Saltburn
Saltburnis one of the most problematical movies of the yr , with mixed electronic messaging about wealth , obsession , and the class divide – so what is it all about ? Set in 2000s England , Saltburnstars Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick , a middle - class Oxford scholar , and Jacob Elordi as the object of his desire , Felix Catton , a spoilt rich kid who tempt Oliver to stay at his sept ’s tremendous demesne – the eponymic Saltburn – over the summer break . Oliver got into Oxford due to his hard work and determination ; Felix set about in due to his family ’s riches and academic connections .
It marksthe sophomore movement of writer - director Emerald Fennell , who first broke out in 2020 with her Oscar - winning thrillerPromising Young Woman . Promising Young Womanwas very vindicated in its messaging and its righteous cause ; it ’s a rallying cry against a culture that wrick a blind eye to rampant misogynism and sexual violation . But the message ofSaltburnisn’t quite as clear . It has a lot of self-contradictory ideas , and its most exciting twists also carry its most problematic content . There ’s a lot to unpack inSaltburn – what precisely is the deeper meaning of this polarizing movie ?
Saltburn Is About Desire & Obsession (Is It Also About Love?)
Oliver Was Possibly Incapable Of True Love
At its core , Saltburnexamines the theme of desire and obsession . Oliver feels an intense , passionate desire for Felix , and becomes hazardously haunted with him throughout the film . When he channelize to Saltburn to stick around with the Cattons , his desire and obsession spill over into the land . He desire the luxuries that the Cattons take for concede – the giant house , the secret puddle , the 24 - hr waitstaff , etc . – and becomes obsessed with their upper - class one - percenter life-style .
It ’s possible to admit love as a part of the thematic exploration of desire and obsession , andSaltburncertainly address the subject of love even if it does n’t present it in a particularly virgin form . In his very first line to the audience , Oliver say that everyone thought he was in love life with Felix , but insists that he was n’t . However , that line in itself insinuates that Oliver was , indeed , in passion with Felix – perhaps Oliver protests too much .
Saltburn is packed with particular that foretell the movie ’s biggest gimmick , and one pernicious but brilliant one clue at Felix ’s tragic destiny .
Whether Oliver truly bed Felix or not , Saltburnis really about an obsessive desire and the lengths that someone will go to get what they hope . Since Oliver ’s sexual desires also rick to Felix ’s sister , Venetia , and his full cousin , Farleigh – not just Felix – and Oliver is show to be thickened and dusty - hearted , it ’s possible that he never loved Felix ; he was just sexually draw in to him .
Is Saltburn About Class? Its Themes Of Wealth Explained
SaltburnSends Mixed Messages About Class Division
One of the most common themes associate withSaltburnis family . Classism and the class divide are huge issues in the UK.Saltburntouches on those issues . Felix takes a shine to Oliver because his lower - class background makes him a bangle . Felix is used to being around obscenely wealthy citizenry , so the fact that Oliver does n’t arrive from money fascinates him . But despite its setup as a fish - out - of - water story about a middle - year 99 - percent kid being invite into the internal rope of the one percentage , Saltburnlargely back away from any comment on the category trouble .
Saltburnearned two Golden Globe nomination : Best Actor for Barry Keoghan and Best back Actress for Rosamund Pike .
The deficiency of any commentary on the class watershed is a gravid problem for the movie because , in the absence of that , it ’s essentially just sound out that the rich are aphrodisiac and interesting and the lowly classes will spoil the play for them – or even regretful if they ’re courteous enough to let them in . The twist terminate ofSaltburn , which reveals that Oliver conspired to nibble off the Cattons one by one to steal their riches , seems to support the idea of maintaining the status quo . If the rich are nice to the miserable , then the poor will kill them .
Written and directed by Emerald Fennell, Saltburn is a 2023 comedy-thriller film. When Oxford student Oliver Quick is invited to his friend Felix’s family’s wealthy estate, Saltburn, for a summer vacation, he is drawn into the world of eccentric characters and increasingly chaotic events as his obsession with Felix comes to a head.
