Set in the world of English aristocracy and academia, Emerald Fennell’s latest film “Saltburn” explores class and desire through lush cinematography and heavy-handed symbolism. The sophomore effort stars Oscar-nominated Barry Keoghan and internet heartthrob Jacob Elordi of Euphoria. Together, they offer performances that are nothing short of nefarious, erotic and sometimes so intense that you may feel the need to look away.
The film drops us in the year 2006 where flip phones and Zac Efron-esque bangs reign supreme. This is where we first meet Oliver Quick (Keoghan) who is beginning his first semester at the accredited U.K. University, Oxford. Everyone loves a boarding school story à la “The Dead Poets Society” or even the Harry Potter movies but Fennell’s film takes this classic trope and makes a point to highlight the class differentials.
Oliver sticks out like a sore thumb on the Oxford campus with his roller bag and frumpy sweater amongst students who wear well-fitted Abercrombie clothes and designer travel bags. Throughout the first act of the film, Oliver struggles to handle the substantial wealth that is so common among his peers. He can’t afford to party with the wealthy kids and he can’t seem to make friends because he’s unable to escape his class. His luck changes when he finally gets to talk with the well-off Felix Catton (Elordi), a fellow student whom he had been admiring from a distance. Their brief interaction leads to an unlikely friendship between Oliver and Felix built upon lust and entertainment; Oliver can’t help but be enamored by his attractive classmate and Felix takes pleasure in hearing about his underprivileged friend’s hardships.
After an untimely death, Felix invites Oliver to his family’s estate out of sympathy and again, entertainment. Felix takes the audience on a tour of the estate, Saltburn, and shows us just how grossly rich his family is through the excessive rooms and gratuitous decor. He casually informs Oliver that dinners are black-tie events regardless of whether or not there are guests. Felix’s mother Elsbeth (Rosamund Pike) expresses her phobia of ugliness over a glass of champagne. These moments in the film are again trying to make a point about class but they are all style and no substance.
Fennell, who previously directed the Oscar-nominated “Promising Young Woman,” has proven that she knows how to make a visually pleasing film; whether it be the bubblegum-flavored revenge sequences of her first movie or the romantic, lingering montages of her sophomore work. But, aesthetics can’t get you everywhere no matter how many edits you may see on your social media feed or tweets discussing the homoerotic tension between Elordi and Keoghan. While the film has been highly anticipated by social media users and film buffs alike, it fails to make any real critique of the obscene wealth that is shown throughout the 127-minute runtime. Instead, it takes a confusing turn which paints the lower class as greedy and conniving rather than criticizing the upper class’s excessive lifestyle and casual cruelty.
While the film is beautiful to look at, it is hard to follow. So much focus has been spent getting the era right instead of writing a film that makes a point. If you are content to just sit in a dark theater for two hours and watch beautiful cinematography then this film is for you, but don’t expect to witness any meaningful critique.
Rating: 4/10
“Saltburn” was released in theaters on Nov. 22 and will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video on Dec. 22.
