE MADEKWE
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
You’ve got to give writer/director Emerald Fennell some major credit. She won an Oscar for her last screenplay Promising Young Woman and then got nominated for an Emmy playing Camilla Parker Bowles on The Crown AND appeared in Barbie (as Midge.) To say she’s been hot would be an understatement. Her much anticipated latest project is Saltburn, starring Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan (The Banshee of Inisherin) and major heartthrob Jacob Elordi (Euphoria, Priscilla.) They play chums Oliver and Felix respectively at Oxford University in 2007. Felix comes from great wealth and social stature while Oliver seems to be arriving on campus thanks only to his intelligence. When holiday season hits, Felix invites Oliver to the family’s home. It’s a sprawling British estate called Saltburn and it’s hard not to think of this as a 21st Century version of Downton Abbey, full of opulent design and plenty of selfless servants. The difference here is that Felix’s family and friends watch movies, sing karaoke, and are a bit more sexually active and eccentrically humorous than most of the Downton clan.
On the surface, the film appears to be taking us on a similar journey that Anthony Minghella took us with his adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley some 24 years ago. That film featured Matt Damon worming his way into the lavish lifestyle of Jude Law. There was a strong sexual vibe to the film thanks to the source material written by Patricia Highsmith. This time the motives behind Oliver’s actions are less clear. He seems to be a humbled guest, at least initially, in Felix’s home. Oliver, like Damon’s character in Ripley, does appear to be attracted to the very beautiful Felix yet we mostly see this through the lingering gazes he makes towards him. He can look but can’t touch. Is he really attracted to him or does he have some ulterior motives? Felix’s story is even less clear. Why Oliver? He doesn’t look like the others in Felix’s world. He’s not as refined and attractive and is often laughed at behind his back. Yet Felix clearly wants Oliver as a friend and to share him with his family.
They, in turn, also warm to Oliver immediately. His parents are played by Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant (both former Oscar nominees and both excellent here.) There’s also a sister (Sadie Soverall) and a mixed-race cousin (Archie Madekwe.) Slowly, Oliver begins to exert power over each of these characters suggesting there’s something more to him than meets the viewer’s eye. He is stronger, manipulative, and more assertive than we initially think. He, like most of the characters, is also more sexually fluid than we might have assumed at the start.
As a character, Oliver goes through the biggest arc here. There’s a mystery to him that slowly reveals itself. Whether you ever completely understand where he is coming from is almost beside the point of the film. This is a film about the protected and privileged world of the rich and the desire to entrench oneself in everything associated with that world. Eventually that bubble bursts. Is it pre-planned or not? Motivations are a bit tricky to discern. Yet, that is what makes for an interesting film and art in general. I think the direction Fennell goes here might not be as satisfying as where she went with Promising Young Woman (also a bit questionable, according to some viewers) but it is intriguing and immensely satisfying nonetheless. This is a very dark, comedic, drama that twists and turns for much of its run.
The production is beautifully realized. Sets, lighting, and the overall design are impeccable given the 21st Century focus of the story. Cinematography is beautiful, capturing the film’s most sexy, disturbing, and Gothic elements. The acting is also stellar across the board. Jacob Elordi is much more alive and sprightly than we’ve seen before. Barry Keoghan creates multiple layers as Oliver that only reach their apex in the film’s final scenes. He demonstrates some major range here going from college brain to sexually appealing in small increments. There is also a very funny cameo from Carey Mulligan as family friend Pamela who, “will do anything for attention.”
Saltburn is endlessly engaging and a bit unpredictable given its influences and obvious allusions. Certain scenes may turn off some viewers but the ultimate narrative is funny, dramatic, disturbing, and thus very entertaining.
Saltburn is currently playing at theaters everywhere.
FILM: SALTBURN
DIRECTED BY: EMERALD FENNELL
STARRING: BARRY KEOGHAN, JACOB ELORDI, ARCHIE MADEKWE
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
You’ve got to give writer/director Emerald Fennell some major credit. She won an Oscar for her last screenplay Promising Young Woman and then got nominated for an Emmy playing Camilla Parker Bowles on The Crown AND appeared in Barbie (as Midge.) To say she’s been hot would be an understatement. Her much anticipated latest project is Saltburn, starring Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan (The Banshee of Inisherin) and major heartthrob Jacob Elordi (Euphoria, Priscilla.) They play chums Oliver and Felix respectively at Oxford University in 2007. Felix comes from great wealth and social stature while Oliver seems to be arriving on campus thanks only to his intelligence. When holiday season hits, Felix invites Oliver to the family’s home. It’s a sprawling British estate called Saltburn and it’s hard not to think of this as a 21st Century version of Downton Abbey, full of opulent design and plenty of selfless servants. The difference here is that Felix’s family and friends watch movies, sing karaoke, and are a bit more sexually active and eccentrically humorous than most of the Downton clan.
On the surface, the film appears to be taking us on a similar journey that Anthony Minghella took us with his adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley some 24 years ago. That film featured Matt Damon worming his way into the lavish lifestyle of Jude Law. There was a strong sexual vibe to the film thanks to the source material written by Patricia Highsmith. This time the motives behind Oliver’s actions are less clear. He seems to be a humbled guest, at least initially, in Felix’s home. Oliver, like Damon’s character in Ripley, does appear to be attracted to the very beautiful Felix yet we mostly see this through the lingering gazes he makes towards him. He can look but can’t touch. Is he really attracted to him or does he have some ulterior motives? Felix’s story is even less clear. Why Oliver? He doesn’t look like the others in Felix’s world. He’s not as refined and attractive and is often laughed at behind his back. Yet Felix clearly wants Oliver as a friend and to share him with his family.
They, in turn, also warm to Oliver immediately. His parents are played by Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant (both former Oscar nominees and both excellent here.) There’s also a sister (Sadie Soverall) and a mixed-race cousin (Archie Madekwe.) Slowly, Oliver begins to exert power over each of these characters suggesting there’s something more to him than meets the viewer’s eye. He is stronger, manipulative, and more assertive than we initially think. He, like most of the characters, is also more sexually fluid than we might have assumed at the start.
As a character, Oliver goes through the biggest arc here. There’s a mystery to him that slowly reveals itself. Whether you ever completely understand where he is coming from is almost beside the point of the film. This is a film about the protected and privileged world of the rich and the desire to entrench oneself in everything associated with that world. Eventually that bubble bursts. Is it pre-planned or not? Motivations are a bit tricky to discern. Yet, that is what makes for an interesting film and art in general. I think the direction Fennell goes here might not be as satisfying as where she went with Promising Young Woman (also a bit questionable, according to some viewers) but it is intriguing and immensely satisfying nonetheless. This is a very dark, comedic, drama that twists and turns for much of its run.
The production is beautifully realized. Sets, lighting, and the overall design are impeccable given the 21st Century focus of the story. Cinematography is beautiful, capturing the film’s most sexy, disturbing, and Gothic elements. The acting is also stellar across the board. Jacob Elordi is much more alive and sprightly than we’ve seen before. Barry Keoghan creates multiple layers as Oliver that only reach their apex in the film’s final scenes. He demonstrates some major range here going from college brain to sexually appealing in small increments. There is also a very funny cameo from Carey Mulligan as family friend Pamela who, “will do anything for attention.”
Saltburn is endlessly engaging and a bit unpredictable given its influences and obvious allusions. Certain scenes may turn off some viewers but the ultimate narrative is funny, dramatic, disturbing, and thus very entertaining.
Saltburn is currently playing at theaters everywhere.