Oscar-winning writer/director Emerald Fennell bowled audiences over with A PROMING YOUNG WOMAN, her intelligent, taut thriller directorial debut. This year, Emerald Fennell brings us SALTBURN, a star-studded dark comedy dealing with the British class divide and privilege, with an unsettling, horror film slant. Even the film’s Gothic script title treatment sets the mood for this contemporary twisty thriller.
Set in the mid-2000s, SALTBURN stars Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick, a bright scholarship student at Oxford who is eager to fit in socially with the upper crust as succeed academically. The academics are easy for Oliver, but social class aspirations are another matter. Finding himself on the outside, persistent Oliver eventually is befriended by handsome, charming, aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), one of the most popular students at his college. When Felix learns the working-class lad has nowhere to go for the summer break, he generously invites Oliver to spend the summer at his family’s sprawling estate, Saltburn.
There is a “Talented Mr. Ripley” aspect to this tale of an ambitious outsider worming his way into the upper crust but SALTBURN takes a different turn, into psychological horror with unsettling obsessive sexual overtones, some homosexual, plus a fair amount of nudity. This is not a film for everyone but it does deliver on the psychological horror thrills and features some startling, visually rich cinematography, gripping scenes and top-notch acting. Still, SALTBURN is not for the faint of heart.
Nobody does class snobbery like the Brits, where the class divide, not just wealth, still matters so much more than here. Felix tells Oliver to just relax and be himself, and that his family is “nice,” but really, you immediately know British aristocrats inviting an ordinary Brit into their world has the potential for things to very wrong.
Tension is in the air from the start, but things unfold in unexpected ways in this twisty plot. Oliver is indeed welcomed by Felix’s father, Sir James Catton (Richard E. Grant) and Sir James’ younger wife Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), and more coolly by Felix’s sister Venetia Catton (Alison Oliver). It turns out the family has a history of taking in guests, and Oliver is not the only house guest this summer, joining a woman consistently called “poor dear Pamela” (Carey Mulligan), who is going through a rough patch, and an American-born, biracial cousin named Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe).
What looks like an ordinary aristocratic family at first turns out to be more eccentric than expected, setting up some uneasy dynamics. Actually, Oliver knows the cousin, another Oxford student, but Farleigh has not been as nice to Oliver as Felix – nasty, in fact. Farleigh is angry that Felix brought this socially-inferior scholarship student home for the summer, and Farleigh constantly reminds Oliver of his aristocratic superiority to him. But Farleigh himself is a bit of an outsider, as the child of a wayward sister who was taken into the family by Felix’s father. Sir James supports his nephew and pays for his Oxford education but Farleigh has no money of his own, depending on an allowance from his uncle. The last member of the Saltburn household is Felix’s sister Venetia, a beautiful woman but emotionally unstable person, who helps things start to go wrong, as they must, in this tense set-up.
While the eccentric family has this habit of taking in “strays,” the house guests are there only as long as they amuse the aristocrats, despite the polite assurances and seemingly warm welcomes. But what starts out looking like it will be an “aristocrats behaving badly” tale, soon goes down unexpected, dark rabbit holes. Things get very crazy at stately old Saltburn.
Every aspect of this creepy thriller is top-notch, including the brilliant photography, twisty story, and the performances by the gifted cast. There are some bloody moments, staged with stunning visual style, lots of creepy tension, and death comes to visit as well, in this horror-tinged, chilling psychological thriller.
Barry Keoghan has delivered a number of striking performances in supporting roles, most recently in BANSHEES OF INISHERIN and THE GREEN KNIGHT, films which have showcased his range. SALTBURN gives this talented actor a chance to shine in a lead role. And shine he does as the complicated Oliver, a character whose layers are peeled back in the course of this psychological thriller. Keoghan wrings every drop from this creepy tale, including startling, carefully-lit final scene that has him dancing through the grand house.
As charming Felix, Jacob Elordi delivers a strong performance, even more so than he did in PRISCILLA, where he plays Elvis Presley, and seems destined for stardom. Elordi’s Felix means to be kind, unlike some other family members, but he is inherently clueless due to his privileged upbringing, holding people to high standards that are easier for him to meet than some others less lucky.
While Felix appears the most stable of the Catton family, his sister Venetia is its biggest emotional mess, which helps trigger some of the madness that follows, and Alison Oliver gives a fine performance in the role.
Richard E. Grant is perfect as the unfailingly polite aristocrat Sir James, who plays the role of enforcer behind the scenes when needed. Rosamund Pike is gracious but cool as Elspeth but there are hints of a wilder past. Carey Mulligan is wonderful in her smaller role as “poor dear Pamela,” stylishly-dressed but emotionally weighed-down by a traumatic past. As cousin Farleigh Start, Archie Madekwe is great, as the snarky and bitter character, going from arrogant confidence to desperation as events unfold.
SALTBURN is an incredibly-polished film, with brilliant photography, nail-biting tension, excellent performances and taut pacing, but the nature of this disturbing tale means it is not for everyone, as noted earlier. For the right audiences, SALTBURN is a class divide, creep fest trip well worth taking.
SALTBURN opens Wednesday, Nov. 22, in theaters.
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
