Saltburn
"Promising Young Woman" writer/director Emerald Fennell avoids sophomore slump with "Saltburn."
Film Yap is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Filmmaker Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” was my favorite movie of 2020 and one of the most assured directorial debuts of recent memory. I wouldn’t say Fennell suffers a sophomore slump with “Saltburn” (now in theaters), but the picture didn’t resonate with me nearly as deeply as its predecessor did.
It’s 2006 and Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) is having trouble adjusting to life as a first year scholarship student at the prestigious Oxford University. The only person who seems to have any interest in hanging with Oliver is fellow outcast Michael Gavey (Ewan Mitchell, HBO’s “House of the Dragon”), a “Rain Man”-esque Mathlete. But Oliver only has aspirations and eyes for kicking it with the cool kids in the form of moneyed cousins Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi, fresh off of playing The King in Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” and pretty well primed to become one of the biggest stars in the world) and Farleigh Start (Archie Madekwe of this year’s “Gran Turismo”).
Oliver endears himself to Felix by lending him his bicycle when Felix’s gets a flat. Felix soon takes Oliver under his wing much to Farleigh’s chagrin. When Oliver’s Dad dies as a result of drunkenly falling headfirst into a sidewalk, Felix takes pity upon his new pal and invites him to spend the summer at Saltburn – his family’s sprawling estate.
It’s here that Oliver meets Felix’s mother Elspeth (Rosamund Pike), father James (Richard E. Grant), sister Venetia (Alison Oliver of Hulu’s “Conversations with Friends”), family friend “Poor Dear Pamela” (“Promising Young Woman” star Carey Mulligan) and their butler Duncan (Paul Rhys, who’s pulling double duty this week by also appearing in “Napoleon”). Farleigh is also on the premises and looking to f*ck with Oliver at every turn.
There’s an awful lot to admire about “Saltburn.” It’s a sharply-written, handsomely-made and well-acted (especially by Keoghan who bravely goes to places other actors wouldn’t dare) send-up of class clashes. Despite mostly taking place during a summer that’s hotter than hot, this film is colder than cold. There are plenty of laughs, but they’re the kind that get stuck in your throat. There’s also a bunch of aberrant/abhorrent sexual behaviors on full display. This will likely be a very divisive picture and one you probably shouldn’t take Mom, Dad, Grandma or Grandpa to this holiday weekend.
As was the case with “Promising Young Woman,” “Saltburn” boasts a killer soundtrack. Great tunes such as Arcade Fire’s “No Cars Go,” MGMT’s “Time to Pretend,” Bloc Party’s “This Modern Love” and the Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” are featured prominently. Hell, a character even hilariously does karaoke to Flo Rida’s “Low.”
“Saltburn” comes across as “Brideshead Revisited” by way of “The Talented Mr. Ripley” by way of “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” (also featuring Keoghan). Fennell’s latest is a call to, “Eat the rich,” and boy howdy does it have fangs … I just wish it also had heart and anyone or anything resembling a likable character.