Is Saltburn Supposed To Be A Victory For Oliver?
This Is Not An “Eat The Rich” Story
There ’s a signified of an “ eat the copious ” subject matter at the end ofSaltburnbecause the Cattons all meet a grim fate at the hands of Oliver , and he makes off with their estate and fortune . By that point , Oliver had become insufferable to root for . In the final scene , Fennell reveal Oliver is an emotionless psychopath singularly pore on getting what he wants . He does n’t care what he has to do or who he has to stamp out to inherit his desires . When hestarts killing Cattons , it ’s voiceless to continue to see him as the protagonist .
Emerald Fennell ’s Saltburn fall in a list of visually captivate photographic film research base of class and pansy lovemaking plus another movie with Barry Keoghan .
In recent year , the “ eat the rich ” subject matter has become a tendency in Hollywood . This theme has been explored inParasite , Glass Onion , The Menu , Triangle of Sadness , andThe White Lotusin the past few years . But in all those stories , when the amoral rich characters get what they deserve , the low - class characters creditworthy are n’t painted as scoundrel like Oliver . Even if audience could still rootle for Oliver by the last ofSaltburn , the course water parting continue the same . Oliver does n’t give back to the poor ; he demand the Cattons ’ placein the exclusionary one pct .
Saltburn Is Entertaining, But Struggles With Its Bigger Ideas
Saltburn Struggles To Take A Side In The Class Struggles
Ultimately , Saltburnis a confused movie . It could – and possibly should – have been a fun , flirt with thriller . The final twist that reveals Oliver to be a conniving reprehensible brain draws parallels withThe Talented Mr. Ripley . Fennell masterfully pulls off the jaw - throw away carpet - clout that make any great thriller study . The audience has spent the whole motion-picture show follow Oliver , invested in his account , and following his undependable narration .
Fennell has bigger ideas in brain and the movie tries to take on large social publication .
The film ’s terminate flick that dynamic on its head and express that Oliver was the villain . Saltburnjust about works on that story as a compelling thriller with an unexpected twist end . ButSaltburnisn’t intended just to be a schlocky , twisty thriller . Fennell has big ideas in creative thinker and the movie tries to undertake larger social issues , but the messaging just feels off .
If it carries a message about the dynamic between the full-bodied and the poor , thenthat substance is that rich people ’s fears about poor people are altogether substantiated . If a rich person allow a wretched person into their abode to revel their butlers and their personal chefs , then they ’ll kill them and take it . That ’s a moderately elusive message for the moving-picture show to hang up its hat on .
What Emerald Fennell Said About Saltburn’s Meaning
Fennell Wanted To Create A Gothic Story
Emerald Fennellwrote an essay aboutSaltburnand what his story meant . While the themes seemed to be " eat the rich , " Fennell was interested in creating a gothic story , standardized toRebecca , Brideshead Revisited , andThe Go - Between . That is why he take to use a first - person , undependable teller . He also added the other pilot - the Innocent Bystander , the Doomed Romantic Hero , the Desperate Sister , the Jealous Rival , the All - Seeing Butler , and the house itself ( viaL.A. Times ) .
Saltburn , like so many of the books and films that preface it , is a history about restraint and its demarcation and what happens after the restraint in the end arrive off . What befall when the woman locked in the bean finally get loose ? She burn the house down . "
agree to Fennell , he write the story during the COVID-19 lockdown when masses could n’t leave their family or even though each other . He said that when people are isolated and ca n’t touch what they so urgently require to stir , it could have the " gothic foolishness that consumes Oliver . " For Fennell , it was n’t an evil growing inside of Oliver duringSaltburn , but something more key .
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Written and directed by Emerald Fennell , Saltburn is a 2023 comedy - thriller film . When Oxford bookman Oliver Quick is invited to his friend Felix ’s family ’s wealthy estate , Saltburn , for a summer vacation , he is drawn into the world of eccentric persona and more and more disorderly events as his obsession with Felix come to a head .
