Saltburn: A House of Hate

Devils and angels, schools and cigarettes, love and hate. The new story by Academy Award winner Emerald Fennell, "Saltburn", brings a new entry to the early career of the writer/director side of the actress. Following the making of "Promising Young Woman", being nominated for 5 Academy Awards, one of which being best picture. Of those 5, Fennell won best original screenplay, talking about the story of revenge from the friend of a victim of sexual abuse. This new story is somewhat different from the movie from 2020, but does it hold up to the same expectations? Can we expect similar silverware going to "Saltburn"? In this review, we'll go in-depth about the performances, production, and story, so that we may better understand the twisted mind of Oliver Quick and his relationship with Felix Catton and his family.

Our story starts in Oxford, 2006, a very specific starting point, but this gives us some certainties: Social Media is not a thing but texting is, the internet had not taken off that high yet, only the basics were starting to form now, and certain fashion choices were influenced by being set in the mid-00’s, mind you, this is almost 20 years ago.

We follow the character of Oliver Quick, played by Barry Keoghan, as he enters his freshman year at Oxford University. Clearly not the most popular guy, only befriending one random person that seems to have some screws loose, a self-proclaimed genius whose feet have left the earth a while ago. Next to that, he’s in a tutoring group with only one other person, named Farleigh Start, portrayed by Archie Madekwe, an American export that came to Oxford because he had some notable qualities. It is shown quickly that Farleigh does not like Oliver at all, dishing out sarcastic comments and sometimes straight-up bullying him. There is someone else Oliver has eyes for, however, the incredibly popular and good-looking Felix Catton, played by Jacob Elordi.

At first, Felix felt untouchable for Oliver, he is insanely popular, gets all the girls he likes and by that way, chooses his own friends. Somehow, Oliver got in touch with him in his own way and the two soon became very good friends throughout the school year. However, with summer coming up, they were all looking to go back home. Unfortunately, Oliver comes from a pretty bad home, which causes him to dread the end of the school year. Felix responds to this by offering to stay at his parents’ mansion in Saltburn, Felix’s parents are insanely rich and often have other people stay over, so it wasn’t that big of a deal that Oliver stayed there as well. Next to him, Farleigh Start, who has been eyeing the two ever since they became close, comes along for the ride as a good friend of Felix as well.

Next to people he’s already met, he’ll stay there with Felix’s family: his father, Sir James Catton, portrayed by the legendary Richard E. Grant; his mother, Elspeth Catton, portrayed by one of the greatest actresses on planet Earth, Rosamund Pike; and his sister, Venetia Catton, portrayed by Alison Oliver. Next to his family members, we need to give some credit to Carey Mulligan for portraying a smaller part in the house as well, that of “Poor Dear Pamela” (as credited by IMDb).

At the house, strange things start to happen to Oliver, secrets are revealed, threats are thrown. After all, we must be careful, “Lots of people get lost in Saltburn.”

We’re all about to lose our f*cking minds.

First, to talk about the overall production of the movie, the aspect ratio is like most of “Maestro”, 4:3. Which often gives the framing of characters the opportunity to show them claustrophobic, as if the house doesn’t give a lot of breathing space. This was much more apparent in Saltburn than it was in Oxford, further establishing the freedom you still have with a smaller aspect ratio. The usage of symmetry, framing, and shot selection really make “Saltburn” one of the best-looking movies I’ve seen in 2023, a huge step-up from “Young Promising Woman", that didn’t really make an effort to let the movie look good, even though there were some really good opportunities there as well.

Next to the cinematography, we need to talk about the soundtrack, the haunting and beautiful soundtrack of Anthony Willis needs to be commemorated, it makes us move even closer to the screen with every tense moment. The soundtrack is also used fantastically, like swelling up the music to an oral sensation when Oliver first sees Saltburn or showing when certain characters are acting differently than they normally, giving us extra support for understanding what’s going on on the screen. Lastly, the music picks for “Saltburn” are amazing, as have been in previous installments of Emerald Fennell. “Murder On The Dancefloor” has gotten a top spot in my playlist since I can’t get it out of my head anyway.

The writing, in general, is acceptable; the story makes sense even though there is a sort of reveal towards the very end that feels a little tasteless since the movie did a very good job showing us this reveal through other means. There are some unnecessary scenes that might be a little distasteful in nature; this is definitely not a movie you watch with the family, the R rating is certainly needed, although they could’ve done more with that, seeing where the plot of the movie takes us. The movie shocks, but not in ways that could’ve been more impactful to the story. In general, the story is pretty unique and well carried out by all the elements surrounding the picture, making the problems that the screenplay has inconsequential, since even if it doesn’t add much to the story, it adds to the vibe and feel of the movie.

Speaking of the different elements of the movie, one that could be seen as pretty important are the performances, specifically of Barry Keoghan and Rosamund Pike; sadly, this was not the movie where Jacob Elordi could shine a lot, even though he was an important part of the story. He was often put in the dark by framing and by his lines not carrying a lot of weight, which is sad because this could’ve been a very good opportunity for him to show his true range as an actor.

