SALTBURN (First Place in Entertainment Review, MCMA 2024)

In the recent slew of satires about the 1% — notable examples being “Parasite”, the “Knives Out” series, “Triangle of Sadness” and “The Menu” — writer-director Emerald Fennell throws her hat in the ring with her black comedy-thriller about eating the rich, “Saltburn.”

The thing is, she is a perfect fit for exploring wealth. Fennell’s Oscar-winning “Promising Young Woman,” while getting a polarized reception, did provide a thought-provoking commentary on rape culture in America. The premise for her new film alone invites intrigue. Taking place in 2007, lower-class Oxford student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) gets to spend the summer at his rich friend Felix Catton’s (Jacob Elordi) estate, Saltburn. Along the way he has to deal with Felix’s vapid family while doing whatever he can to make sure he can stay. 

The premise makes it sound like “Saltburn” could be another provocative film from Fennell, but in the film’s biggest twist, it turns out it doesn’t know what it’s doing. 

The only thing done well in this movie was the cinematography by Linus Sandgren. All the shots are picturesque, atmospheric and even trippy at times. 

The 4×3 aspect ratio, which at first seemed unnecessary, actually works well with the tone, giving appropriate intimacy whenever characters have personal conversations. It also creates a clever contrast to the idyllic Saltburn estate, making it feel small and claustrophobic no matter how grandiose and open-spaced the shots of the mansion are.

Despite how well-made it is, “Saltburn” still cannot escape from its biggest flaw: the story.

One of the biggest issues the film has with itself is with its protagonist. Oliver, shown as someone desperate for connection while in Oxford, becomes inconsistent as the film goes on. It implies his feelings for Felix are romantic, making sense for why he would want to stay close to him, and yet he spends more time flirting and having sex with Felix’s family. 

This would reveal him to be a leech, which could work with where the film goes in the second half, but it keeps going back and forth between Oliver being a manipulative person clinging onto this family and him wanting to be closer to his crush. It makes Oliver a harder character to understand, his primary goal remaining way too unclear. 

The actors all try to give their characters life. Keoghan manages to humanize Oliver as much as he can, despite how erratic the script is.

Read the rest of the article at the Webster Journal - https://websterjournal.com/2023/12/04/saltburn-gets-lost-in-empty-indulgence/