In what feels like a mix between Parasite and Call Me By Your Name, Emerald Fennell gives us Saltburn, a captivating thriller that is as psychological as it is sexual.
Jacob Elordi plays Felix, a confident, attractive and absurdly wealthy Oxford BNOC (big name on campus). Barry Keoghan’s Oliver, a shy scholarship boy who buys all his clothes from charity shops, couldn’t be more different. Yet this doesn’t stop the two from forming an unlikely, class-defying friendship that only grows stronger through the first year of university. Unable to face the thought of returning to his supposedly destitute family, he takes Felix up on his offer to spend the summer at Saltburn, a decadent castle owned by the Catton family.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that this transition from bustling university life to a quiet summer at a remote aristocratic estate would dull the film down – one of my friends actually thought this was a period drama. But Fennell skillfully enlivens this stagnant setting with a soundtrack full of contemporary pop and fast-paced, witty dialogue. On top of this, the Cattons are a far-cry from the Crawleys of Downton Abbey, instead feeling like a hapless family that just so happen to own an enormous castle.
Of Course the usual ultra-rich stereotypes do apply, yet small nuances make the Catton characters more rounded, grounded and oddly likeable. For Sir James Catton, Richard E. Grant brings a camp eccentricity to fancy dress and karaoke, helping to soften the perception of a dominant family patriarch. That place is reserved for Elsbeth Catton, for whom Rosamund Pike plays a distant, out-of-touch, mother whose eloquent words are so often tainted with biting upper class sass. At the receiving end of this problematic parenting is their daughter Venetia and nephew Farleigh who draw empathy towards their emotional wounds and lock horns in infantile fighting.
Then of course there is Felix, a larger than life character filled out by a brilliant Jacob Elordi who lends the role the same god-like presence that we’ve seen in the likes of Euphoria and most recently Priscilla. Maybe Euphoria’s Nate had spoiled him for me because I was fully ready to see Elordi play yet another domineering, entitled jack-the-lad, but what we get is actually quite nuanced. Other than some careless womanising, we learn that Felix is surprisingly empathetic, genuinely caring about Oliver and his problems at home whilst trying to make him welcome at Saltburn. At first, I thought this was going to be a very forced friendship, one where Felix only keeps Oliver around for things that he’s useful for, but instead, their bond really does feel genuine, which helps ground Felix’s entitled character with much needed humanity.
On the other hand, Oliver is much harder to read. Initially striking us as a quiet, perceptive scholar, we soon learn that he harbours an unnerving steeliness towards those who oppose him. Unlike members of the Catton family who make themselves and their intentions clear from the outset, Oliver’s develops throughout the film and this unfolding mystery forms the thrilling core of the plot. Enhancing this mystery is Barry Keoghan’s superb portrayal of an infatuated, determined mind cloaked in the body of an unassuming fresher.
Putting all this together, we end up with a very English version of Parasite. Other than trading up a Le Corbusier Korean mansion for a sprawling English Castle and Estate, the main difference is that with Parasite, we learn about the infiltrating Kim family from the outset, whilst with Saltburn the truth about Oliver is kept mostly under wraps until the end. This makes for a film that shares Parasite’s suspense but adds an extra level of twistiness. Add to that a tactfully satirical exploration of the British class system, a banging soundtrack and a beautiful shot list, and you have a black comedy that is both thought provoking and captivating. It may even rival its award-studded Korean predecessor.
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