Obviously, we know the range of Rosamund Pike; she still has one of my favorite performances ever as the bloodcurdling Amy Dunne in Gone Girl. Here she shows another side of her talents, acting as the arrogant, dismissive mother of Felix, Elspeth Catton. However, her chemistry with Barry Keoghan is amazing and she brings the rich and entitled nature of Elspeth, easily influenced and deceived.

Barry Keoghan is perhaps a biased pick because he has been one of my favorite actors ever since Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”, being strengthened by other performances like “Chernobyl", “The Green Knight", and “The Banshees of Inisherin". Once again, he made an amazing performance, personally worthy of the Oscar nomination for 2024. The way Keoghan can always seem that there is something hiding behind his eyes, there is always some kind of malicious intent (like in “The Green Knight”) or pain (Like in “The Banshees of Inisherin”) to be found. After this movie, you might think you’ve seen everything there is to see of him, but even though his surface always remains the same, the depths his soul goes to in each performance are unseen.

Sadly, some other performances that were very important to the story didn’t quite hit their mark for me, specifically that of Archie Madekwe and Alison Oliver. Now, the roles they were given to play were very specific and probably not that easy; there were moments that I expected a little more of them in terms of taking over the scene and being the center of it, even though the blame could be laid on Fennell for not giving them enough of a platform to work with. The framing caused them to be a side part of Oliver’s life for most of the time, but they each had their moments where they rose above him, which did not get translated well enough to the screen, despite the actors’ best efforts. Madekwe has had some other performances over the past year, including this year’s “Gran Turismo", where he was in the lead. For Alison Oliver, her career has only begun, so I'm expecting to see many more roles in her future that are perfect for her.

Quiet. Harmless. Drawn to shiny things.

The story of “Saltburn” is unique and while not complicated to dissect, it does ask some questions it doesn’t answer itself; the character of Oliver Quick rapidly (trying not to use “quickly” here) deteriorates but we’ve never gotten a clear and concise motivation for why he does the things he does, some things going on to be pretty vile.

First things first, the house. It is portrayed through framing, music, and dialogue that the house isn’t what it seems. By now, the movie has told us enough that we’re not thinking about a haunted house or anything like that, even though it does feel like that. The mansion is massive and gives off this otherworldly feel, the butlers are emotionless and almost feel alien, while Felix's parents as well feel like they’ve just been dropped there and have no clue how to act normally or how to behave. I hate to make the comparison, but there is an outreach to a Yorgos Lanthimos-feel in how the characters move, talk and the type of dialogue they have, but with the twist that they’re breaking character just a little bit, showing us vulnerability and emotion when things get heavy.

Personally, the thing I like the most about this story is that this feeling it makes you have is correct, but you’re focusing on the wrong people, the wrong details. You’re disgusted by some actions that Oliver does, but you’re never sure if the family, the house, or his own volition is making him do these things. Is there a certain persona that Oliver puts on to get closer to Felix, to make him more likable? Or is this just the way he is, and does he finally show his true colors?

There are certain moments Oliver seems to transform into something else, as if he became a higher being with a higher sense of persuasion, deception, and intimidation. It seemed to be like he was in complete control of this, but we’re left asking if he was, truly, doing this out of his volition or if this was something taking him over. This is why forming a clear motivation for Oliver is difficult, since there seems to be an end goal for him which causes him to perform vile acts, cheat, lie and deceive, but the “WHY” remains. Does Oliver truly get everything that he wants, or does he slip away a little more with every time he changes?

At the end of the story, I concluded that the main theme of this movie is obsession, an obsession so grievous that it destroys oneself and others, an obsession so great that it does not only want to possess but to consume and even to replace. And where is this obsession located? From the start of the movie, we assume that Oliver has a gigantic crush on Felix, but is that all that lies below the surface, or did everything change once he entered the doors of Saltburn for the first time? There is a certain relationship Oliver has with the house, a dream he has, intimacy. Like Farleigh said:

“This house is not for you; it’s a fucking dream.”

Challenging Oliver to be someone he was never meant to be and to transform and lose himself to a personality that can only destroy and take, while he will always have Saltburn to look over him.

To finalize, the story of “Saltburn” is one with definite flaws and problems, but it does tell an interesting story about obsession, love, and hate. The performances carried a lot of this movie, specifically from Barry Keoghan and Rosamund Pike, whose chemistry was amazing and I'm still hoping to see much more of their collaborations in the future. Emerald Fennell was great in directing and making this movie, although her script could’ve used a little work, the stories she brings to the table are always unique and show us a side of the world we’re not always used to; her characters dare to do what others dream of, but often they also have to live with the consequences of their actions. In the end, a jaw-dropping, shocking experience that I really recommend, but definitely not on family movie night.

"Saltburn" is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

We’re all about to lose our f*cking minds.

Quiet. Harmless. Drawn to shiny things.

Other reviews

Maestro (2023)

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

The Holdovers (2023)