Movie Number 38 of 2023
The Movie: Saltburn
The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens
Stars: 4
I love a good retelling of a story, and Saltburn does a great job of retelling two English favourites - Brideshead Revisited and The Talented Mr Ripley, both in equal measure and in nature. I was keen to see it after hearing that the film was written and directed by Emerald Fennell, who did the same with the remarkable Promising Young Woman.
This film was a hoot, although it did slightly lose its way in places, but not for long and not often.
The film tells the story Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), a scholarship kid at Oxford who is having a hard time fitting in. Making matters worse, his tutorial partner, Farleigh (Ashleigh Madekwe) is a rich twat who doesn't make things any easier for him. Oliver is drawn to Felix (Jacob Elordi), who after a seeming act of kindness takes him under his wing, eventually inviting him home to the family pile, Saltburn, for the summer. There we meet his aristocratic and frankly barmy family, father Sir James (Richard E.Grant - wonderful seeing him act again), mother Elspeth (another great turn by Rosamund Pike), Poor Dear Pamela (Carey Mulligan an a fantastic cameo), his fragile sister Venetia ( and a scary butler, Duncan (Paul Rhys)
But the best way to describe this is that this is a mix of Brideshead Revisited and The Talented Mr Ripley, becoming a bit more unhinged as the film goes on. What I loved about this is that Emerald Fennell, an Oxford Scholar herself, was a part of this world at one stage, and she appears to know it well. She also said that in writing Saltburn, she wanted the audience to feel some sympathies for some very unlikeable characters. She succeeds in this.
There's a lot to love about this film. Not only are Fennell's writing and direction up to her previous high standards, the cinematography is awesome. Linus Sandgren has filmed this in an untraditional 1.33:1 ratio, making it feel like you're peeping in on the action, rather that having it all out there.
The scenes at the country estate were filmed at Drayton House in Northamptonshire, one that has never been used as a film set before. The house is only available for viewing by appointment, and its glorious house and grounds make for the perfect location. Not being filmed before adds to the charm.
This film, however, belongs to Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi. The former, who won an Oscar for The Banshees of Inisherin, is perfect as the shy, awkward Oliver, while Jacob Elordi personifies the easy charm of the beloved rich kid. The will they/wont they sentiments and the fact that you will not see a lot of what happens coming put Saltburn in the easy thriller category.
It's definintely worth a look, especially if you like your films English and a little unhinged. Oh, and after seeing this you will never look at Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Murder on the Dancefloor in the same light.
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