Spoiler warning: This article discusses spoilers about the movie “Saltburn.”
The highly anticipated film “Saltburn” was one of the most talked about movies released last year, and rightly so. The story follows Oliver Quick, played by Barry Keoghan, as he is invited to summer with Felix Catton, played by Jacob Elordi, at Catton’s family estate, Saltburn.
The chemistry between Keoghan and Elordi’s characters is truly undeniable. Despite deceitful ploys from one to become closer to the other, their two characters disagree on what kind of relationship that chemistry stems from.
With an improvised grave scene and an unpredictable moment as bathtub water slowly slips down a drain, accompanied by an elated yet despondent soundtrack, the true meaning and rhetoric remain unknown to most viewers except the director, which makes this movie worth exploring.
The brilliant, highly detail-focused mind behind the film is none other than director Emerald Fennell, who can explain the reason for every object placed in a scene. Fennell provides the characters in this movie with so much depth, an asset that movies cannot always manage within a short time frame. Fennell captivates the audience with shocking scenes that make it hard to look away, turning viewers into voyeurs, much like the protagonist, Quick.
Meager infatuation grows into sick submission as Quick gives into his desires and obsession as his summer with the Catton family progresses. Much like Quick, the audience is bewitched by titillating grandeur, toned, taut bodies and a sense of familiarity, as this movie takes place in 2007.
A sinister undertone with a touch of humanity develops as characters with a savior complex fall victim to one suspected to be innocent. Like a deer in headlights, Quick is thrown into the spotlight as he attempts to charm his way through Saltburn.
Despite the exclusivity that comes with amassing wealth, such as the Catton’s, Quick takes it upon himself to insert himself into the lives of those who reside at Saltburn. From antler-wearing prey, Quick becomes the predator as he pines for a fortune he was not fortunate enough to be born into himself.
For a family that prides itself on being so well-versed in art, literature, culture and history, members of the Catton family know little of their unforeseeable fate as a masterful, menacing plan begins to take refuge in Saltburn. Because of this, an auspicious sense of safety crumbles as each family member finds less solace in their magnitude of wealth after the untimely death of a loved one plagues the estate and everyone in it.
To quote the butler, Duncan, “Lots of people get lost at Saltburn,” but not everyone will find true happiness in accomplishing their goal of making it their permanent home to the extent that characters in this movie did.
This movie is not for the faint of heart, but instead for those curious enough to spend time inside the twisted mind of someone who has been engulfed by opulent desires.
