Available on Prime Video, Amazon's television platform.
Saltburn marks the second feature film by British director and screenwriter Emerald Fennell.
At the conclusion of this article, I will introduce the director.
In Saltburn, through remarkable visual beauty and a touching intimate style, the author sketches a gallery of incisive characters and a story that will literally leave us stunned.
Emerald Fennell crafts a work that interweaves elements of suspense and introspection, layered impeccably.
Saltburn is an emotional and disturbing film, a journey into the dark depths of the human psyche, featuring memorable scenes of exceptional creative quality.
The plot unfolds masterfully, keeping the audience glued to the screen, captivated.
The setting is among the ultra-wealthy English nobility, seen with a satirical onlook.
The protagonist, masterfully portrayed by Barry Keoghan, is the sinister Oliver Quick, a restless and dangerous soul whose actions are guided by an alien and ruthless sense. Oliver engages in an atrociously ambitious challenge, in a sort of sadomasochistic relationship with the aristocracy.
Enchanted by the charm and allure of an oxonian colleague, who is handsome, wealthy, generous, nice, and popular, Oliver becomes obsessed.
He weaves a fiercely cunning and destructive plot to possess him.
Jacob Elordi delivers an admirable performance as Felix Catton, the oxonian student and scion of the noble Catton family, a magnificent representative of British high society's jeunesse dorée.
Rosamund Pike gives a notable portrayal of Felix's upper-class mother, Elspeth Catton, splendid and absorbed in a nonchalance that prevents her from seeing the tragedy around her.
The cameo by London actress Carey Mulligan, as a foolish, dazed, unaware, and incredibly ignorant guest, is sensational.
And there are many other excellent actors directed to perfection by Emerald Fennell.
The film is set in the early 2000s. The setting (set decoration by Charlotte Dirickx) and costumes (costume design by Sophie Canale) are exquisitely realised.
Lord Catton's gigantic and spectacular country estate is, in reality, a private mansion, the ancient Drayton House, dating back to the High Middle Ages, a witness to a thousand years of British history located in Northamptonshire, just north of Oxford.
The soundtrack by composer Anthony Willis, who had composed music for Fennell's debut feature, Promising Young Woman (2020), is evocative and lyrical, and worth listening to repeatedly.
This is a film that should not be missed.
The only flaw I found in this work is that, in the end (perhaps at the production's request, who knows?), the dramas and mysteries are explained through some superfluous dialogues/monologues. It's annoying when the rhythm and perfection of a film, where each scene is wonderfully embedded in the following one, are disrupted by the assumption that the audience needs further explanations about what they have just witnessed, and about the reasons that drove a character to do what we saw them do—explanations camouflaged as additional scenes, extra conversations.
We are not as foolish and incompetent as viewers. Why the director thinks we need additional explanations, I do not understand and find it unacceptable.
Nevertheless, for those who may not have understood the film, (which can happen!), there is always the option to read good reviews, well-written and informative critiques, or to discuss with other viewers, more accustomed to cinematic visions. And, above all, there is the excellent option of re-watching the film itself to better understand and enjoy it again. Beautiful films, when seen several times, always reveal something more that captivates us to the work. On the contrary, the "explanatory" scenes in this specific film, otherwise close to perfection, are truly detrimental; they make the movie blunt in those parts.
Emerald Fennell is a London-based director who has emerged as one of the most relevant and innovative voices in contemporary cinema.
Artistically versatile and cultured, Fennell is an actress, screenwriter, producer, and, in recent years, a refined director.
Her career has seen extraordinary growth: starting as an actress in widely successful productions like The Crown, she then rose to acclaim as a screenwriter, contributing to the success of the renowned BBC series Killing Eve in its second season (the first season was written by another talent, Phoebe Waller-Bridge).
This experience paved the way for her directorial debut with Promising Young Woman, a highly effective revenge thriller, the story of a young woman who, traumatised by her dearest girlfriend's rape, devises a plan for revenge, with dramatic consequences. The film immediately garnered critical and audience attention thanks to the author's bold and provocative vision, her excellent direction, and Carey Mulligan's fabulous lead role.
Fennell explores complex and controversial themes with a fresh and original perspective. Her works always delve into sex in a profound and intricate manner. With a personal skill in creating characters with complicated psychologies, she brings extraordinary stories to the screen, that will linger in the viewers' memory.
Her second work Saltburn is no exception and confirms her as a new and highly talented author and director.
Barry Keoghan is an Irish actor who began a remarkable career in adolescence. He has worked with Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk), Yorgos Lanthimos (The Killing of a Sacred Deer), Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin), in the mini-series Chernobyl, and many other significant films. His central role in Saltburn is the definitive international consecration of his talent and personality.
Jacob Elordi, playing Felix Catton, an Oxford student and scion of the noble house, will also portray Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola's biopic titled Priscilla, presented at Cannes and Venice in 2023, but unfortunately, yet with no known dates for the distribution in theatres.
Established London actress Rosamund Pike (she was a Bond Girl in Die Another Day in 2002) is, in real life, a woman of great talent and culture.
The protagonists in an Oxford student pub
and in the Saltburn mansion.
The Oscar winner director, screenwriter, and London actress Emerald Fennell.
Saltburn is her second feature film.
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